How high to hang pictures

The rule of thumb for hanging pictures is to position them at eye level. This means finding the horizontal line at the middle of the picture and placing it at eye level on the wall.

Assuming that you, your family, or your customers are not as gigantic as the tallest man in living history – a Turk who measured 2.51 metres – or as short as Gul Mohammed of India at a mere 0.57 metres, it’s going to be as simple as looking at the wall in front of you.

If you’d prefer to be more precise, and take into account your visitors, you may like to consider that the average male height in Australia is 1.78 metres and the average female height is 1.63 metres – meeting in the middle at 1.70 metres. You can make this your average eye level.

How high to hang pictures in other parts of the house

If you are still part of the 45 per cent of Australians who like to sit at the dining room table for meals, you may like to hang your pictures a little lower on the wall so you can appreciate them more easily whilst you dine.

Many people hang their pictures too high above other furniture such as beds and mantelpieces. Although you’ll want to be able to clean and organise underneath them with ease, hanging the picture about four to six inches above the furniture is sufficient.

The same goes for the loo – lest you want to crane your neck upwards as you contemplate!

Also, let’s not forget the kids – they too like their art, when they can see it! Whether it’s the multiplication table or Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit pictures, hang them a little lower. Using Artrack’s fully adjustable picture hanging system will allow you to change the height and pieces of art as the kids grow and their tastes evolve – no holes, no mess, no hassle.

Hanging pictures vertically

Treat the pictures as one piece, including the space between them. If you have three 10-inch pieces, the horizontal line of eye level will be found in the centre of the middle (sandwiched) picture.