Hanging art on your walls is one of those domestic tasks which often ends in disaster. Anything requiring power tools, precision and differences of opinion can get very nasty. In the interests of keeping your home harmonious, we've pulled together some advice on how to get it right, without the stress.



Where is the right place in the room?
Art usually looks best centred above a piece of furniture or an architectural feature such as a fireplace. Think of the furniture as "anchoring" the artwork to the room. Something tall placed on the furniture, such as a lamp or pair of candlesticks, which slightly overlaps with the bottom of the artwork, can provide an even better anchoring effect by visually linking the two.  In this beautiful sitting room, the central photograph is centred above the sofa, and the tall lamps link the other pairs visually to the side tables, creating a striking effect.

How high should it be?
Greg MacInnes of Hanging Around, who hangs art for a living, says a good rule of thumb is that the middle of the artwork should be at around eye level. This will often be slightly lower than you think. The artwork shouldn't be too high above the piece of furniture anchoring it; of course this depends on the height of the furniture and the size of the art but usually 15 - 30cm is about right. Hanging pictures a little lower makes your ceiling feel higher, too.

What about groups of frames?
Do you love the look of a salon style installation of different sizes and styles, but worry about getting it right? We saw a great tip on Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP blog recently. Her expert, New York interior designer Maria Brito, recommends using paper to create a "blueprint" the same size as your wall. Lay the paper on the floor and place the artworks on it, moving them around until you are happy with the placement. Then trace around each frame on the paper and tape the paper to the wall to help you figure out the exact placement of the hooks or nails.

Remember, when creating this type of installation, it works best if you have at least one consistent theme – either the subject matter of the artworks, the medium (for example all photographs, like in the image above), the colour of the frames or the materials used for the frames.  In this image, the works are all photographs, the mounts are all white and the frames are black or white.

What kind of hooks do I use?
This depends on what you're working with - the material your walls are made of, and the weight of the artwork. If you have a lot of artwork, and want to be able to move it around easily, consider a gallery hanging system.   This consists of a narrow track which runs around the top of your wall where it meets the ceiling, and cables and hooks to hang each artwork.  Once it's installed, you can move or rehang a work just by reorganising the cable.  No more hammer, drill or holes in the wall.   And a much better chance of domestic bliss.