By Ellen Gefen
From paintings to pictures, hanging artwork in your home can be a tricky chore. Sometimes it might feel as if you need a curator to get it all correct. However, that shouldn’t stop you from displaying photos in your home. It’s easy and a creative way to showcase something that is meaningful to you and your family.
Luckily, the photo frame gurus at Slide and Store have offered some helpful pointers for hanging photos in your home. The same ideas apply to paintings, drawings, or prints, too.
1. Choose A Theme
Ideally, you should pick a similar subject for your photos and add additional ones to the collection accordingly. Topics like vacations, milestones, sports, art, or children’s drawings can make a cohesive grouping. It helps create continuity for your photos, so they feel like they belong together-rather than appearing like you just grabbed a bunch of pics and placed them on the wall haphazardly.
2. Mix & Match
With that being said, mixing and matching isn’t a bad idea if you find the right focus. After all, not every framed item on the wall has to be a photo or a piece of art. You can mix personal photos with art prints or even professional photography. If you’re going to do so, be sure that your personal pics are of the same quality as the artwork or pro photos. That way you’ll have a more harmonious display.
3. Eye It Right
It can be hard to figure out the right height to hang your framed images. Here’s a rule of thumb: Hang your grouping at eye level for the room where you’re installing the display. Hang photos so that the center of the image is 57 to 60 inches from the floor in rooms where you are most often standing (versus sitting) like the entryway, hallway, or kitchen. Remember, your display is meant to look its best for people who are already in the room, not for those who might be passing through it.
4. Know Your Numbers
Let’s say that you want to hang your photos someplace other than a bare solid wall. There are some rules you should know that can make your photo collection look fabulous no matter where you choose to place it. For example, if you’re thinking of hanging framed photos on a staircase, the center of the image should be about 55 inches above each step. And above a piece of furniture or mantle, keep about 8 to 10 inches between the bottom of the frame and the top of the furniture. Don’t center it between furniture and the ceiling.
5. Find Your Frames
If you thought that you had to only use one style frame in the same size, think again. Incorporating frames of different sizes and colors can create a visually exciting gallery. To make your display more interesting, try displaying frames both hung on the wall and set on a side table, too. You might even opt to use a variety of frames that hold multiple photos.
6. Switch It Up
You might have a few photos that will have a permanent placement in your home, beyond those beloved images, you should try to change your arrangements and add new images frequently. Not only will it keep your display fresh, but it might inspire you to update your frames to match the photos as well.
For truly low-maintenance home galleries, snag some Slide and Store frames, which boast really cool features. They have a built-in mat, and you can store extra prints behind the visible image for quick rearranging. They have a hideaway easel so frames can be placed on a tabletop, but they still lie flat against the wall when hung. They’re self-leveling and come with a hanging template so that you can plan nail placement and arrange large groupings of frames without having to patch mistakes.
In this tech-driven age, don’t hide your family memories in dusty old albums — or worse, allow them to linger on your phone. There’s no time like the present to display your treasured family photos prominently in your home where you and your guests can admire them for years to come.
Source: Press Release, Slide and Store Frames
