Hanging Art in Hallways, Stairwells and Entryways

In a stairwell, hang each piece so its center sits 57 inches above the tread directly beneath it — the group then climbs at exactly the angle of the stairs. In a hallway, hang on one wall only, keep frames under 1½ inches deep, and hold a 57 to 60 inch center line the length of the run.

Stairwells: follow the stair, not the floor

A staircase has no single floor level, which is why stairwell hangs go wrong more often than any other. Change what you measure from. For each piece, measure 57 inches straight up from the tread directly beneath it. Every center then falls on one line parallel to the nosings, and the group climbs at the angle of the stairs.

The quick way to mark it: cut a stick to 57 inches, stand it on a tread, mark the wall at the top, move up two or three treads and repeat. Join the marks with a chalk line or low-tack tape. Anything hung with its center on that line will be right.

Two details people miss. Measure the gaps along the sloping line, not horizontally — on a typical 7½-inch riser and 10-inch tread, a 3-inch horizontal gap is really 3¾ inches between frames; keep the along-the-line gap at 3 to 4 inches. And check your own handrail: with centers at 57 inches a 24-inch-tall piece has its bottom edge at 45 inches, which usually clears a rail, but a 36-inch-tall piece will not.

Portrait formats climb better than landscape ones: a tall frame follows a rising line without its corners crowding. Start the run a step or two up from the bottom, and stop before the landing wall rather than turning the corner with it.

Hallways: one wall, one line, slim frames

Hallways are typically 36 to 48 inches wide, which changes two things: you never step back from the art, and you brush past it.

• One wall only below about 48 inches of width. Art on both walls makes a narrow hall feel like a squeeze, and you can never see one side properly anyway.
• Hold the standard center line — 57 to 60 inches — the entire length of the run. A hallway is the one place where a long, unbroken horizontal line is the whole effect.
• Slim frames, 1½ inches deep at most, with no sharp corners at shoulder height — and, where the option exists, acrylic glazing rather than glass in a passage where things get knocked.
• Gaps of 3 to 4 inches, slightly wider than in a room, because you read hallway pieces one at a time — and stop 8 to 12 inches short of the door casing at each end.

Because you meet each piece obliquely from three or four feet, hallways are the exception to the buy-bigger rule. Detail wins here — prints, drawings and small studies reward the close look a corridor gives them.

How many pieces for the length of hall

A run wants a margin at each end and consistent gaps in the middle. These make-ups use 16×20 frames hung portrait with 3-inch gaps.

Past about sixteen feet, two groups with a clear gap between them read better than one very long line. You can also double the row, keeping the combined block's center at 57 to 60 inches; spacing for that is in gallery wall layouts that actually work.

A hallway is also the best place in a house for a series — one artist, one subject, one palette, seen a frame at a time in a fixed order. A miscellany that looks collected above a sofa reads as random here.

Entryways: the wall everyone sees first

An entry is small, briefly occupied and heavily looked at. It takes one confident piece, not four cautious ones.

With a console. Size the artwork to about two-thirds the console's width and leave 4 to 8 inches between the surface and the bottom of the frame — tighter than above a sofa, because a lamp or a bowl closes the gap visually. The full rule is in how high to hang art above a sofa.

With nothing below. Standard center line, 57 to 60 inches, and go large — an entry wall is seen from six or eight feet through a doorway, so scale registers before detail.

With a bench and hooks. Hang above the rail with at least 6 inches of clearance, and accept that coats will cover part of the wall — an argument for a bold image rather than a delicate one.

Mirror or art? A mirror opposite the front door mostly reflects the front door; art there and the mirror on a side wall, catching daylight, serves both better. And if the artwork shares a wall with the door, aligning the top of the frame with the top of the casing makes a small entry look composed instantly.

Glare: the thing that ruins hallway and stairwell art

Halls and stairs are almost always lit by ceiling downlights, and a downlight above a glazed picture reflects straight into the eyes of somebody walking toward it. Easy to miss, and it undoes all the measuring.

Test it before you buy. Hold a mirror flat against the wall where the artwork will go, then stand where people actually stand — the foot of the stairs, the far end of the hall. If you can see the light fitting in the mirror, you will see it in glass or gloss too.

Then choose accordingly. Stretched canvas has no reflective surface and is the safest choice on a staircase, where your viewing angle changes with every step; matte art prints and satin-finish framed prints are close behind. High-gloss surfaces and standard glass are the two to avoid.

If a piece must be glazed, a non-glare surface solves most of it. Picture lights aimed at roughly 30 degrees from the wall throw their reflection toward the floor rather than back at eye level, and in a stairwell a single wall-washer at the top beats a fitting over each frame.

Frequently asked questions

How high should you hang art in a stairwell?

Measure 57 inches straight up from the tread directly beneath each piece and put the center of the artwork there. Every center then lands on one line parallel to the stair nosings, so the group climbs at the angle of the staircase. Measuring from the floor, or from the ceiling, is what makes stairwell hangs look crooked.

How do you space pictures going up the stairs?

Keep the gaps constant along the sloping center line rather than horizontally. On a typical 7½-inch riser and 10-inch tread, a 3-inch horizontal gap is really 3¾ inches between frames. Three to four inches measured along the line works for most frame sizes, and portrait formats climb more comfortably than landscape ones.

How high should art hang in a hallway?

The standard 57 to 60 inch center line, held for the whole run. A hallway is the one place where an unbroken horizontal line does most of the work, so consistency matters more than any single placement. Keep gaps of 3 to 4 inches and stop short of the door casing at each end.

Should you hang art on both walls of a narrow hallway?

Not if the hall is under about 48 inches wide. You cannot step back far enough to see either wall properly, and art on both sides makes the passage feel tighter than it is. Choose the wall with better light or the longer uninterrupted run, and leave the other one bare.

What size art works best in an entryway?

One large piece rather than several small ones. Above a console, size it to about two-thirds the console's width with 4 to 8 inches between the surface and the frame. On a bare entry wall, keep the center at 57 to 60 inches and go big — you see it from six or eight feet, so scale registers first.

How do you stop glare on hallway and stairwell art?

Hold a mirror flat against the wall where the piece will hang and look at it from where people actually walk. If the ceiling light shows in the mirror, it will show in glass. Choose stretched canvas, a wood print or satin metal instead, or a non-glare glazing option if the piece must be framed.

Halls and stairs are the walls people pass a dozen times a day, which makes them the best return on an afternoon's work. Browse canvas prints, art prints and framed prints, or build a series from one subject — architecture, maps, black and white. Everything is printed to order, so a set of matching sizes for a stairwell run is one order rather than a hunt.