Monday, August 22, 2011

Let's hang some pictures!

I have an abundance of pictures in my house...okay, okay...maybe and over-abundance!  I love hanging pictures in groups because I find that it looks really cozy. As a matter of fact, I find it to be a huge compliment to me when people walk in my house and call it "cozy." Even if cozy means small, it doesn't matter to me. Sit down, relax, take a load off...I'm happy to have you over for a visit!

All of that said, the number one mistake that I see when I go into friend's homes, or homes that I've staged is their picture arrangement. Most of the time the pictures are WAY too high. I mean, no one that I know is 8 feet tall when they are sitting down! Lower your pictures, my friends! LOWER YOUR PICTURES! If you are sitting in a room, your pictures should be hung at eye level...not 3 inches down from the ceiling! A good rule of thumb is to hang your pictures 57" at the center. That means 57" from the floor to the center of the picture when it's hanging. THAT, my friends and followers, is the perfect height. In the living room (where you sit most of the time) I would go three to four inches lower than that. 

I will warn you now...if you are hanging your pictures like you are Jolly the Green Giant right now, your pictures are going to feel really low to you when you bring them down a bit. I promise you will get used to it, and it will even allow you to enjoy your art more! After all, if you chose it, you want to enjoy it right?

Now onto the next picture hanging tip. Let's try hanging your pictures in groupings. A picture here and a picture there is very boring in my opinion. Please don't say goodbye to me just yet! I'm not judging you for not knowing how to hang pictures, and if you like them that way...by all means keep it that way! I'm just suggesting you try something a bit different! 

Let me show you what I mean! Here are some groupings that I have in my house and I love them! Maybe you will too!

This one is a favorite. It's hanging in my kitchen. I have had these little prints for at least ten years. I put them away and take them out when I change things up.


Yes, this was 8:30 in the morning! I was up, I promise!


This is a very small wall. In all honesty, I'd probably do three pictures here if I had another one that I liked with these two. 


Here is the red room. I love these two pictures with these two mirrors. I did this on a whim one day when I was bored and sick of a bare wall. 


This grouping is above a section of my couch. It almost looks to small for the wall, but it is really quite perfect. Some people that I know would have hung just ONE of these pictures and it would've felt like something was missing! Not a good look. 


This is above the big section of my couch. The picture is relatively big, and can you see how low it is? My couch is just 6 inches or so underneath the picture. 


These are hanging in the "hallway" to my kitchen. They are higher because none of my guests will be sitting in this hallway anytime soon. I use the term hallway loosely. This house is too small for a hallway, really.


Here is my daughter's room. We have hung black and white prints in the corner. I love them en masse like this. They are perfect. I bet some of you are thinking, "WOW, that is too many pictures!" I invite you to come to my house and see how well this works!


These two are right outside my bathroom on a tiny wall. If I had one large picture that would have fit this wall I would have hung just one. I didn't have that so I hung two smaller ones and they work well here!


I'm sure you remember this wall from my house pictures. It's a wall of collections. A picture of our cat Sophie who we lost years ago, the card I got at my grandma's funeral, a few gifts, and a few that I got at antique stores. Each thing on this wall has a special meaning to me. I love it, and it feels cozy.


I hope this has helped you with ideas for picture hanging and encouraged you to try hanging your pictures a bit lower if you haven't already! I don't feel like these pictures of my pictures (get that?) do them justice. The lighting in my house is odd and I think it's time for a new camera!

Happy Monday!
Stacy




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