How To Easily Hang Wall Art In Your Home

Today I’m sharing some tips on how to hang wall art. I, Jenna, work at a photography studio where one of my jobs is installing client art. Whether you’re hanging paintings or photos, this applies to it all. While this tutorial can be used for single pieces, the focus here is on groupings of art.

We’ve all been there… You have all of this gorgeous art and beautiful photos of your family sitting around your house. But now you have to hang it.

If you feel like this, don’t worry! I’ve got you covered with tips and tricks on how to hang your wall art without looking like Kevin.

Supplies:
Wrapping paper or newspaper
Scissors
Painters Tape
Pencil
Measuring Tape
Level
Hammer
Nails
Gorgeous Wall Art

Step 1:
Lay out your artwork on the floor to get an idea of how you would like to display it and the distance you would like to have between each piece.

Step 2:
Cut out templates of each piece of art. You can do this by using newspaper, wrapping paper, or taping printer paper together. (PRO tip: if your paper is curling and making things difficult, give it a few passes with a low heat iron. Just be sure that your steam settings are off, and that your heat setting is nice and low. You can always raise the temp a bit if it doesn’t seem to be doing anything.)

Step 3: Find the point on the wall that will be the center for the grouping. Make a small pencil mark here that you will erase later. Determine what height you would like the art to hang at. The gallery standard is 57 inches plus half the height of the piece of art. To get the right hanging height you will need to do the following equation: 57 + 1/2 the height of your art – the space between the top of the piece and the hanger. So for my piece this was 57 + 10 – 2 = 65. Using your pencil mark that you made earlier in the center, make a new pencil mark in the center at the height you’ve just calculated. (PRO tip: ask a family member for assistance in measuring. It’s hard to properly measure large walls!)

Step 4: Measure the distance from the edge of the middle/main piece to the center of your next piece. In this case, I wanted two inches between the center photo and the 8x10s on the left and right. So that means our nail needs to go in 7 inches from the already hung piece (2{inches}+5{half the width of the 8×10}=7). I also wanted an inch above the top canvas and below the bottom canvas on the left and right, so that left two inches in the middle between the top and bottom canvases. Repeat this step for each art piece to the left and right of the main piece. (PRO tip: If your art pieces will allow it, flip them over and try laying your templates over the back of them to make a mark or hole where the hanger will be. If you can mark this accurately, it saves a little bit of time and math!)

Step 5: Tape your templates onto the wall using the marks you’ve made to center everything. Measure the spaces between your templates as you hang to make sure they are evenly spaced.

Step 6: Hang the center most piece of wall art. If your grouping is not symmetrical, start with the largest main piece in the group. Your pencil marks are where you will place the nail. Hold your piece of art up to the mark and see if it feels about right. If it does, go ahead and hammer in your nail. If not, double check your calculations. Then hang your piece. (PRO tip: Measure twice (or more!) so that you only hammer once.)

Step 7: Using a ruler or measuring tape, check that your templates are still the correct distance from your hung piece of art. If it seems off by a small amount, try sliding the hung piece left or right. Sawtooth and wire hangers are very forgiving if you aren’t too far off!

Step 8: Hang all of your pieces. Straighten or shift the pieces until they are all straight and equidistant.

Step 9: Stand back and admire your handy work!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Now get that artwork on your walls!