As an integral part of the decoration of a room, frames reflect the personality of their owner. Family photos and works of famous artists are ideal decorations for your walls. However, you must know how to arrange them properly to obtain a magnificent result. It can be a real headache if you are not knowledgeable in decoration. To help you, here are some tips on arranging your frames to create a harmonious jumble.

Precautions To Take Before Arranging the Frames

Even if you want all the walls in your rooms to have frames, it’s not always possible. Indeed, most of the materials that compose them (wood, canvas, paper) react to temperature variations, which causes their deterioration. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid placing the frames in humid rooms or near a heat source (such as a heater).

It is preferable to use incandescent or energy-saving lamps to light the rooms where the frames will be placed. Another precaution is to keep the works away from light sources that emit direct UV rays and fade their colors. Pigments do not tolerate direct sunlight and halogen or neon lights. Therefore, south-facing or sunny locations are to be avoided altogether.

Grouping the Pictures Together

To get a nice and trendy decoration, it’s better to group the pictures that can go together. Here’s a tip: combine frames by theme:

Subject: landscapes, characters, portraits, family photos, wildlife, flora, works of an artist, pencil drawings, felt pen, etc.

Color: choose colors that match those of the room in which they are placed.

Material: gather frames made of the same material: wood, metal, bamboo, plastic… or those with the same type of paint: watercolor, acrylic, oil, etc.

In addition, choose frames of various sizes to accentuate the effect of wall decoration.

Respect the Ideal Height

Place the works or photos that you find attractive in high-traffic areas. Frames are displayed to be looked at. So, place them in a way that they are easily visible. The ideal placement height is 1.60 m from the ground. This will allow your visitors to see what the paintings contain.

Tip: To ensure perfect alignment of the frames, draw a straight line parallel to the floor with a pencil or tape. This will act as a hanging axis. Also, use a spirit level to make sure the line is horizontal.

Make Sure the Frames Are Spaced Correctly

The distance required between two frames varies depending on the surface of the wall and the size and shape of the paintings. If you plan to place more than ten small frames, you should keep a distance of 10 cm between them. This arrangement is suitable for both small and large areas. On the other hand, if you only have two or three large paintings to place on a small surface, leave a considerable gap between them. This will make them stand out.

Do a floor test first if you can’t decide on the spacing. This will help you choose the best combination and determine for good how much space to leave between the frames.

 

Opt For a Proper Placement Technique

There are several ways to place pictures. Choose one that might suit the room and, of course, your taste.

Horizontal line layout: suitable for a room that lacks depth. The frames can be aligned, centered horizontally. For a modern style, opt for an alignment of the upper or lower edges of the paintings.

Vertical line arrangement: best suited for a narrow wall or a visually low room. You can choose to align the centers of the frames or their edges

Symmetrical arrangement: ideal when you want to decorate the top of a low cabinet. Frames of different shapes and styles are placed horizontally or vertically to create a graphic look.

Shaped layout: frames of the same shape: square, diamond, rectangle, heart are grouped to achieve uniformity.