Pictures always enhance and elevate the feel and look of a room. Grouping them thoughtfully creates an even greater impact. Here are 10 helpful tips to follow when arranging your framed pictures.
- Don't cover more than two-thirds of the blank wall space in a room or you'll make the room feel smaller.
- Use large pictures on long walls and small pictures on short walls to keep a sense of scale in your room.
- Work out where you want the centre of your grouping to sit and position the dominant piece (such as a mirror, a dark-toned work or one with a large, ornate frame) in the middle. Then select two or more major pieces, either larger or smaller than the central piece, and place them on either side of it.
- If the outer works are small and horizontal, make the central piece a tall vertical. The central tall vertical can also be composed of two horizontal pieces, hung one above the other.
- The bottom pieces in a group should be positioned at least 20 to 30 centimetres (8 to 12 inches) above any furniture situated near a wall.
- Keep in mind that too much space between pictures disrupts the overall effect. A hand width is about right.
- Pictures will have greater visual impact if they're mounted in a colour that contrasts with the wall they hang on. Choose a dark mount for a light wall and a light mount for a dark wall.
- Vary the shapes and sizes of your picture frames. Also try to vary the mount sizes and colours. Both are great ways to add extra interest to your groups of framed pictures.
- To add extra impact to the framed pieces on your wall, mix the media in and hung with your picture frames or place dramatic pieces next to plainer ones.
- Uneven numbers of objects are always more interesting than groupings of even numbers. For example, three pictures hung with equal spacing between them will look very stylish; two will feel unfinished.
Remember these 10 helpful tips when you're arranging your framed pictures to increase their effect and impact.
