How to hang an art print

Most domestic prints are hung too high. The gallery convention is to centre the artwork at roughly the average adult eye-line — 145–155 cm from the floor— which puts the visual midpoint exactly where a viewer’s eyes naturally settle. Above a sofa, bed, or sideboard, drop that centre to sit 15–20 cm above the furniture so the print reads as anchored to the piece below it, not floating in space.

The other rule that does most of the work is mark before you drill. Cut paper to the frame dimensions, tape it to the wall, and live with it for an hour before committing. Five minutes of repositioning beats five minutes of filling drill holes.

1. Step 1

   Find the right height

   Centre the artwork at 145–155 cm from the floor — the gallery standard, set at average eye-level. Most people hang prints too high; if you can comfortably look at the centre of the image without tilting your head, you've got it right. For art above a sofa or sideboard, drop the centre to 15–20 cm above the furniture so the piece reads as connected to the room, not floating.

2. Step 2

   Mark the position with a paper template

   Cut a piece of paper or card to the exact dimensions of your frame. Tape it to the wall with low-tack masking tape and step back. Adjust until it looks right in the room — relative to furniture, doorways, and adjacent walls. Once you're happy, mark the four corners on the wall with a pencil. This sounds slow but it's the single biggest predictor of whether the finished result looks gallery-quality or DIY.

3. Step 3

   Choose the right hardware for your wall

   Plasterboard or drylined wall: use a self-drive plasterboard anchor (Fischer DuoPower or similar) rated for the frame's weight. Solid brick, masonry, or concrete: drill with a 6 mm masonry bit, fit a plastic wall plug, and use a screw long enough to bite at least 30 mm into the brick. Lath-and-plaster (period property): use longer screws and find a stud where possible. Most framed prints under 80 cm need two fixings spaced apart for stability; smaller works can use a single central hook.

4. Step 4

   Drill, level, and fix

   Use a spirit level (or your phone's level app) to mark a horizontal line between the two fixing points. Drill on the marks, fit the anchors, screw in until the screw head sits a few millimetres proud of the wall. The frame's D-rings or wire hang on these screws. Always drill with the level first — eyeballing it is the most common mistake, and a 2 mm slope reads as crooked from across the room.

5. Step 5

   Hang, level, adjust

   Hang the frame. Step back and look at it from the centre of the room, not up close. Use the spirit level on top of the frame to check it sits true. If your frame uses a single hanging wire, slide the wire along the hook until the frame hangs level — most adjustments don't need re-drilling, just re-balancing on the hook. Walk past it a few times over the next day; small visual corrections become obvious once you stop scrutinising.