A room for looking: hanging and lighting notes

A painting does not need a perfect room. It needs a little space and a reason to be where it is. These are the notes we give most often.

Height

Hang the centre of the work at roughly 145–155 cm from the floor. In a dining room or hallway, where people are standing, go a little higher. Above a sofa, leave 15–25 cm between the frame and the back of the sofa.

Spacing

Give a single work room to breathe. On a narrow wall, one painting is usually stronger than three small ones. If you are hanging a group, keep 5–8 cm between frames and treat the whole group as one shape.

Light

Canvas prefers soft, indirect light. Avoid direct sun, which can fade pigment over years, and avoid a spotlight that lands as a hot circle on the surface. A wall that receives even daylight for part of the day is ideal.

Mixing sizes

A large landscape can hold a low, wide wall on its own. A portrait works well in a corner, beside a door or above a small desk. If you are mixing the two, align either the tops or the centres, not both.

Living with it

The best hang is the one you stop noticing. Start with the work you love most, give it the clearest wall, and build the rest of the room around it.