For various reasons, most of us are timid when it comes to arranging art on our walls.  We love to use photos for decorating, whether they are our own or purchased art, but we tend to procrastinate before getting out that hammer and hangers.  It is a fear definitely born out of uncertainty.  What if we don’t like where we put them?  What if we make a mistake and make all those holes for nothing?  How can we be sure they won’t be too high or too low? What if they just plain don’t look right? Here are some simple guidelines to making the home decor photos that you want to display end up arranged just the way you want them.

1.    Before beginning, try to visualize the end design.  Some people cut out paper shapes that match their art pieces and do a mock arrangement on the wall to test it out.

2.    Art should be hung at “eye” level.  Obviously everyone’s eyes are not at the same level so an average rule of thumb is between 54 and 57 inches from the floor.  Art is generally hung a little lower in dining rooms where most of the time is spent seated.

3.    Arrange similarly framed pieces together for a formal presentation, and mismatched frames for a more casual look, but all the frames in an arrangement should complement each other in some way.

4.    If you are hanging a single picture over a piece of furniture, the art should not be wider than the piece.  Half the width of the furniture is ideal.

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5.    Smaller home decoration photos look best arranged together rather than grouping with larger pieces.

6.    Pictures should be hung no closer than three inches together and no farther apart than eight inches.

7.    When arranging art over a table, remember to hang it so that the bottom pictures are not blocked by items that will be sitting on the table.

8.    The “heavier” pieces of art should be placed in the bottom of the arrangement.  Heavy can refer to the size, framing materials or even the color of the photograph.

9.    Art arrangements do not need to be symmetrical.  Here’s where using the paper shapes you’ve cut out can help you choose the best layout for the wall you are decorating.

10.    Finally, remember this is your art.  You are the one who is going to be looking at it the most.  Arrange it in a way that you like and that will make you smile every time you’re in the room.

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Whenever we are outside, it’s easy to acknowledge the beauty of nature.  We can see it, feel it, hear it and touch it.  But once we move indoors we easily forget about it.  A good way to bring some of that beauty inside where we need it most is to buy nature photography to hang on the walls of our homes and offices.

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Not only will this allow us more time to appreciate the wonders of the natural world, but it can also help us to decorate our rooms to bring out their best features.  By arranging just the right piece or pieces of art in just the right way, we can alter the perception of a room’s size and shape to create the effect we want.

For example, if you have a small, square room and you want to create the illusion of more length, you can do it with pictures.  One way to do this is to arrange several pictures in a horizontal line on one wall of the room.  This will help to make the room feel longer, but that isn’t the only thing that’s important; the subject of the pictures has an effect on this as well.  That is where natural photography plays its role.  There are so many natural subjects that contain strong horizontal lines that can help to accentuate the feeling of extended length.  Some examples of natural art with strong horizontal lines might be  a sunset or sunrise, an ocean or beach front, a mountain range, or even a field or meadow.

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Likewise, prints with strong vertical lines will give the appearance of higher ceilings in a room where the ceilings are low.  Again, natural art prints work very well with subjects such as trees, lighthouses, or even something as simple and dramatic as a single tall flower.

On the flip side, if you have a room that is long and narrow and you want it to appear more square, you can do this quite effectively with art as well.  In fact, large natural prints can pull this illusion off in a very dramatic manner.  Simply hang a large framed print on one of the end walls of the narrow room.  This will instantly appear to bring that wall in closer to create a cozier feel within the room.  A large field of flowers or any type of landscape works especially well for this.

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So the next time you going to be doing some redecorating, be sure to buy natural art photography for those rooms that need some improvement!  By using these types of photos for decorating, not only are you bringing a bit of the outdoors in, but you are also giving yourself the opportunity to enjoy nature a little more while we making your living spaces feel more inviting.

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When you first move into a new space, or when you redecorate a space you already live in, choosing the right artwork for the walls is one of the best parts of it all.  One of the things many homeowners enjoy is decorating with realistic, eye catching and inspirational works of art photography.  With their warm, natural colors and striking composition, these works of art make exceptional photos for decorating.

Too often, however, our artwork sits waiting to be hung because we are intimidated by the process.  There are ways to guarantee picture hanging success.  Here are just five of the most valuable.

1.     Sometime ahead of picture hanging day, assemble all the artwork you want to hang.  Decide which style of hangers you will be using for each one and make a list of supplies.  Visit your local framing, hardware, or craft store and purchase everything you need.  There are a few things to keep in mind when deciding which type of hangers to use.  Heavy and large pieces of art and objects like mirrors should be hung with mirror hooks.  Smaller photos for decorating can be hung with wire and eye hooks on the back.  Picture hangers are packaged according to the weight they will support, so be sure to buy the right size.

2.    Your next step is to think through your arrangements and placements of all the pictures you are hanging.  Be certain of how and where you want them before you begin.  This would be the time to arrange paper templates of your artwork and get everything just right.

3.    The next step is the tricky one, and one that many people debate over.  Do you measure out where your artwork goes, or do you just put it where you like it.  The choice is really up to the individual.  If you have used paper templates then you only need to mark where the template is to know the location for your hanger.

4.    Now that you have the picture hook in the right place, hang your art and see how it looks.  Straighten and level all pictures, either by sight or using a small level.  If a picture is a little too high or low, you can fix it by adjusting the wire on the back a bit.

5.    The final little touch that many people overlook is adding the small rubber or plastic bumpers to the corners of your pictures to keep them in place.  We all know how annoying it can be to have a picture that we have to constantly be straightening.  These little bumpers make that a problem of the past!

Now there is nothing left to do but stand back and admire your picture hanging talent, except maybe to get online and start searching for your next awesome piece of nature photography!

© Byron Jorjorian

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