How to Arrange Pictures on Walls
Of all the accessories in your home, photographs are probably the most personal and treasured.
Collections of photos tend to be organic - you're always adding new ones that celebrate important events in your life, places you've been, and sights you've seen.
Personal photographs can also be a challenge to display since they come in many different sizes, shapes, and colors.
When decorating with pictures, the first point to be considered is whether they are to form a background for the walls of a room or are the pictures themselves its chief decoration.
Pictures enliven a room but hanging a picture isn't as simple as it may seem. There is a special art involved in the process.
Think Before You Strike
When dealing with how to arrange pictures on walls, you must consider all of the items that you will influence before the hammer head hits the first nail in decorating the walls of a room with photos; the size of the frame, the color of the frame; other frames it may be near to, the space of the wall, the colors in the picture and so on.
Before getting out your hammer and nails, look over these helpful hints on picture display.
Tips for how to arrange pictures on walls:
- Cut templates of the picture grouping frames that you are hanging and tape them to the wall with non-marking tape. This way you can view your grouping before pounding nails into the wall.
- Hang several small pictures in identical frames close together to make one large "picture" over a sofa.
- When dealing with how to arrange pictures on walls be sure to unify a mismatched collection of prints with the same mat and frame.
- Group pictures together instead of scattering them around in a room.
- For symmetrical arrangements, hang similar sizes and frames in rows, either vertically or horizontally (for example, a group of eight frames hung in two rows of four; a group of six frames hung in three rows of two; or a group of three, with two smaller pictures flanking one large picture).
- Asymmetrical arrangements often place the largest picture to one side, and smaller ones are arranged together on the other side to balance out the display.
- When you're working with how to arrange pictures on walls, keep in mind horizontally arranged picture groupings make the walls look wider. Vertically arranged pictures make walls look higher. Keep that in mind when hanging pictures on walls.
Just because you're tall doesn't mean you should hang pictures high.
Conversely, if you are short, do not hang them too low. Consider the proportions of the picture and wall surface area as well as the surrounding furnishings.
From the bottom of the picture frame, measure 6 to 8 inches above the mantel, sofa back, or table.
This is only a guideline; the size of your frames and the size of the piece over which the picture is being hung have to be considered.
Consider Your Background
When you're working with how to arrange pictures on walls, remember, pictures should never be hung against a background of pattern. There is nothing more distressing than seeing a smiling baby picture up against a wild or psychedelic patterned background.
A wall with just framed picture groupings or art can be made much more interesting with the addition of unusual object or a grouping of your special collections.
Displaying plates adds wonderful color and a break from the monotony of framed pieces. Ideas for decorating a wall with photos include hanging special photos in unexpected places, like on the front of a bookcase or the side of a cabinet.
Create a gallery by grouping framed pictures or mirrors on a wall.
Regardless of whether you use professional decorating help or not, it is important to decorate your home so that it reveals your passions, collections, histories, hobbies, and other interests.
When you're working with how to arrange pictures on walls, don't strive for perfection.
Let the process of wall arrangement decorating be one of exploration - explore your family's history. Ancestry is compelling and fascinating, enriching our lives.
Our homes take on additional meaning when they reflect our origins. Put up old family photos to give a wall more character, and the house, more charm when you're working with how to arrange pictures on walls.
Wall decorating with pictures is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to liven up and provide your home some character.
There is nothing nicer than photographs of family and friends to cheer up otherwise bare, dull walls. Decorate a wall with photographs, and you are creating a unique masterpiece with your signature to stunning success.
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