The Trick for Hanging Pictures Right

Do you know how to hang a picture the right way?

Where was this trick when I was moving into my new apartment?  I am one of those people who holds the picture up to the wall, eyeballs it and guesses where the nail should go.  Lazy? Maybe.  but I've never learned the correct way to hang a picture.  Most of the time, the eyeball thing gets the job done, so I thought.

But according to California-based interior designer Kerrie Kelly, you tend to hang things too HIGH when you do it that way.

Here's the trick:
The center of whatever you're hanging should always be 57 inches up from the floor.  As in the center of the painting, not where the nail goes.

That way the whole thing is at eye level.  It can be anywhere from 56 inches to 60, to fit your eye line.  Then you can get a rough idea of where the nail goes.  If it's half-an-inch too high or too low, it shouldn't matter much.  Or you can do it the right way...

• Measure how tall the painting is, and divide by two.
• Then measure from the top of the frame to the picture wire when it's tight.
• Subtract that from the first number
• Add 57 inches and THAT'S how high off the floor the nail needs to be.