Question 1

How high should I hang art and mirrors?

Accepted Answer

Hang art so its center sits about 57 to 60 inches from the floor — that's roughly average eye level, and it's the standard museums and galleries use. The most common mistake at home is hanging too high. Over a sofa or console, drop the rule and instead leave 6 to 8 inches of breathing room between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame, so the piece reads as connected to the furniture below it. For a gallery wall, treat the whole arrangement as one big rectangle and center that rectangle at 57 inches. A tall leaning floor mirror is the exception — it sits on the floor, but for safety it must be anchored to the wall, because oversized mirrors are a real tip-over hazard. Our hanging-height guide walks through every situation room by room.

Question 2

What size art or mirror should I buy for a wall?

Accepted Answer

As a rule, a focal piece should fill about 60 to 75 percent of the available wall width, and a piece (or arrangement) hung over furniture should be roughly two-thirds the width of the furniture below it. So a 72-inch sofa wants art or a cluster around 48 inches wide; a big empty wall wants a single oversized piece — or a large arched mirror — rather than a scatter of small frames that looks lost. If your piece is too small for the wall, you have three good options: mat and frame it larger, build a gallery wall around it, or lean it on a picture ledge with other pieces. Our art-sizing guide has the exact formula and a quick table by furniture width.

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