How high to hang wall art: the 150 cm rule

Hang art so its center sits 145–155 cm from the floor. That's the convention nearly every gallery and museum uses, because it puts the middle of the piece at average eye level. If you remember one number, make it 150.

Hanging too high is the most common mistake in home decor — probably because people center art on the wall rather than on the viewer. On a 250 cm wall, "centered" puts the artwork's middle at 125 cm from the ceiling, which is well above eye level and makes the piece feel like it's drifting away from the furniture below it.

How to measure it (without doing algebra on the ladder)

1. Measure your artwork's height and halve it.
2. Add that number to 150 cm — that's where the top of the frame goes... almost.
3. Subtract the distance between the frame's top edge and its hanging hardware (wire or bracket). That's your nail height.

Worked example: an 80 cm tall frame with hardware 5 cm below the top edge → 150 + 40 − 5 = nail at 185 cm.

The exceptions

• Above furniture, the furniture wins. Leave 15–25 cm between a sofa or sideboard and the frame's bottom edge, even if that lands the center slightly above 155 cm. Art should relate to what's under it. (More on this in our sofa sizing guide.)
• Dining rooms and desks can go lower. You view this art while seated, so a center of 135–145 cm often looks better.
• Gallery walls follow the rule as a group: treat the whole arrangement as one piece and put its center at ~150 cm.
• Very tall ceilings don't change eye level. Resist the urge to float art higher just because there's wall above it.

Renters: you have options

Modern picture-hanging strips hold framed prints up to several kilograms without drilling — a 50×70 cm framed poster is well within range. For heavier gallery-wrapped canvas, a single small nail hole is usually easier to patch than people fear.

Get the size right first

Perfect height can't rescue an undersized piece. If you're starting from scratch, upload a photo of your room — Placed generates art matched to your space's colors and style, and shows it on your actual wall at true scale, at the right height, before you order a print.