Anal or Analytical - You Decide

Each time we move, part of the process is re-hanging the artwork. Each house presents its own unique set of challenges. Perry is always in a hurry to “get the pictures hung”, which makes him feel like we have really moved in.  I prefer to live in the house for a bit so I can get the ‘feel’ of things. For the most part, it’s straight forward. Certain pieces go in certain rooms, certain pieces are arranged together.

With this new house, everything was completed with the exception of two large pieces. One piece is a large antique world map that was going to be hung over the buffet. The challenge here was not the placement, but the sheer weight of the picture. Our house has concrete walls so it’s not as simple as finding a stud and driving a nail. But special masonry wall hangers solved that problem.

The other issue was a 3x5 foot framed mirror that was going over the sofa, BUT, not alone. Therein lays the problem; to figure out how to incorporate this 3x5 mirror, with three 10 inch square framed prints and a 2 part shadow box.

For me, the challenge is arranging all the components in an orderly, esthetically pleasing, manner. The trick is mapping this out before putting holes in someone else’s house. My solution is to make scale templates and, using a soft lead pencil, lightly draw on the walls. The primary piece is the mirror and it is hung first, and it’s positioning is driven by the position of the sofa. Now the position of the mirror drives everything else. 



Using a measuring tape and 2 foot level, I plan it out. The center of the mirror is 51 inches from the ceiling. The center of all other pieces is mapped from that.


Generally, the supplementary pieces are centered in the remaining vacant space. The width of space on the left side is 41”, and the right, 66”. The overall height of the mirror is 31½ inches, the set of 3 prints is 30 inches and the shadow box is 23½ inches. Mathematically, the shadow box is 8 inches shorter than the mirror, meaning the box will be positioned 4 inches lower than the mirror.





Now I have to decide if the 3 print set will stay within the 31½ inches of the mirror height, with a half inch gap between them or extend 4 inches above and below the mirror height, keeping with the continuity of the shadow box. (A minus 4 inches on the right side offset by a plus 4 inches on the left side.)

This is where the templates really make the difference. So much easier to reposition a few pieces of cardboard. So I try out a multiple of configurations and finally settle on the one that pleases me most.

The finished product

So you tell me – anal or analytical?