Enquiring Minds Want to Know

Earlier this week, some girlfriends and I were chatting about the changes I’m planning to make to my new office. We started talking about which pieces of artwork I’m planning to hang where and the convo evolved into this:

Tracey*:  Are there any rules of thumb for hanging art/wall decor? My husband insists it should be at eye level (his eye level). I think that can’t be right.

Kris*:  I’m with you, everyone says “eye level” but it looks so wrong to me in most rooms…

Tracey:  It ends up being all lined up.

Dixie:  The center of the artwork (or grouping of art) should be at an average-height person’s eye level. Somewhere around 5′-5’6″ (depends a bit, too, on the ceiling height).

Kris:  I think the center part is what most people (men), miss. Also a problem with mirrors.

Dixie:  Yeah, my husband used to think it should be at his eye-level. He’s 6’4″.

Kris:  I just read that art should be about 60% of the wall width — true?

Dixie:  Depends on the rest of the room and what other artwork and furniture you have.

Kris:  It actually said that it should be that way on every wall.

Tracey:  I really don’t know how that works.

Dixie:  60% of EVERY wall? That makes me feel claustrophobic just thinking about it! Don’t do it!! Seriously, though, your eyes need a bit of a break. It’s even okay for some walls not to have any art.

Tracey:  Is it true that the # of pieces on the wall matches the # of furniture pieces? I heard this years ago and have been repressed since.

Dixie:  Huh?? Uh, no. If it happens to work out that way, great. Fine. If not, it won’t matter. I promise!

Dixie:  Oh, and while we’re on the # thing, I once had a client who had been told that she should never have more than one mirror in the room. Not true.

Tracey:  I’ve been living in a fool’s paradise.

It continued from there, getting really goofy at the end. Afterwards, though, I got to thinking about you guys. Do you ever have design questions that you’d like to have answered but you’re afraid that they’re kind of silly? What if there was an easy way for you to ask those questions without having to put yourself out there? A sort of undercover question-asking opportunity? Well, here it is! Just type your question in the box at the end of this post and click the “Enquiring minds want to know!” button. That’s it! It’s completely anonymous. Once a month, I’ll choose a handful of the questions submitted and answer them here.

*Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the innocent.