Hanging pictures

 Whether you have just moved into a new place, or have rearranged your living spaces, or simply want to refresh the look of your place, pictures play a vital role in giving life and interest to a room. You probably already have some pictures or framed photos that you want to display, so let's start with these.

The first thing is to decide which room - think about the colour of the walls, curtains and furniture and the style of furniture and use of the room. You don't have to be too rigid - I once saw an original Andy Warhol Campbells Soup Can silkscreen in a kitchen! On the other hand, graduation certificates look great in a study, but don't work so well in a living room,  where you would want something with more visual interest. Also think of grouping pictures - bold colours on one wall can be balanced by monochrome or black-and-white on the other walls. Also look at combining big and smaller pieces.

Two large pictures balance a set of four smaller ones

I like to lay out the pictures on the floor of each room before I start hammering in hooks - ideally the furniture is already in the room, so one can get a good idea of scale and colour balance, as well as the spaces between. Here, let the pieces determine the spacing - there is no fixed rule as this varies so much depending on the proportions, the image size and the frame type and colour. 

We kept these quite closely spaced, so that they would read as a group on a big wall

Once you have finalised the layout, it is time to start measuring. This is essential to get a great result, so it is worth the time and effort. A soft pencil, a spirit level (you may have an app on your cell phone), a long straight piece of wood or metal and a measuring tape are the basic tools you will need. We also made a plumb-bob from a small screwdriver tied to a length of string to line up our verticals. 

Start by deciding on the position on each wall - should the pictures be arranged around the centre-line of the wall, or should they line up with a key piece of furniture? Whatever you decide, the more accurate your measurements, the better the effect. In general, it is easiest to measure along the bottom of the wall: once you have found the centre-point of the wall or furniture piece, you can transfer this mark to the correct height using the plumb-bob. Ideally, pictures should be at eye-level, but you may need to adjust this (especially higher) to leave a comfortable distance above furniture. If you have a friend or relative close by, ask them to hold the picture up at your estimated height and step back in the room to see how it looks. Once you have decided on the height, make a small mark on the wall on the underside of the frame. You will now need to measure from the bottom of the picture to the picture hook or wire (stretched tight to get an accurate measurement) and transfer this to the wall, using the measuring tape and plumb-bob.

If you have a group of pictures on one wall, decide how you want to line them up - along their tops, bottoms or their vertical centre-line. Measure each one to the height of the hook or wire as these may vary slightly, even with identical frames.

This group of five photos are centred on the TV and aligned along the bottom of the frames, requiring quite careful measurement to get the heights and spacing consistent.

Now for the moment of truth: time to hammer in the hooks! A Hilti hand fix tool is my weapon of choice, but this will depend on the wall construction - in my most recent project we found that the Hilti nails just buckled because the plaster was so hard. We ended up drilling for wall plugs and screws on one of the walls, as not even masonry nails would work. The Hilti generally is ideal, as the tool prevents the nail from bending and protects your hand from the hammer. I avoid brass picture hooks, as these are only suitable for very lightweight pictures. For drywall construction or lath-and-plaster, you will need special fixing plugs - speak to the staff at your hardware store. Also check your fixing method with the type of hook installed on the frame before you start hammering or drilling.

This was the wall where we needed to use screws, which we left protruding 5mm from the wall to catch the hooks mounted to the frame

Finally it is time to hang the pictures: here the spirit level or plumb-bob can be used to get each one straight. Check the final effect - do you need another piece of furniture or a pot plant in the corner to complete the composition? Does it need an additional picture? Live with your layout for a few days before making your final adjustments, especially before going out to buy any additional items.