How to hang a painting properly: an artist’s advice
A good painting gets lost if it hangs too high, too far from the furniture, or on a sunlit wall. Below are rules with concrete numbers you can apply to your own wall right now, including the parts that concern Almaty flats specifically: seismic risk and concrete walls.
Height: centre at eye level
There is one main rule: the centre of the painting sits 145–155 cm above the floor. That is the average eye level of a standing person, and it is where museums start from.
The convenient arithmetic: 150 cm minus half the height of the painting gives you where the top edge should be. From that top edge, subtract the distance down to the hanging fixture on the back, and that is the point for the nail.
Two exceptions. Above furniture, the height is dictated by the furniture rather than the floor. And in a room where people mostly sit — a dining room, a study — the painting drops 10–15 cm, because a seated eye level is lower.
Distance from the furniture
Above a sofa, a console or a headboard, leave 15–25 cm between the top of the furniture and the bottom edge of the painting. Less than 15 and the painting slides onto the backrest; more than 30 and the connection with the furniture is lost, leaving the work hanging on its own.
The width of the painting, meanwhile, is 60–75% of the width of the furniture. A detailed treatment of sizes is in the guide to choosing a painting for an interior.
Light: the most common mistake
Direct sunlight destroys pigments irreversibly. In Almaty this matters more than in many other cities: it sits at around 800 metres, sunny days are plentiful and ultraviolet is stronger. South and south-west walls carry the most risk.
What helps: a net curtain or roller blind, moving the painting a metre away from the patch of light, LED lighting instead of halogen (halogen heats the canvas). Reflected daylight does no harm. There is more in the article on caring for paintings.
Three places a painting is better off avoiding altogether: directly above a radiator, on a wall with an air conditioner, and in a bathroom.
Viewing distance
The comfortable distance is roughly one and a half to two diagonals of the painting. A 60×80 work (a 100 cm diagonal) reads well from one and a half to two metres. The practical consequence: in a narrow corridor a large work cannot be read at all, so a small or horizontally elongated one belongs there instead.
A group of several works
A group hangs as a single rectangle: first outline the overall shape in your mind, then arrange the works inside it. The rules are simple:
- an identical gap between frames — 5–8 cm — that does not vary across the group;
- alignment either on a central horizontal or on the bottom edge;
- the centre of the whole group sits at the same 145–155 cm;
- if the works differ in size, the larger ones go closer to the middle.
A useful trick: lay the works out on the floor and move them around until you like the arrangement, and only then drill. The alternative is to cut paper to their outlines and tape it to the wall.
Fixings: what matters in our buildings
In Almaty's panel and monolithic buildings the walls are mostly concrete, so a hammer drill and a wall plug are needed — a nail will not go in. In a plasterboard partition an ordinary plug works loose over time: use one made for plasterboard, or fix into the metal profile.
A separate word on seismic risk: Almaty is an earthquake zone, and a painting on a single nail shifts or falls in a tremor. For heavy and large works two fixing points are more reliable than one — which also solves the problem of a painting that never stays straight. In a child's room and above a bed, two fixings are worth treating as mandatory.
Frequently asked questions
At what height should a painting hang? Centre at 145–155 cm from the floor. Above furniture, 15–25 cm from its top, regardless of the overall height.
What gap should there be above a sofa? 15–25 cm between the backrest and the bottom edge of the painting. The work should be 60–75% of the sofa's width.
Can a painting hang opposite a window? Opposite, yes — the light there is reflected. What must not happen is direct sun falling on the canvas: that burns out the colour permanently.
How do I hang a painting straight the first time? Mark the top edge in pencil, measure down to the fixture on the back and drill there. For works wider than 60 cm use two points, so the painting cannot tilt.
What do I do with a concrete wall? A hammer drill and a plug matched to the fixing. For a heavy work, two plugs — which matters for seismic reasons as well.
If you do not have the painting yet
Finished works that can be taken home at once are in the Available section. If you need a painting made exactly for your spot, see how a commission works, or write on WhatsApp — the details are on the Contacts page.