How High Should I Hang My Wall Art? The Australian Guide — FRAMZE
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TL;DR — The standard rule: hang your wall art so the centre of the piece sits 145–152cm from the floor. Above furniture, forget the floor measurement — leave 15–25cm between the bottom of the artwork and the top of the sofa, bed or console instead. The most common mistake in Australian homes? Everything is hung too high.
Hanging wall art at the wrong height is one of the most common decorating mistakes in Australian homes — and the fix is almost always the same. Lower it. There is one number that solves the problem in almost every room, and once you know it, you will never hang a picture at the wrong height again.
This guide covers the exact rules interior designers use, room by room. And at the end, the FRAMZE Edit — where we respectfully suggest you ignore some of them entirely.
How high should I hang wall art in Australia?
The centre of your artwork should sit 145–152cm from the floor. Not the top edge. Not the bottom. The centre.
This is the standard used by galleries, museums and interior designers globally. It places artwork at natural adult eye level — which is why art hung at this height feels immediately comfortable to look at, and art hung too high feels vaguely wrong even when you can't explain why.
How to find the right height:
| Step | What To Do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Measure the full height of your artwork |
| 2 | Divide by two — this is your centre point |
| 3 | Mark 152cm from the floor on your wall |
| 4 | Align your artwork's centre point to that mark |
| 5 | Adjust hanging hardware accordingly — done |
What is the 152cm hanging rule?
The 152cm rule (known internationally as the 57-inch rule) is the professional standard for wall art placement. It works because 145–152cm corresponds to the average standing eye level for an adult. When the centre of an artwork lands here, viewing feels effortless — no tilting your head up, no looking down at something that should command the wall.
Museums and galleries use this standard globally. Interior designers use it as the default starting point for almost every room. Once you understand it, you'll immediately notice how much artwork in everyday Australian homes is hung 15–20cm too high.
How high should wall art be hung above a sofa?
Above furniture, the 152cm floor rule gets adjusted. When art sits above a sofa, the reference point shifts from the floor to the furniture itself.
The rule above furniture: leave 15–25cm between the bottom edge of your artwork and the top of the sofa back.
This gap creates a visual connection — the art and sofa read as one composition. Exceed 25cm and the art starts to float disconnected above the room. Drop below 15cm and it feels crowded against the furniture.
| Location | Recommended Gap | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Above sofa | 15–25cm | Bottom of frame to sofa back |
| Above bed | 15–20cm | Bottom of frame to top of headboard |
| Above console or sideboard | 15–20cm | Bottom of frame to surface |
| Standalone wall, no furniture | Centre at 145–152cm | Measured from floor |
Does ceiling height change where I should hang art?
This is where most people go wrong — especially in modern Australian homes and apartments with higher-than-standard ceilings.
High ceilings tempt you to hang art higher. Resist it.
Art relates to the human scale, not the ceiling height. A 3-metre ceiling doesn't mean your art should sit at 2 metres — your eye level is still 152cm from the floor, and that's where the centre of your art belongs. If the wall feels empty above the artwork, the answer is almost always a larger piece — not a higher position.
| Ceiling Height | Recommended Centre Height | Common Mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Standard (2.4m) | 145–152cm from floor | Centring on wall height instead of eye level |
| High (2.7–3m) | 145–155cm from floor | Pushing art up to "fill" the wall |
| Very high (3m+) | 152–160cm from floor | Choosing art that's too small for the scale |
How do I hang a gallery wall at the right height?
Gallery walls follow the same eye-level principle — with one important shift in thinking.
Don't centre each individual frame. Treat the entire arrangement as one artwork. The centre of the whole grouping should sit at 145–152cm from the floor.
The professional process:
- Lay all frames on the floor and finalise your arrangement first
- Measure the full height of the grouping
- Find the centre point of the entire arrangement
- Position that centre at 145–152cm from the floor
- Keep spacing between frames consistent — 5–8cm is the standard
If the gallery wall sits above furniture, apply the 15–25cm gap rule to the lowest frame in the arrangement.
The FRAMZE Edit — hold my champagne 🥂
Here's where we respectfully part ways with the rulebook.
The TV on the wall tells you everything you need to know. Walk into almost any Australian home with a wall-mounted television and it's positioned too high. Sit on the sofa and within twenty minutes your neck is aching, your shoulders are tense, and you're mildly miserable without knowing why. The TV installer put it at a height that looked right standing up — but nobody watches television standing up. The same mistake happens with wall art constantly. Art hung too high forces you to look up at it. You won't look for long. Discomfort kills engagement, and art that nobody properly looks at has failed at its only job. The 152cm rule exists for exactly this reason — it puts art where your eyes naturally rest, not where the wall suggests it should go.
Lower is often better. Dropping your artwork 10–15cm below the standard gallery height brings it into conversation with the room rather than presiding over it. Especially for large statement pieces, a slightly lower hang feels more intimate, more considered, more lived-in.
On high ceilings: Don't hang higher — go bigger. A 102x152cm FRAMZE canvas at 152cm centre height in a room with 3-metre ceilings will look more intentional and more powerful than the same piece pushed up to fill the wall. Scale is always the answer. Height rarely is.
On the bedroom: Forget centring a piece above the headboard. One oversized vertical canvas beside the bed — not above it — can transform a bedroom into something that feels genuinely curated rather than decorated. The rule says above. FRAMZE says beside, and taller than you think.
On stairwells: This is the one exception where the 152cm rule earns a genuine break. Let the art follow the stair line. A series of pieces ascending with the stairs creates movement and drama that no fixed height rule was ever designed for.
The rule gives you the foundation. Your eye gives you the finish.
Shop the look
Ready to find your statement piece? Explore the FRAMZE collections:
- Abstract Wall Art — bold, textured, and built to own a wall
- Minimalist Wall Art — considered pieces for modern Australian interiors
- Landscape Wall Art — dramatic, oversized, and ready to hang
- Animal Wall Art — from native wildlife to safari portraits
- Portrait Wall Art — figurative art that commands attention
- Urban Wall Art — cinematic street art for spaces with an edge
All FRAMZE pieces are available as fine art prints, stretched canvas and framed canvas. Free delivery Australia-wide. Our largest pieces measure 102 x 152cm in portrait or landscape orientation and 140 x 140cm in square format.
Frequently asked questions
How high should I hang wall art in Australia?
The centre of your artwork should sit 145–152cm from the floor. This is the professional standard used by interior designers and galleries across Australia and aligns with average adult eye level.
How high above a sofa should wall art be hung?
Leave 15–25cm between the bottom edge of your artwork and the top of the sofa back. This creates a visual connection between the art and the furniture without the piece appearing to float.
What is the 152cm hanging rule?
The 152cm rule states that the centre of any wall artwork should be positioned approximately 152cm from the floor. It is the most widely used standard in Australian interior design and professional art installation, based on average adult eye level.
Does ceiling height change how high I should hang art?
No. Art relates to human eye level, not ceiling height. The 145–152cm centre rule applies regardless of how high your ceiling is. If high ceilings make the wall feel empty above your artwork, choose a larger piece rather than hanging higher.
How do I hang a gallery wall at the correct height?
Treat the entire gallery wall arrangement as one artwork. Position the centre of the whole grouping at 145–152cm from the floor, and maintain consistent 5–8cm spacing between individual frames.
Why does my wall art look wrong even though I followed the rules?
The most common reason is that the art is hung too high above furniture. If the gap between your sofa back and the bottom of the artwork exceeds 25cm, the piece will appear to float. Lower it until the connection between art and furniture feels intentional.
Can I hang large canvas art higher than the 152cm rule?
For very large canvases over 100cm tall, slight adjustments may be needed so the piece doesn't hang too low. The rule applies to the centre point — a large canvas hung with its centre at 152cm will still feel grounded and balanced in most rooms.
What is the largest size available at FRAMZE?
FRAMZE offers wall art up to 102 x 152cm in portrait or landscape orientation and 140 x 140cm in square format, with free delivery Australia-wide. All pieces are available as fine art prints, stretched canvas and framed canvas.
