Today we’re talking all about hanging artwork…hanging artwork on the wall above your sofa that is.
The blank wall behind your sofa is an ideal place to hang a piece (or pieces) of artwork. This can create a really lovely focal point in your living space and it’s a great way to tie together the design of your space and showcase your personality.
So, grab your level and your measuring tape, and let’s get started.
There are a few common mistakes people make when hanging art on the wall behind the sofa, and although these mistakes seem miniscule, they tend to make a substantial difference in how your room will look overall.
Incorrectly placed art can throw off the design of your whole space. But good news! There are easy ways to fix these mistakes, and a few rules you can follow to make hanging art pretty dang easy!
Below we’ll show you a picture of art being hung incorrectly next to a picture of how it should look. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. By comparing these images you’ll understand how the placement and size of art can be crucial to creating the perfect focal point in your living room.
Let’s master hanging a simple piece of art on the wall above the sofa before we get to more complex versions of this decor.
We often talk about how important scale is in design. That’s why you want to make sure the artwork you have in mind is the appropriate size for the area above the sofa. Ideally, you want a piece of art that is about ⅔ of the length of the sofa.
Next key rule to note is how high the artwork should hang over the sofa. The bottom of your artwork should hit about 4-6” above the couch.
Let’s take a look at these rules in action below.
Now that you have mastered hanging one piece of art, let’s tackle two or more pieces of art. This is one we often see people get wrong. The two rules we discussed still apply in this situation too.
You want to make sure that the combination of artwork is the right scale for your sofa. That means when you combine the lengths of the two (or more) pieces, they are around 2/3rds of your couch.
Next, similar to the case earlier, you want to hang these pieces about 4-6” above the sofa.
The new rule we’re going to introduce to you, in this case, is that there should be no more than 2-5” distance between the two pieces.
Let’s take a look at an example below.
You’ll notice in the incorrect version the art is placed so that it is flush with the ends of the sofa. This creates a poor balance on the wall and a large empty space between the two pieces.
In the best layout for this situation, the art is to centred over the sofa and a few inches apart from each other.
Now that we’ve covered the basics you may be wondering, what are some of the other ways you can hang art on the wall above your sofa.
While hanging 1 or 2 pieces of art is a classic and beautiful way to create a focal point, you may want to try something funkier, like the oh-so popular gallery wall! A gallery wall is exactly what it sounds like! A collection of art or photos (or both) in the form of a gallery.
This is an amazing way to showcase a bunch of different art, family photos, or even items you wouldn’t expect to see on a wall, like a basket (a personal favourite). The same rules that we just went over still apply to gallery walls.
You’ll want to make sure you are correctly spacing the objects on your wall and that you are creating balance with your items. We’ve put together a few examples to help you start envisioning your own gallery wall.
Notice in this first example that the gallery wall starts 4-6’’ above the sofa and covers about 2/3rds of the sofa’s length. We love this colour palette and the use of different art.
To create a funky layout, try using different-sized art, like seen here.
Pro tip: Something I like to do is try different layouts on my floor to see what looks best, this is an easy way to move things around and experiment!
We also wanted to showcase an example that features something different. In this case, a mirror! We love the way a mirror looks above a sofa, and you can always mix it with photos or art as well.
Mixing pieces together is an amazing way of creating something interesting to look at. What do you think?
Lastly, we’ve created a very beachy, bohemian style gallery wall to display how you can incorporate different types of items into your design.
We added a small basket to the corner of this selection. It adds a bit of texture, colour and shape to the overall gallery. Notice how the pictures are all spaced apart equally and although the gallery is not symmetrical there is still a sense of balance.
The wall above your couch can make for a great opportunity to create something beautiful, and the possibilities are endless. You could do a single, large piece of art which is a classic way to create a focal point, or you can mix together different items in the form of a gallery wall. Just keep in mind the few key rules we’ve explained above and you’ll be good to go!
