
      Hints on Professional Picture Hanging


- Experiment by grouping pictures on the floor before hanging them.
If possible, test various arrangements on the floor in front of the
wall you intend to use.

- Pictures should be roughly at eye level on the wall. In a collection,
the mid- oint should be at eye level.

- Symetrical arrangements - centering art over a mantel or sofa, for
example, or grouping individual pieces in columns tend to create a
formal feeling, whiie asymmetrical displays appear more casual and
natural.

- Professional framers will equip pictures with a hanging device that
can support the frame's weight. If you're framing a picture yourself
or are unsure about a piece you already own (Is it too heavy for the
usual picture-wire-stretched-between- two-screw-eyes!), ask for
advice on the proper hanging apparatus at a local framing shop or
hardware store.

- Picture hooks, rather than nails, are best for hanging pictures,
since they distribrute wiehgt evenly and are less likely tp pull
out of the wall. To determine where to nail in the hooks: First,
establish the vertical line on which the frame will be centered.
Hold the picture on the wall where it will hang and make a tickmark
on the wall at the center of the top of the frame. Then take the
picture down; snag the metal foot of your tape measure under the wire
hanger at the pictures back and pull it taut. Scroll out enough of the
tape to measure the distance from the wire to the top of the ftame.
Below the mark you've made on the wall indicating top of frame,
make another mark for the picture hook. The space between the
marks corresponds to the span you've measured between wire and top of
frame. Nail picture hook in place so that it'(not the nail that holds it)
is at the designated spot.

- Similarities in color or theme-even mats and frames-can pull a group of
pictures together, making for a display whose whole has more impact than
its individual parts.

- When arranging pictures or objects to be hung, keep in mind that the
pattern of the exposed wall also works as a "frame." Positioning smaller
or less important pieces around a larger piece helps focus the installation.

- Groups of pictures should be balanced compositions; use frames and mats
to even the weight of small and large images in the group, and use
vertical or horizontal axes, as organizational starting points.
Don't be strictly bound by absolute symmetry, however. Photographs, for
example, so innately realistic, benefit from an asymmetrical, less rigid
arrangement.

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