Choosing and arranging art

Art is the element people most often postpone, generally because of two beliefs: that it must be expensive, and that there is a correct answer.

What to hang

The range is wider than most people consider.

Photographs, your own, printed properly and framed, which are personal and cost very little.

Prints from artists selling directly, which are affordable and support the person who made them.

Children's work, framed properly, which is transformed by a frame.

Textiles, which add texture and sound absorption.

Maps, botanical plates, posters, record sleeves, pages from books.

Objects rather than pictures — plates, hats, instruments, tools.

Mirrors, which are discussed elsewhere on this site.

And original work from art school degree shows, local markets and small galleries, which is frequently more affordable than people expect.

Framing

Which does more than the content in many cases.

A generous mount makes almost anything look considered, and is the single cheapest way to improve a piece.

Consistent frames across a group create coherence; deliberately mixed frames create a collected look, provided the mixing is consistent in itself.

Glass versus acrylic matters for large pieces, where acrylic is safer and lighter.

UV-filtering glazing matters for anything valuable or irreplaceable, since light fades work permanently.

And ready-made frames in standard sizes cost a fraction of bespoke framing, which is an argument for choosing work in standard sizes.

Height

The most common error.

Art is generally hung too high.

The convention is that the centre of the piece sits at roughly eye level, around 145 to 150 centimetres from the floor, which is the standard used in galleries.

The adjustment: in a room where people are mostly seated, hang slightly lower.

Above furniture, the gap between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame should be modest — roughly 15 to 25 centimetres — so the two read as related rather than as separate elements.

Scale and grouping

Where rooms most often go wrong.

A small piece on a large wall looks lost.

Either go large, which is the more confident and generally better answer, or group several pieces so that together they occupy an appropriate area.

A group should read as a single block: consistent gaps, generally 5 to 8 centimetres, and an aligned edge or a shared centre line.

Above a sofa or a bed, the art or group should span roughly two-thirds of the furniture's width.

Laying a group out on the floor first, and cutting paper templates to tape to the wall, removes almost all the risk.

Hanging

Which is covered in detail elsewhere on this site.

The short version: know the wall type, use the right fixing, use two hooks for anything wide since it stays level, and check with a spirit level rather than by eye.

Picture rails, where they exist, are worth using, and picture hanging systems allow rearrangement without holes, which suits renters.

Adhesive strips work within their stated weight limits and fail beyond them, generally at night.

Lighting

Which changes art more than most people realise.

Directional light on a piece makes it read as intentional.

Picture lights, track spots or a well-placed lamp all achieve this.

Direct sunlight should be avoided on anything that can fade, which is most things on paper.

Choosing

The part that paralyses people.

The only test that matters is whether you want to look at it repeatedly, which is a different question from whether it is impressive or matches the sofa.

Buying to match a colour scheme produces work you stop noticing; buying what you respond to produces a room that accumulates meaning.

Which argues for buying slowly, over years, rather than filling walls at once.

An empty wall waiting for the right thing is better than a filled wall of things chosen for their dimensions.

Looking after what you hang

Which matters for anything you intend to keep.

Keep works on paper out of direct sunlight, which fades pigments permanently and within a surprisingly short period.

Use a mount so the artwork does not touch the glass, since contact causes it to stick and to develop moisture damage.

Use acid-free mounts and backing for anything of value, since ordinary card yellows and burns a line into the paper within years.

Avoid hanging on external walls that suffer condensation, and avoid above radiators and fireplaces.

And check the fixings periodically, particularly on heavy pieces, since the failure is generally sudden and takes the frame with it.