Updated November 11, 2026
To hang a picture, center it at eye level, which in a kids' room means about 48 inches from the floor, then measure from the hanger to the top of the frame so you know exactly where the nail goes.
Use a hook rated for about twice what the framed piece weighs, put it into a stud or a proper anchor, and level it before you step back.
That's the short version. The eight steps below are the long one, with the math done for you.
Most crooked pictures I see were hung in a hurry: one nail, eyeballed, wherever the hammer hit first. Ten extra minutes with a tape measure fixes that. I've used our own gallery sets as the worked examples, so you can see the numbers on a real wall.
Jump to a section:
- What you need
- How to hang a picture in 8 steps
- How do you hang a heavy picture?
- How do you hang a canvas or a frame with a wire?
- Hanging art in a kids' room
- Questions parents ask
What you need
Most of this is probably in a kitchen drawer already.
- A tape measure (one that locks is easier on your own)
- A pencil, soft enough to rub off
- A level, short is fine
- Painter's tape
- Hooks or anchors, chosen for the weight and your wall (step 5)
- A stud finder, drill and screwdriver for anything heavy
- A bathroom scale, the easiest way I know to weigh a frame
How to hang a picture in 8 steps
1. Pick the height
In a child's room, I center wall art about 48 inches from the floor and it can stay there as they grow.
The 57 inches you'll often read is meant for grown-up rooms, where people stand (Architectural Digest). The number is for the middle of the frame, not the top or the bottom.
For a row of three from our Sepia Woodland Animals set, foxes, bears and deer in soft sepia and warm brown, the middle of the whole row sits at 48 inches.
Over a crib, a changing table or a bed, see my How high to hang pictures (and art above a crib) post.
2. Find the center of the wall or the furniture below
Measure the width of whatever the art belongs to, halve it, and mark that point lightly in pencil. If the art hangs over a dresser, that's the dresser's midpoint, not the wall's. Over a bare wall, use the wall.
Then work out the gap underneath. Architectural Digest's designer leaves about 6 to 8 inches between the top of a sideboard and the bottom of the frame (Architectural Digest), and I use the same over a dresser. If that pushes the middle above 48 inches, let it.
A worked example
Six prints from our Pale Blue Dapper Animals set, a red squirrel in sunglasses, a raccoon in headphones, hung in two rows of three.
Six 12 × 18-inch prints with 2-inch gaps make a block about 40 inches wide and 38 inches tall. Find the dresser's midpoint, and the middle of that block goes straight above it.
3. Measure the hanger drop
Turn the frame over and find what it hangs by. Pull the wire up tight, the way it will sit on the hook, and measure from the top of the frame down to that point (Family Handyman).
For D-rings or a sawtooth hanger, measure to the top of the ring or the hanger's teeth.
Now the math. Say the frame measures 20 inches from top to bottom. Half of that is 10, so with its middle at 48 inches the top edge sits at 58.
If the wire sits 3 inches below the top edge, the nail goes at 55 inches. Write it down. You'll forget it on the way to the drill.
With a matching pair, like two prints from our Coastal White Duck set, the drop is the same for both frames, so you only do the math once. Two 16 × 24-inch prints side by side with a 2-inch gap make a pair about 34 inches wide.
4. Mark the spot with painter's tape
Pencil on bare paint is hard to see and harder to erase. I put a strip of tape on the wall first and mark my 55 inches on the tape instead.
For a frame with two hangers, run a strip of tape across the back of the frame and mark where each hanger sits. Peel it off, stick it on the wall at your nail height, level it, and your two marks are already the right distance apart.
Tape helps before any of that, too. Architectural Digest suggests cutting painter's tape to the size of your frames and mapping the whole arrangement on the wall before you make a single hole (Architectural Digest).
Leave it up for a day and see if you still like it. A single, like our bear and fox sharing a quiet moment among the mushrooms, needs just one strip and one mark.
5. Choose the hook for the weight and the wall
Start with a bathroom scale. Hold the framed piece and step on, then step on again without it. The difference is what it weighs, and since we don't publish frame weights, it's the surest way to know yours.
I pick a hook rated for about twice that number. The designer in that Architectural Digest piece also chooses hardware rated higher than the piece, for peace of mind.
Read the pack closely. Family Handyman points out that higher hook ratings are usually given with the hook in a wall stud (Family Handyman).
For wall anchors, This Old House suggests dividing the maker's shear load rating by 4 to get a safe working load, so an anchor rated for 100 pounds will safely hold 25 (This Old House).
The same page says picture hangers with an angled nail can hold up to 20 pounds on drywall or plaster, and suggests a flat-mounted hook with an anchor for 25 to 50 pounds.
The Wolf Pack Families set is a good one to weigh before you buy hooks. At a bigger size, in two rows of three, it's a lot of frame on one wall. So is a big single like the grizzly pausing by purple wildflowers.
6. Find a stud, or use an anchor
Run a stud finder across the wall at your nail height. Studs are typically 16 or 24 inches apart, and a screw into one is the most secure hold you can get for anything heavy (This Old House).
No stud where you need it? Family Handyman says a nail in drywall alone won't hold more than a few pounds (Family Handyman), so an anchor goes in. This Old House gives these ranges (This Old House):
- Expanding plastic sleeves: typically up to 25 pounds, and not always suited to plaster or masonry
- Molly bolts: 10 to 50 pounds in drywall and plaster
- Toggle bolts: 25 to 50 pounds in drywall, plaster and hollow-core concrete block
Older homes often have plaster, which Family Handyman warns tends to crack or crumble when disturbed, so drill gently there. On brick, Architectural Digest suggests brick clamps (Architectural Digest).
A light single, like the deer kicking along the forest path on his scooter, is the easy case: a picture hook in a stud and you're done.
7. Hang it and level it
Drive the nail or screw at your marked spot. For a classic picture hook, Family Handyman says to drive the nail in at an angle, which spreads the weight (Family Handyman). Hang the frame, set a level on top and nudge it until the bubble sits in the middle.
Bold singles show a tilt fastest. The orange fox racing across a cool blue snowfield is one I'd level twice.
Then step back to the doorway. A frame can be level and still look off if it isn't centered on the dresser, and that's easier to fix before the second print goes up.
8. Keep it straight (bumpers, two hooks for wide frames)
A picture on one nail swings every time a door slams. Two fixes stop that.
Wide frames get two hooks. For a frame on a wire, Family Handyman spaces the two hooks about a third of the picture's width apart, so the wire is taut but not stretched (Family Handyman).
A landscape print like the fawn asleep in a sunlit clearing, the bear splashing in a puddle or the teal squirrel holding his golden acorn, is exactly where I'd use two.
Small felt or rubber bumpers on the two bottom back corners help too. Family Handyman suggests them for a frame that tilts away from the wall, and I like how they keep it from shifting.
How do you hang a heavy picture?
Big frames need more than a bigger nail. Start by weighing it the bathroom-scale way, then follow three rules.
- Go into a stud whenever you can. This Old House suggests using more than one stud when possible (This Old House).
- No stud? Use an anchor rated for the load. This Old House lists molly bolts and toggle bolts for loads up to 50 pounds. Check what the number on the pack really means first (step 5).
- Use two hooks. Family Handyman notes that wire hangers suit heavier frames, and that two hooks are common for added safety and balance (Family Handyman).
A large single, like the bear wading a forest stream in thick brushstroke styling, or six prints from our Frosty Arctic Polar Bears set in icy blue and blush, is where I slow down and do all three.
How do you hang a canvas or a frame with a wire?
Look at the back first. Family Handyman names the three hangers you'll usually find there: a sawtooth, a wire or a pair of D-rings (Family Handyman).
- A sawtooth takes one nail or hook, centered. I keep it for light pieces.
- A wire works on one hook, but two are steadier. Measure the drop with the wire pulled tight (step 3).
- D-rings need one screw or hook each. Measure the distance between the rings and set both at the same height.
Our framed prints arrive ready to hang with the hardware included, and our canvas prints arrive ready to hang too (our FAQ).
The float-framed canvas option sits the canvas inside a natural wood, walnut or black frame. Whichever you choose, turn it over and follow the same steps: check the hanger, measure the drop, mark, level.
A canvas suits a print with big, simple shapes, like five camels crossing a cream desert, or a brown horse on a winding road through gold and teal peaks.
Our Sunset Giraffes set in amber and burnt orange, and the Sunset Harbor Scenes with their lighthouse under pink skies, both come in framed canvas too.
Hanging art in a kids' room
Four things change once a child sleeps and plays under the art.
Center it about 48 inches from the floor, as in step 1, and it can stay there as they grow. Keep framed art off low shelves a toddler can climb to.
Over a crib or a toddler bed, hang it securely with proper hardware, never tape or one small nail, and choose the framed version with kid-safe plexi, not glass.
My own rule is two hooks for anything over a bed, even a single frame, so it can't swing or slip off one point. Keep the crib itself empty except for a fitted sheet (NIH Safe to Sleep).
If you have the drill out, anchor the dresser and bookcase to the wall too (CPSC).
Renting? Strips and ledges are in my How to hang pictures without nails post, but keep them off the wall over the crib or bed.
For a calm row over a toddler bed, I'd pick three from our Moorland Brown Hares in moss green and heather brown, or our Pencil Sketch Airplanes in soft graphite grey.
Three 12 × 18-inch prints in a row with 2-inch gaps make a row about 40 inches wide. A reading corner can take a single, like the hedgehog lost in a book.
For more on planning a whole wall, my nursery gallery wall post walks through one, and my Gallery wall layouts: how to plan one post covers the layouts.
Our frames come in natural oak, walnut, white and black, with kid-safe plexi or real glass. For sizes, see my Picture frame and print sizes: the complete chart post.
Questions parents ask
What is the right height to hang a picture?
About 57 inches to the middle of the frame in a grown-up room, where people stand (Architectural Digest). In a kids' room or nursery I center art at about 48 inches, and it can stay there as your child grows.
Do I need a stud?
Not for a light frame on a proper picture hook. For anything heavy, a stud is the strongest hold, and when there isn't one where you need it, use a wall anchor rated for the load (This Old House).
What hook holds a heavy frame?
Weigh it first, then choose a hook rated for about twice that.
For heavier loads up to 50 pounds, This Old House lists molly bolts, toggle bolts and a flat-mounted hook with an anchor, and anchors need the extra check in step 5. A screw into a stud beats all of them (This Old House).
How do I hang a picture without a level?
Measure from the floor up to each top corner of the frame. When both numbers match, it's level, as long as your floor is. For two hooks, measure both marks up from the floor the same way before you drill.
Can I hang art over a crib?
Yes, with the right hardware and the right cover. Hang it securely with proper hardware, never tape or one small nail, and choose the framed version with kid-safe plexi, not glass.
I'd use two hooks, and keep the crib itself empty except for a fitted sheet (NIH Safe to Sleep).
Shop art to hang
Every set in this post lets you choose 1, 2, 3 or 4 prints, and most go up to 6, all in one size, which makes the measuring easy.
Browse more in our gallery wall sets, our kids' wall art and our nursery wall decor. For forest animals, see woodland nursery decor, and for the seaside, our coastal wall art sets.
Measure twice, weigh once, and put the nail where the math says.