Picture Hanging Question
I’m familiar with the general rules of picture hanging but I need objective opinions on this. I have a wall space where I intended on centering a large print, but the furniture would not be centered below it. Is that acceptable to the eye or does anyone have an alternate solution? I can’t move the furniture. I’d like to use the print, if possible. Thanks.
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It's really personal preference and what your eye will tolerate, IMO! If it were me, I would center the art with the furniture, but I'm assuming that's not an option since you're saying it wouldn't be centered with that piece underneath. What is the blue thing on the side? Is it a sofa? Is there any room to move it over slightly? If your artwork will be centered to the wall (rather than the furniture), you can try putting something tall, like a plant, to the right of the drawers to make the art feel more centered. It's a balancing game!
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Thanks for your response. The blue you see is the left side of a loveseat and there is no way to move either piece or fit anything between them without creating other new issues. It’s really an odd wallspace. The only solution I came up with was to put a large print centered above the lockers and perhaps a smaller print to the right of it, but that’s not really what I want. Here’s a shot of the sofa and lockers together.
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Ah I see now! You should tape out where the piece of art will go on the wall to see how it feels. You can always move things around and adjust as needed! Maybe instead of a smaller piece of art to the right, you go with a narrow wall hanging. Is there something like this that you could find in your style? I think it would fit that little area nicely 😊
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I think a large print centered on the wall would be fine, even if it does not align with the furniture. It look odd if there was just the filing cabinet and that would off-center, but with several items it's a different matter. :)
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Personally I'd never hang anything but original(ish) art (even if I do it myself); that said, I don't believe in rigid symmetry as asymmetry is less formal and more adaptable. Note my pictures and furniture are .…? Like it or not, say what you please, it'll make no difference to me.
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I’m a huge fan of art, so I think it should be the focal point of this corner. I suggest replacing the lamp atop the lockers with a taller one, then centering your art between the lamp to the left—the top of which should hit about 1/4 of the way down from the top of the art—and the window trim to the right. Just eyeball the heighth, keeping the art low enough to be part of the composition. The elephant is fine (not too big, not too small), but face it the opposite direction so it faces toward the sofa and its trunk points up toward the art. If you get a new or new-to-you lamp, consider how it will look next to your art when you choose it. The idea is that the taller lamp will help fill that corner so that your art is balanced between the lamp and the trim. Have fun!
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I'm a retired journalist, copy editor and page designer, so my job was to make sure front pages were balanced and pleasing to the eye. (This is way before the internet.) I'm no fashionista, and I am not so snooty to reject others' art, but I certainly do have an opinion about symmentry and balance: Don't be afraid to like what you like! Balance is a personal thing; what I like might be off kiltered to you. This space is YOURS, so you can't mess it up! I suggest you should balance the artwork with the furniture as a unit. However, you might not agree, and that's ok. 🤭 See what works to YOUR eye. Center it on the wall first, then arrange the tabletop items until it looks good to you. Or leave it as it is in the photo, step back, really look, and then you will most likely see just where that art should go. I've attached a random photo I just found on the internet. This layout - to me - works, though it's not "even" or "centered." I like it because it uses the same kind of mentality I have of finding commonality among differences. Notice the two top pieces are even at the top, the two bottom left line up with each other and the lamp tucks nicely under a small photo. (Though, I personally would exchange the lamp and the flower arrangement locations.) My point is you have to experiment before you find what you like best. If it was me (and it's not!), I'd put your artwork to the right a bit and make that cluster of things a single unit that is THEN centered in the space allowed. I'm long winded (still) - sorry.
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I think you should look at the whole wall as a composition, including lamp, cabinet, window, loveseat, and second lamp. See how the print will fit in on the whole wall, then adjust spacing or switch items accordingly. (Make a paper template the size of the print and tape it up in different locations to get the effect.)
It's not just about the print and the cabinet. If you can center the print between the lamp and the window trim, that might make it look centered and coherent even if it does pass the edge of the cabinet. Or maybe you can add a small piece to fill in the empty space over the loveseat's arm, and that will make the whole composition work.
In general, I think centering art over furniture makes sense and feels stable (like in the photo above, all the art is centered over the cabinet, which is why it looks good; you read it all as one big composition). But in this case, because the loveseat is so close to the cabinet, the print might bridge the gap between the two and look supported by both.
As everyone else has said, it's your call. Do what makes you happy! I like your lamp, cabinet and elephant very much, btw.
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I really appreciate all the great advice! I’m leaning toward centering the picture on the wall and replacing the current lamp with something that hangs over the edge of the lockers to balance out the space. That will be good for the couch too. Since the room has a vintage industrial/steampunk vibe, the lamp will look something like the attached image. The hanging print will be a sepia-toned image I created but with a modern frame.
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Awesome! Feel free to keep us posted as you make the updates. I'd love to see the after!
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Because you have the window right there, I'd suggest hanging in the center of the wall. Alternately I would have said hanging it to the right of the lamp, so the lamp would fill in the vertical area next to it, but hanging to the right would make it too close to the window.
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Center the art over the locker piece. Find something long and skinny to hang just to the right of it - be creative, maybe look for something you don't normally see hanging on a wall, something that fits your steampunk aesthetic. As you can see, everyone has a different opinion, and two things are sticking with me from the other replies: 1. Daniela suggests taping off the space where the art will go with painter's tape - great idea! And this leads right into 2. Angie's suggestion to stand back and see what is pleasing to the eye. You will end up with a really nice corner here, good luck to you!
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This is all great advice. I’m going to put a template up in different positions and see what everybody thinks. Having a blast talking about this challenge. Thank you for making this fun.
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Wooo! That's what we're here for 🤩
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