There are many picture frame display ideas but trying them out is often put off because it’s so much easier to go the easy route, knock a nail in the wall, hang the frame and see if it looks good. If not, try again. That’s one way to ruin your plasterwork and décor.
The smarter route is to plan your display, and that’s the part where you can find yourself researching online, finding a bunch of mathematical equations for hanging distances and various layouts that cause you to lose faith and stick with the display you already have.
If you have two prints that go well together, putting them on display together makes sense and is easy to do. You can even hang two frames together diagonally if you want something a little away from the ordinary.
Consider the following four tips to get your dual prints hung equally and balanced to create a small dual frame display.
4 Things to Consider when Hanging Two Picture Frames Together
- Spacing between the photo frames
The spacing is what creates unity in any group of photo frames, even if it’s only two photos being hung together stacked or side-by-side. Generally, a 1.5-inch space and up to 2-inches for larger frames are enough. However, if you’re only hanging two photos on a large wall, it could still look a little empty once the display is complete. If that is the case, try increasing the spacing between the photo frames. A good idea for dual frames across an entire wall is to hang them at equal distance from either end of the wall, so they aren’t hung in the middle with very little space between them. Instead, the middle of the wall will remain a blank canvas with your frames hung to the left and right of the wall. - Hanging two picture frames diagonally
If you would rather get a little creative with your photo display, go ahead and break the traditional designers’ rules and hang your frames diagonally. The same spacing rules of 1.5-inches to 2-inches will still work well. The only additional measurement you need for a good diagonal space is to hang the top or lower frame at the middle point of the main frame. Take the size of the photo frame, divide that by two and add that to the height you hang your first frame at, and you’ll have one frame hung at eye-level, and the other displayed beside it slightly higher or lower. Just calculate the size of the frame, divide it by two and hang the second print at the 60-inches from floor height, plus the half size of the frame and you’ll have a balanced looking dual photo frame display hung diagonally. - Should you hang your frames vertically or horizontally?
Most photo frames hung on a wall are done side by side, but that doesn’t need to be the case. You can decide by just hanging them whatever way looks best to you.
If you’re up for trying something new, play around with illusions. Rooms with low ceilings can benefit from the illusion of height by stacking frames up a wall to create a sort of narrow stacked display of photographs, prints, or whatever your wall art is. For rooms with high ceilings, side-by-side displays tend to draw the eyes across the room, creating the illusion of width rather than height.
- Hanging at eye-level
This part can be confusing, and an error in the hanging height can make you feel like your display is off and that’s usually because it is due to differences in where eye-levels are. In a sitting room, eye-level is much different because most people will be sitting when they see the frames, whereas, in a hallway, it’s always going to be standing height for eye-level, usually around the 60-inch height mark from floor level. Hanging photo frames on a staircase is different again requiring photo frames to be hung at the same height from each stair, so the photos are at an equal level as you climb the stairs.
The trickiest part for hanging framed art is usually the sitting room, and that’s just because you look at the photos from a seated position. What you’ll generally find is a good height is just slightly above sofa-level.
Unless it’s a feature print hung over a mantel, smaller frames hung slightly above furniture by around 6-inches to 8-inches tend to produce good viewing experiences in sitting rooms. It should be noted that safety is something to consider when you are hanging your frames slightly above a sofa as you don’t want them too close to where someone is sitting, which could result in the frames being accidentally knocked.