Displaying Art, Part 1: Introduction

Did you know there was an art to displaying art? In this blog we cover quick tips for displaying your beautiful masterpieces. This starts our series of blogs focused on how to properly display art. Our future blog series will include: lighting temperature, angles of lighting, picture hanging tips, using wall paint to enhance art, and much more. We hope you enjoy this first blog! Please contact us for any questions you may have about displaying art. 

 

Let’s face it, we’ve all been there, searching through galleries, exhibitions and online, to finally find the work of art that will complete our home or office aesthetic. Then it hits us, “how do I display this beautiful piece of art?” In this blog, we cover quick tips and tricks on how to display artwork correctly. This includes hanging techniques, lighting, and framing options.

 

Read below to learn about the best ways to present pieces of art.

 

●       When choosing where to place your new artwork in your home, be sure to avoid hanging it around windows and doors that let in natural light. Putting art pieces in direct sunlight exposes it to UV and infrared light. This causes it to fade over time and lose color. For this reason, it’s best to have pieces positioned away from any natural light that could damage them.

●       One of the most common mistakes people make when hanging artwork is placing it too high on the wall. Art should hang at eye level. This doesn’t mean the hook or top of the frame should be at eye level, but the center of the piece. A helpful tidbit is to try to aim for the middle of the artwork to hang at five feet seven inches. This mark serves as the average for human eye-height and is regarded as an industry-standard in galleries and museums. By using this technique, you create a sense of balance within your home since all of your artwork will be at a shared eye line.

●       The only exception to this approach is if your home has low ceilings. In this case, it’s best to hang your art about three-fourths of the way up from the floor.

●       Don’t forget about framing your piece while you’re figuring out where to hang it. The framing of the work is almost as essential as the artwork itself. It can bring style and charm to the room just as much as the art! It’s especially important to stick with a theme when it comes to framing multiple pieces in a space. This can be intricate vintage frames or simple monochromatic ones. Whatever frame type you choose to use, try to have all of the artwork framed with that same style.

●       When lighting your art piece, LEDs are the best option for illuminating the work properly. In terms of the bulb’s temperature, we suggest 4000K bulbs. Other temps can cause the art to look discolored. The 4000K bulbs are best because they allow for the whites in the artwork to stay white - which is the tried and true test for lighting artwork and ensuring the painting stays true to color when on display.

 

We hope these techniques have given you inspiration for displaying your art. Whether you’re hanging a piece in your living room, kitchen or even in the office, we want it to speak to you every time you or your guests pass by it.

 

Stay tuned, more in depth blogs on displaying art will be released soon! Topics include: lighting temperature, angles of lighting, picture hanging tips, using wall paint to enhance art, and much more.

 

If you need personalized help with displaying your art or are in need of a new piece to display, give us a call (228-215-1343)! We are happy to meet with you one-on-one.