How to hang a framed print: height, spacing and the right hook
Most art at home hangs too high. It's an easy mistake to make, because we tend to line a frame up with the top of a door or with whatever nail was already in the wall. Once you know two or three numbers it goes quickly, and the room looks calmer for it.
How high to hang a picture: start with 145 cm
Galleries hang work so the centre of the picture sits about 145 cm from the floor. That's roughly the eye level of a standing adult. Measure to the middle of the frame, not to the top and not to the hook.
If every piece in the house is centred at the same height, the walls also line up with each other, even when the frames are different sizes.
In rooms where you mostly sit, like a dining room or a study, you can bring the centre down a little, to somewhere around 135 to 140 cm.
How high to hang art above a sofa, bed or sideboard
When a print hangs over furniture, the furniture sets the height. Leave about 15 to 20 cm between the top of the sofa back (or the sideboard) and the bottom of the frame. Above a bed you can go up to about 25 cm. Much higher than that and the print starts to look disconnected from the furniture.
Then look at the width. Aim for art that covers about two thirds of the furniture below it. On a three-seater sofa of around 210 cm, that's roughly 140 cm of art. A single Medium print will look lost there. Two Large framed prints side by side get you close.
How far apart to hang a pair
Keep the gap between the two frames narrow, about 5 to 8 cm, so they read as one piece. Then treat the pair as a single picture: find the centre of the whole group (both frames plus the gap) and hang that at 145 cm, or 15 to 20 cm above the sofa.
If you like the idea of a pair, the Coastal Silhouette set comes as two prints meant to hang next to each other.
What's on the back of our frames
Our framed prints arrive ready to hang, with the hanging hardware already fitted on the back. For our sizes that is usually two D-rings with a cord between them. The only thing you need to add is a hook or screw that suits your wall.
Finding the exact spot for the hook
You'll need a tape measure, a pencil and a spirit level (the one on your phone is fine).
- Decide the height of the centre: 145 cm on an open wall, or whatever the sofa rule gives you. Mark it lightly.
- Measure the height of the frame and halve it. Add that to your centre height. This is where the top of the frame will sit.
- Turn the frame over and pull the cord up towards the top, as if it were already on the hook. Measure from the top of the pulled cord to the top of the frame.
- Subtract that from the number in step 2. That's where the hook goes.
- Hang the print and level it. A cord lets you nudge it straight. If it keeps tilting, use two hooks, one under each D-ring, and it will stay put.
For example: centre at 145 cm, a frame 50 cm tall, and a cord that reaches 8 cm below the top. 145 + 25 − 8 = 162, so the hook goes at 162 cm.
Know your wall before you drill
Plasterboard needs a hollow-wall anchor or a hook made for plasterboard. Brick and concrete need a drilled hole and a wall plug. If you rent and can't drill, strong adhesive picture strips work for lighter frames, but check the weight on the packet and weigh your frame first.
If your print arrived unframed
Unframed prints travel rolled in an archival tube. Unroll the print on a clean table, handling it by the edges, and let it flatten for a day or two under a few books with a clean sheet of paper in between. If you take it to a framer, ask for an acid-free mount and UV-filtering glass.
Where not to hang it
Hahnemühle Photo Rag and pigment inks are made to last, but no paper enjoys years of direct afternoon sun. A wall that gets indirect light will keep the colours as they are. Damp rooms and spots right above a radiator are best avoided too. There is more on this on our Shipping & Art Care page.
If you're unsure which size suits your wall, send us a photo of the wall and the width of the furniture below it. We'll tell you what we would hang there.
Quick answers
How high should you hang a picture?
About 145 cm from the floor to the centre of the frame. In rooms where you mostly sit, around 135 to 140 cm.
How high above a sofa should art hang?
Leave about 15 to 20 cm between the top of the sofa back and the bottom of the frame. Above a bed, up to about 25 cm.
How big should art above a sofa be?
About two thirds of the sofa's width.
How far apart should two frames hang?
About 5 to 8 cm.