A Designers Take on Framing and Hanging Art
Let’s talk about framing and hanging art!
If you missed part one of my two-part series on art in the home, you can check out the first instalment here where I talk about how to choose pieces of art and share tons of affordable art ideas.
And for the second part, let’s dive into framing and hanging your art, how to do a gallery wall really well and lots of other practical tips!
Where to start with framing
Good framing can make literally anything into a piece of art, but poor framing can turn a beautiful piece of art into something that looks cheap and mass-produced.
If you’re not comfortable doing the framing yourself, get to know your local framers! Visit them and get quotes - you might be pleasantly surprised! You can also use an online framing service, where you input the measurements of your art, and then you’ll be given a range of mount and framing options.
Or, of course, you can buy your own and put them together, and not to worry, I have plenty of tips on how to do all of this below.
I used to do styling, sourcing, and staging for interior designers before I became an interior designer myself. I remember absolutely loving a piece of art that an interior designer called Katy Stevenson Bretton showed me. It was a scrappy piece of rope, but it was framed so beautifully; mounted onto a linen backing board, in a box frame. Katy told me that she had picked this up on a New Year's Day walk with her family, had loved the shape and texture and decided to have it framed. It blew my mind; what a lovely thing to have on the wall! She'll always be reminded of that New Year's Day walk that she had, and the framing elevated it into a beautiful, unusual piece of art. The point being:
Good framing can make anything into a piece of art!
Different Types Of Framing
Let’s start with the basics by talking about the main types of framing. My proviso is that this is what I have learned through my own visits to various framers, as well as getting things framed for clients. I am not a professional picture framer. Ok, lets go on…
Mounted Framing
This means that there is a border between the art and the frame. There are slightly different ways of doing this mount, so for example, you can float mount something, which is where the item sits on top of the backing board on top of the mount. This works really well for items that have a lot of texture at the edges that you want to see. You can also window mount art pieces, which is where the mount sits on top of the piece of art. This results in a neater finish and gives the piece very straight edges.
Frame-To Edge Framing.
The second type of framing is called frame to edge, which means there's no mount at all, so the frame is right next to the edge of the art. Honestly, I don’t tend to recommend this, just because I don’t really like it! I like the art to have a little breathing space between the edge fo the art and the frame. It does come down to personal preference though and art is super personal, so if you fancy giving this one a go, please do.
With frame-to-edge mounting, you should have fun picking a frame. You could do a more traditional wood or plastic frame or even some kind of fun transparent acrylic frame. And if you’re not sure about picking a frame, this is a great time to go to your local framers - they will often have little corner samples of mount and frames which you can use to place against your art.
You could even experiment with having the mounting extended away from the piece of art in a box frame. It looks great, especially with 3D pieces or pieces that have a lot of texture but can be really effective for 2D things as well.
How to frame art:
Now we’ve had a quick look at the types of framing, let’s get into some tips!
Don’t match your frames to the other colours in the room - frame to make the art look good! So instead of choosing a walnut frame because you've got walnut furniture, choose a colour or tone in the art. This will make that piece of art really sing and also means that your art will look good no matter what room it’s hung in! Generally, I think art always looks good.
You can DIY your frames and mounts if you can’t afford to go to the framers, but always get quotes from a few different framers, you might be surprised by the quotes!
Buy frames bigger than the art you’re framing, ideally with mounts included.
If you’ve bought a frame without a mount, you can add your own mount. Buy some archival quality thick card and use a craft knife and metal ruler to ensure straight lines.
Alex from the Frugality has a really great blog post where she paints her frames the same colour as her mounts. In the post, Alex uses frames from Wilko, so you can definitely do this on a budget! Remember to sand your frame first and use Zinsser as a base coat.
Consider using gallery glass that's nonreflective, which really enhances the art.
If you are hanging art in a super sunny spot, use UV reflective glass to protect the art and stop it from getting really bleached out, as well as bespoke new frames.
Consider using vintage frames. Look out for nice frames in antique shops, markets, and charity shops. Your framer can then fit it with new glass and a backing and put your item inside. This looks so beautiful.
How to hang art
Let’s move on now to how to hang art, which is art in itself! There are people who specialise in hanging art in the home, as well as professional framers. The way you hang your art can make or break the art piece. So what are some tips and tricks when it comes to hanging art? Here are some tips for you:
Don’t hang your art too high! Your art should be at eye level, which is actually surprisingly low on the wall. The official guidelines are to hang art so that the centre of the art piece is around 150cm off the floor, which is average standard eye-level height, and the height at which galleries hang their work.
Don't allow your art to be lonely. You want to create families of art and furniture, for example, art next to an armchair or a side table.
Don't be afraid of a big blank wall. This is a question I get a lot! Hang art at the edges of the wall rather than in the middle. A little stack of art down the left-hand edge of a wall can look absolutely gorgeous. Use large fabric pieces. Lots more tips on this reel here.
Play around with the artful lean, which means rather than hanging everything, play around with standing and leaning art on the floor. This looks great layered! So for example, a really large item of art at the back or a mirror at the back, and then a smaller piece at the front, like two or three different layers. However, please bear in mind this will not be practical if you've got crawling babies and toddlers!
Make use of narrow picture ledges. I'm talking the Mosslanda ones from IKEA, but you can also buy handmade bespoke ones from sellers on Etsy. Not only can they look great, but it also means that you can easily change up what you’re displaying. So play around with small framed art pieces, as well as things like dried flower arrangements and branches.
Don't forget hallways, kitchen, and bathrooms - the most used rooms of the house should be joyful places too! If you are hanging pieces in the bathroom, remember to be aware of moisture and use materials that work with this.
Leave some negative space. Even in homes that are full, colourful and eclectic, art needs some room to breathe. So for example, if you have a whole wall filled with art, make sure that the other three walls are more minimally dressed.
Get the scale right. Ideally, your art should take up about two-thirds of the item underneath it. For example, art should take up about 2/3rd to 3/4 of the wall space above a sofa, and this could be in the form of one large piece of a grouping of smaller items. If you've got a ginormous piece on the wall and the piece of furniture underneath it, feels a bit small and pokey you can sort of extend the sofa visually by adding a side table and a table lamp on either side of the sofa. Similarly, art that's a bit small and lonely on the wall can feel a bit sad. It can make the room feel smaller.
Instead of putting small bits of art by themselves kind of evenly spaced along the wall, or by themselves on a wall, group them together so that visually they become one larger piece. You could also try stacking them in a triptych of three and mount them more towards the edges of the wall.
How do you experience your home? What do you see when you’re standing in the shower? What do you see when you’re putting washing in the machine? Where could you add a fun bit of joy to lift the space? How could you add surprises around your home?
Inspiration from Kettles Yard
Can you take inspiration from other spaces? I am a huge fan of Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge and I love the way that they display art and sculpture in their space, which has given me some inspiration for really creative ways to display my own art. I love the way that they have framed and displayed art and sculpture.
Art Hanging inspiration from Kettles yard
I love that they center the art on the wall to the table and they make space for the sculptures on the table on the wall. There's a sculpture on the table and the art is situated around it, so that when you stand and look at it, the sculpture has white space behind it.
Having a ginormous art piece just leaning on the wall. One of my favourites.
Art is grouped together with the furniture like little happy family groupings.
Great examples of having art that is hung to the sides of a large wall instead of in the middle of it while still being grouped with like a chair etc. (see images)
Eclectic yet pulled together. The consistency of mount and frame colour whilst crucially not identical, means that the art feels really unified and cohesive.
Unusual locations, like low down on the wall or along sloping ceilings.
How to attach art to your walls
Let's get down to the nitty gritty!
The first thing you are going to want to make sure of is that you are using the correct wall plugs and screws. All wall plugs will have a matched screw and drill bit to use with them.
If you’re not sure or not very DIY minded, YouTube and Google are your friends here! You can learn absolutely anything on YouTube, so look up tutorials when you need.
And if you don’t have any suitable materials, could you borrow these from a neighbour? Remember that if you’re really struggling, you could even hire somebody to come and hang your art. UK folk, check out Task Rabbit for handy people that can come and help you out.
Are you renting your home? Command hooks are a great renter-friendly option or a really good option for those who just don't want to put holes in the wall. For heavier pieces, use Velcro command strips as they’re a lot stronger than just command hooks by themselves.
Consider art lighting- having a wall-mounted light above an art piece to illuminate it.
You can also buy special art hanging kits from places like eBay. That's quite an accessible, easy way to hang some art on the wall.
Let’s talk gallery walls
So how do you hang a really good gallery wall? The first thing to say about a gallery wall is to center you in the whole process - gather a selection of objects that you absolutely love! The things you love are more important than something that looks trendy on a retailer's website.
Here are some more tips for you on how to put together a wonderful gallery wall:
Play with contrast. Mix vintage pieces and newer ones, mix textures and shapes. If all your frames are square, have a mix of framed and unframed pieces.
Always include something natural, like a hanging plant or a beautiful branch - this also helps with our first tip on contrast too.
Shop your home for items before you look externally. You very likely already have lots of stuff in your home you can use rather than buying everything new. In part 1 of this 2 episode series, I’ve got tons of ideas for affordable art ideas that you might just have sitting around in memory boxes or in your attic!
Keep in mind the palette of the room that you are hanging in. As a rule, sticking to one or two colours in your art helps it to feel cohesive. But if lots of colour makes you happy, go for it!
Gallery walls will ultimately come down to your unique style. I’ve given you a few tips here, but if in your heart of hearts, you are a minimalist and playing with contrast feels like too much, then actually, you might need to stick to fewer textures and fewer contrasts that might work better for you.
Experiment with spacing. You could hang your pieces so the overall edge is square or asymmetric, for example. Another way to play with this is with alternating symmetrical hangings. So having four items, two small and two large, and then alternating which one sits on top. Or how about floor-to-ceiling in a French salon style? There's so many different gallery wall styles, and I think there's probably something for everyone!
How to Plan a Gallery Wall
So you’ve decided how your art is going to hang, but how do you actually get the stuff on the wall and make it look good?
My preferred method is to begin by laying everything on the floor. I generally start with the hero piece, and then I build it out from there, leaving around four or five inches in between each one. This even gap is key!
Another method you can try is to trace around your art pieces onto some wrapping paper or craft paper. Cut these out, tape the shapes to the wall, and then move them around until you like the shape that you've created on the wall. I personally don't get too stressed by super exact placement. I think beginning with a hero piece, just getting it on the wall, measuring roughly four inches between that and the next piece will help it to feel cohesive and good. But I think it can be really easy to get super lost on the measurements when you're doing a gallery wall.
Try and have some fun and be free with it! How you hang your art will likely grow and change as your own personal style grows and changes, which is absolutely fine, and part of living in a home.
This wraps up part two. I have talked all about the different kinds of framing options that you have and how framing can massively impact the piece of art that you're hanging, the DIY options as well as the professional options.
I’ve shared a lot of tips in this blog post, and I hope it’s helped you start to think about how you can practically hang art in your home, and hopefully have a bit more fun with it.
I have one final action prompt for you: get your art framed, hung, and on the wall!
Whether you visit the framers or DIY it, I know you've all got prints waiting to be hung! Everyone I’ve ever worked with has a collection of prints ready to go on your walls! Focus on what you do have, get it framed beautifully and get it up on the wall.
Prefer to listen?
You can listen to this on the Fresh Nest Podcast- click the button below.
See more interesting framing ideas on my Pinterest boards, below!
