Hanging Art

I tend to hang wall art low, at eye level for me (and I'm short). I've never hung anything as low as Apartment Therapy's post suggests. Now that's low! I prefer not to have my art sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall, and I don't want it placed so low that I have to look down at a painting while I'm seated.

Decorate It Online wants things centered on the wall, which places everything much too high to suit me. HouseAndHome.com thinks pieces should be centered 5' off the floor, which makes some pieces too high for me if they are hung where they are primarily seen from a chair. EHow says,

Determine the gallery level. ... a rule of thumb is to go by the eye level as determined by the height of the property owner or gallery owner. When you hang the painting, the focal point should be at gallery level. If the painting is off balance to the right or left, the focal point can be moved slightly to the right or left to make up the difference.

Even the Wall Street Journal weighs in on the subject:

To a certain extent, there is an intuitive aspect to picture hanging. Don't let it hang way, way up by the ceiling, and don't let it hug the floor—unless you are extremely tall or extremely short, in which case you are justified in your extreme choices.

I eye the space and put the art work where it looks best to me. I've never been too concerned about decorating rules, and my family has not complained.

Apartment Therapy has a post sharing instructional videos on the subject.

Now, if I can just get the pictures I want to put up framed....