A print that looks good on screen can get lost on the wall. Usually the spot is to blame: too small above a sofa, landscape on a narrow strip, dark in a dark corner. A few fixed rules help.
Landscape above something wide
Above a sofa, a bed or a sideboard you want a print that covers about two thirds of the width of that piece of furniture. A landscape piece fills that space by itself. Horus in flight was made for it: the wings run horizontally across the whole image. The Hydra with seven heads also needs that width.
Portrait on a narrow strip
Next to a door, between two windows or in a hallway, the space is tall and narrow. Choose a portrait piece there. The Bull is portrait format, with the horns reaching the edge. Phoenix in the sun ring has a tail that fans out downwards and suits a tall wall. Persephone and Athena are portrait too.
How high?
The usual rule: the centre of the print at eye level, around 1.50 metres from the floor. Above a sofa you hang it lower, 20 to 30 cm above the backrest. Any higher and the print floats away from the furniture.
There are exceptions. The Sphinx from below is seen from beneath, so the figure seems to rise above you. Hang it high and the effect works.
Light and dark
A dark piece on a dark wall disappears. The Buffalo is one that asks for a light wall. Hades hangs best where the light comes from the side; then you see the cracks in the stone.
For a light room there are the softer pieces: the Dove of wood and mother of pearl, the Deer with blossom antlers, the Red panda.
More than one
If you hang a series, choose pieces from one collection. In the black and white series the Lion, the Tiger and the Gorilla all look straight at you, in the same greys. Side by side they read as one group.
Keep 5 to 8 cm between the frames. Line up the top edges, or the centres if the sizes differ. A pencil line and a spirit level are enough; measure twice before you drill.
