Top tips to bring your own walls to life!

1. What’s the secret to a successful salon hang?

I think it’s always important to hang pictures that you love
Try to allow lots of empty wall space around the cluster to ‘Frame’ the collection on the wall
Hang a variety of shapes and sizes
Experiment by laying pictures on the floor first and take photos of the arrangements you like before committing to hanging pictures
Be creative and have fun when creating a hanging system!

2. How do I combine artworks that don’t seem to match one another?

Visually there is a lot going on in a salon hang. Various shapes, styles and frame types will create the required dynamic effect on the wall.
I find that colour really dictates the selection, not all pieces are going to work together, colour can be the most distracting component with this style of hanging.
Eliminate a piece that doesn’t work because of its colour or, if it is something you really want to hang, re-work others around it.

3. Where do I start placing the hang in relation to other items in the room?

A Salon hang is a bold statement in a room and will look its best when given sufficient space to ‘Breath’.
Choose a prominent wall and ensure that there is enough empty space left around the grouping.
Pick out colours of soft furnishings close by and use them in the hang.
Remember that the empty space around the frame is as important as what is in the frame!

4. “Less is more” or “more is more?” how do I edit?

The salon hang originates from the academies of 19 century Paris where there was literally not enough space to hang all the paintings at eye level.
Artworks were crammed haphazardly from floor to ceiling, creating an impressive ‘Wall of Art.
The modern salon hang has evolved into something more refined. Whilst appearing to be a collection of randomly placed artworks, the salon hang is actually a carefully considered and arranged grouping.
Whilst the Salon Style is a picture hanging system to hang En Masse, it is possible to overdo it. There really is no hard and fast rule here, the size of the wall will dictate the choices.

5. All of my pieces have different methods of securing, how do I best tackle this?

This can be tricky, its best to stick with one picture hanging system for all pictures.
A string or wire on the back of a frame is the easiest method, position it high to ensure the picture hangs as flat as possible against the wall.
For larger pictures over 30cm wide, I use two fixings in the wall and smaller ones are fine with only one, blu -tack on the bottom corners is a great way to ensure they stay level.

6. Your must do “Top 3 tips”

1. The centre of the grouping should be around 140-150 cm from the ground
2. Use consistent gaps between pictures for continuity, between 2 cm and 5 cm is best
3. The ‘one-third rule’. Divide frames into thirds and use this as a method of initially placing the large works, begin filling in spaces with smaller pieces, finishing with the smallest ones last