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How to hang art like a pro: Here's the perfect height for your pictures

There's a perfect height for hanging art that all the experts use.
/ Source: TODAY

You finally scored that sweet print you've been pining after from Minted.com, and it's time to get it prepped and up on your wall. But how high or low should it go? Thankfully, there's a rule for that.

According to the authors of How to Hang a Picture, and Other Essential Lessons for the Stylish Home, the exact center of your art should be hung at 57 inches from the floor.

"Fifty-seven inches, give or take an inch or two, is about the average sightline for a human being," says the book's co-author Jay Sacher. "When planning the design of a blank wall, it's the perfect place to begin—creating an anchor for the viewer's sight."

Jay Sacher and Suzanne LaGasa

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Thinking of finally attempting a pin-worthy gallery wall? This rule becomes especially useful when you're planning on displaying assorted pictures of varying sizes in the same room.

Ready...steady...hang!

Here's how to locate the center points on your art and wall for the perfectly centered pic.

What you need: Measuring tape, soft pencil

Step 1: Once you've chosen the spot on the wall, grab your measuring tape and pencil and measure up 57" from the floor. Place a mark at the point where the center of your art will hang.

Jay Sacher

Step 2: Locate the exact center of your art. Do this by turning your art over and using your measuring tape. Mark the center of that measurement with your pencil as close to the frame or edge of the art as possible. Then mark off the corresponding measurement along its top edge (so if your art is twenty inches wide, make a teeny hash mark at the ten-inch mark along its bottom and top).

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Step 3: Using your measuring tape, connect the hash marks with a light pencil line. Where the lines intersect signifies the center of your art.

You now have two points, one of the wall and one on the back of the art. But before you grab a hammer and start tapping away, make sure you have the right hardware and wall fasteners to keep your art hanging pretty and safely. Tip: before nail meets wall, check out their informative chapter about hanging art on drywall.

This article was originally published July 12, 2016.