DECORATING WALLS USED to be so easy: all you needed was a packet of Blu-Tac and the requisite number of glossy posters of football teams and celebrity heart-throbs to fill the space. With adulthood, most people graduate to more sophisticated framed images - anything goes from photographs to antique Chinese robes - but hanging them is still often a haphazard business. Hammering nails cursorily into walls is all very well but taking a bit of time and thought will make the difference between an amateur and a professional-looking result.
Nothing makes a home more interesting and individual than a personal collection of artwork or photographs but no matter how rare, expensive or beautiful a piece, if it's not in the right place it won't achieve its full aesthetic potential and may even look odd.
'Images aren't wallpaper so don't hang them anywhere and everywhere,' says photographer Almond Chu.
To decide what should go where, assess the room to be adorned and make note of where your eyes wander naturally when you enter, leave and sit in popular spots, such as on the sofa. Are there any glaringly bare patches or areas lacking interest? Which walls do you want to emphasise? These are the spaces on which to focus.
Artwork and furniture should complement one another. As a general rule of thumb, a single piece shouldn't overpower the furniture below it and vice versa. The picture's dimensions should be at least half as wide but not wider than the furniture and should be positioned at least several centimetres above it. (The exception to this is the popular shabby chic effect of propping a picture against the back of a chair with the base of the frame resting on the chair's seat.) 'Leaning images on the floor can also be striking,' suggests Chu.
A large picture should have enough space in front of it to take in the whole image; conversely, a detailed ink drawing, for example, is best at eye level so viewers can get up close and personal.
Balance is key but this doesn't mean arrangements have to be boring. In fact, hanging one picture in the exact centre of a wall can produce a wooden effect. By leaving more space below it than above or moving it slightly off-centre will immediately make a difference to the room.
