Some common questions: I just bought a canvas transfer at your gallery, how high do I hang it? I need something to fit between my glass doors... What size picture goes over a queen bed?
Over the last ten years of selling art, we've had an amazing number of customers ask these questions. You'd think we would use a lot of over-simplified answers, but we really like to learn more about the customer's particular situation before we spout out a bunch of ratios and short rules for hanging their beautiful new purchase. Sorry, but my answers always start with "well it depends, tell me about the room".
I was just pouring through some online decorating web sites with their picture hanging advice. Truth is, some are really quite good when they show examples with lots of pictures, but eventually you need to know what to do in your personal case. That's why at our new online gallery, the Naked Wall Art Gallery, we do plan to add a decorating tips section, but we invite you to email us a digital picture of your room or wall area you're working on and we will give personalized advice.
Say you have a love seat against a wall - what size picture should you hang? Well, using the 2/3 rule, (you should know that I only learn the rules so I know what to break) you would measure the love seat - usually about 60 inches, and calculate 60x.66=39 inches. So, hang a picture that is no more than 39 inches wide. Do the same for the available space above the love seat - Now we're shopping for artwork with all these rules attached. These are just guidelines, along with anything is better than a naked wall, and too big is usually much better than way too small. read on for our mini-case study:
One day while hanging art at the Met - North Conway's best coffeehouse, Sal needs something to hang over the famed purple couch. The original purple couch at the Met was a love seat really, and was about 55" wide and the wall behind it was only a few inches wider. Sal hangs this gigantic 52" wide canvas transfer called "landscape of the Muse" by McCormick. (link to what is a canvas transfer) My favorite piece of art in the whole art gallery and he's going to hang it so it looks stupid! I usually win these arguments, but we were in a rush and that was the only piece left to hang without going back to the Framed Art Superstore (that's our main gallery for you newbies) but there was no time. I caved on this one (knowing I'd change it around the next day). Sal was right (he's always right, but that doesn't mean I should win some arguments anyway). The McCormick canvas was perfect! That purple couch never looked so good!
The reason it works there? As you can see in the photo, the Met Coffeehouse has 16' ceilings for one thing, so a grand canvas fits the feeling of the room. Yes, feelings. Don't panic, we aren't recommending group therapy - yet. The point is, how artwork feels in a room is more important than the math. If a picture is bright, is there a sense of balance with brightness on the other side of the room? If you love the look of today’s new abstract art, then you should be looking at transitioning into what you love, not what fits the rules - of color, of math or matching the sofa you want to get rid of anyway. The only rule we never break is this - when buying art, only buy what you like!As in life, if you're going to take a new direction, you have to start with something.
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