How to hang a picture over a three seat sofa

It always surprises me when people, who don't know what they are doing don't make a point in asking questions, researching or taking advice about things they have no talent for, and it's usually so simple to find the answer.

Home decorating is one of those things! But if it isn't done right it takes away from the beauty of a room. One of those things that jump out at you is when things are hung wrongly on walls.

People when they are decorating a room tend to forget that a wall is a major way to add appeal or ruin the look of their overall design.

Walls are one of the last things we consider and typically most people just throw pictures up on the wall believing that it doesn't make a difference to the overall beauty they want to accomplish but that isn't correct.

Your walls can make or break a room. They can be a showplace of your art, photos and hangings but including your walls and what you want to showcase on them contribute to your overall idea of a finished room.

So, here are some quick tricks/tips in hanging a picture over a three seat sofa. Without being too exact about it, no measuring tape or rulers. Just your eyes, hands, hammer and nail and of course your picture or pictures - whatever you are going to hang.

1. Choosing the colors that accent the room, these are normally colors or something in the picture or hanging that picks up the other main colors already in the interior of the room. This gives another wow factor and a continuity that makes the eye feast on the overall effect. Remember the colors do not have to be exact matches, the eye has a way of translating this to the brain that everything works as long as the colors are close, so don't get obsessive about everything matching. This causes anxiety and most people won't complete the project.

2. Choosing a size that complements the room, not overlarge or too small, a good rule of thumb is to get something that is the size of your sofa, less about 2 feet, giving you a foot on each side. Remember this can be also be achieved by assembling two or three smaller pictures. But the size of your hanging over a sofa makes a lot of impact, if it is too small it looks like the picture is over powered. If it is too large it over powers the space.

3. The next thing to consider is how far above the sofa and how far down from the ceiling or molding it should be hung - so, you have to guestimate to find a halfway point. But really your best measurement should start from the top of the sofa back. This is a good starting point. This is important because if the picture is hung too far above the sofa it throws off the symmetry of the wall space and your grouping.

4. Another good way to measure is to look straight ahead at the wall, mark the spot lightly at your vision line, then measure about 6 to 8 inches,( depending on how tall you are you can use your hand for this - place your palm against your forehead, mark the spot at the tip of your middle finger), above your vision line and make a mark for the nail. What you are doing is trying to find a good midway between your shortest person's vision and the tallest person you can imagine but you must keep in mind the length of your picture.

5. Hammer the nail at an angle, typically about a 45 degree angle, where the mark, was placed. If you don't want to mark the wall with a pencil, use saliva or water - dip you index(pointing) finger in water or your mouth, wetting it, then press it approximately where you need the nail to go into the wall.

6. Hang the picture.

Pause, if your picture is too small for the space, think of putting several pictures, a small collection of two or three hangings are a good way to create something interesting.

Another thing you should keep in mind is that odd numbers make the most interesting visual components of any attractive display.

If this doesn't work make adjustments, most things that are short of immediate death can be adjusted. If we keep this in mind and the knowledge that things can be easily repaired, trial and error is not as fatalistic as we assume.

So, go ahead and hang those pictures, those important memories and enjoy looking at them every day. Besides once you have the holes where you want them you can always rotate your picture gallery.