Is My Lotus Mirror Really Hung Too Low? (Guidelines For Hanging Artwork)
I have no new progress to show you today, so I thought this might be a good time to address the single most-asked question (or most given advice) I get about my living room…
Why don’t you move the mirror up? It looks too low on the wall. It needs to be centered between the top of the chair rail and the ceiling!
Y’all would not believe how bothered people are by the placement of my mirror! 😀 I get comments on it each time I post a picture of it on my wall, and I actually get emails from people who write to me just to let me know that I need to move my mirror up. True story! 🙂
Even a few days back when my post included a picture of that wall and I had a paragraph in there that started off, “And please, I beg of you, please don’t tell me to raise my mirror…” the very first two comments were people telling me my mirror needed to be raised. 😀
So here’s the deal. YES, I will be raising the mirror. 🙂 BUT, I’m not going to do it until that wall is a bit more “settled.”
I’m about to start building a fireplace, and that wall is going to be completely transformed, so I’ll wait. There’s no need in moving it now, and then moving it again in a month or so. Not only do I not want to add needless additional holes in my wall, but that thing is made of solid MDF. It’s heavy!
But what if I were keeping the credenza?
Even if I were to keep the credenza in this room and just decorate around it, I would not ever just center the mirror between the chair rail and the ceiling.
It is an absolute fact that most homeowners hang their artwork way too high on the wall. When you’re dealing with a large piece of artwork, the standard rule is that the center of the piece needs to be about 55 to 60 inches from the floor. (57 inches on center is gallery standard, as that represents the average human eye height.) My mirror is currently hung at 60 inches on center.
Of course, those are the rules if the piece stands alone, like in a gallery. But when the piece is being anchored by a sofa, a credenza or something like that, you do want to keep those rules in mind for general placement, but it’s much more important that the piece relates to the things around it.
Here’s a quick photoshop mock up I did of the mirror centered between the chair rail and the ceiling.
Initially, it might look like the perfect placement, right? Because there’s something visually pleasing about having the mirror perfectly centered in the teal area of the wall.
However, there are two problems with this placement:
- This placement puts the center of the mirror at 68 inches on the wall. That’s way too high — 11 inches higher than it really should be.
- With the mirror so high on the wall, there’s really no way it would or could ever relate to anything that I put on the credenza. Instead, it would just be floating up on the wall, completely unrelated, and completely ungrounded.
I can assure you that if I centered that mirror in the teal area of the wall, once I got the credenza accessorized, I’d start getting a whole slew of comments and emails from people telling me to lower my mirror. That placement would look so completely “off” with the accessories around it.
The mirror, hung where it is right now at 60 inches on center, is actually just where it needs to be (if I were keeping the credenza) in order to have the center be at eye level, have it not sitting just right on top of the chair rail, and to have it to be part of a complete vignette with the accessories that would be placed on the credenza, allowing it to be grounded by the accessories and the credenza.
So why does it look too low? And why does its placement bother people so much?
Well, there’s one answer and one answer alone.
It’s unfinished. 🙂
I’ve noticed that people have a tendency to want to judge a room as if it were the finished product when it’s barely halfway done. I had this issue all the time when working with clients, and I would continually have to urge them to wait until all of the items were in the room, and then we would see if they still felt that such-and-such needs to be done. And generally having all of the items in the room would clear up their concern about whatever issue they had fixated on.
It’s generally best to wait until all of the items are in the room before tweaking, rehanging, moving, etc. Because it’s only after all of the items are in the room, and all of the “ingredients” for the vignettes are on hand, that you’ll truly know where something needs to be tweaked. Until then, it’s just guess work…and way too may extra holes in your walls. 😉
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Honestly I never felt like the mirror needed to be raised, to me it kind of feels right just right there. Also, can’t wait to see the fireplace!!!
And lastly, I love love LOVE the blue walls, the brown never seemed right and I think the blue fits you way better 🙂
In reference to your mirror or any art work, I’ve read that when hanging art work that it should be at eye level unless you are really short. And I would think that especially if it is a mirror that the eye level would come into play so it could also be used as a mirror??? Am I wrong?
From above: “It is an absolute fact that most homeowners hang their artwork way too high on the wall. When you’re dealing with a large piece of artwork, the standard rule is that the center of the piece needs to be about 55 to 60 inches from the floor. (57 inches on center is gallery standard, as that represents the average human eye height.) My mirror is currently hung at 60 inches on center.
Read more: https://www.addicted2decorating.com/is-my-lotus-mirror-really-hung-too-low-guidelines-for-hanging-artwork.html#ixzz2rp607nCT
Krisit, Do you ever just reach the point where you want to respond back to folks- “Hey, it is my mirror, my wall, and my room. I like where it is hung, so hush?” I am crazy about your color choices, your design aesthetic and how you are not afraid to tackle things that are new to you.
Yes, I’m with Karen. Tell them to “hush.” 🙂
I also once commented to put it higher, but I remember how once an artist told me that the right height for the picture in an ordinary room (not extra high ceilings-galery like) is that when standing in front of it you look at the centre of the painting. And so is with the mirror-you are supposed to see your reflection in it -it IS a mirror after all 🙂
I completely trust in your judgement. You see your room completely furnished way ahead and know exactely what it is going to look like.
Perfect of course 🙂
Hi Kristi,
Forgive me if this is a repeat question, but I didn’t see it anywhere. Will you be hanging the mirror above the fireplace? If yes, would the same height / centering rules apply when hanging above a mantel?
Thanks and Have a Blessed Day.
Margo, I’m definitely planning on using the mirror above the fireplace. In situations like that, it’s generally impossible to keep to the general guidelines for art height. Mantels usually dictate that the artwork or mirror be hung higher than is usually normal.
Now where you hang it above the mantel would be determined by whether or not you plan to put anything else with it, For example, if I were just going to keep my mantel completely bare, with no additional accessories, then I might consider centering the mirror both horizontally as well as vertically in the available space. But if I were planning on accessorizing the mantel with candlesticks and other decorative items, then centering the mirror in the available space would be less important than making sure that the mirror made sense as part of the vignette. That would generally mean that it needs to be hung a bit lower.
ROFLMAO…I am sorry, but I think you should put the mirror wherever you like it. Seriously…it is YOUR room. I love the wall color and have never been brave enough to use a dark color, but this looks beautiful. We will be redoing our bathroom and using white wainscoting on the lower half, so maybe I will get brave!
I admit thinking (to myself) that the mirror was hung too low. UNTIL looking at your mock-up … whoa … now I understand ! And I do generally think people hang their artwork too high. Gotta say also – those blue/white walls are stunning. What a difference the blue makes in that room. 🙂
I second Karen. I don’t know how you remain so nice especially when you have just said “don’t ask me XXXX” and the first thing they do is ask XXX. Also, when they say please put a tutorial on the site and it is ALREADY there. It makes me crazy which is why I usually point out there is already and where to find it; and it’s not even my site! Anyway, I think you keep your cool very well. Perhaps it’s because you have worked with clients in the past and know this is “normal”.
I wholeheartedly agree that most people do hang pictures and such WAY TOO HIGH. Drives me crazy but unless I know them really really well and I think I wouldn’t be offending them I would NEVER consider saying anything. I don’t have to live with it, they do! Thank you so much for sharing, it brings me a lot of pleasure and I wish I had the talent you have in your pinky finger! It’s coming along very nicely and I can’t wait to see the finished room…and the next and the next (lol) guess I’m getting a little pushy huh? 🙂
Hope you have a very blessed day!
I agree with you. Most people hang their wall deco way too high.
Love your wall color btw
I never even noticed that it might be hung to high/low or anything for that matter, when I look at the room as a whole, it looked perfect! You are ABSOLUTELY right about people hanging their “art work” way to high. I have a friend who’s pictures, mirrors and things are hung so high she and her husband can’t even see in them. LoL
Unless asked, why do people feel the need to make changes or suggestions about how they’d do it? It’s YOURS not theirs. I’m loving going through the whole process with you. Sometimes I can’t read the comments without thinking they need a smack in the head! hahahaha
I think that people who read my blog regularly feel personally invested in my projects and just want to help out. 🙂 I really don’t mind it at all. It did make me laugh, though, at the amount of attention that the placement of my mirror got, and how much it bothered people. 😀
I say rules, shmules! Hang it where you want it! I also am so glad that you don’t let current decorating trends dictate how you decorate! Trends change so fast we can’t keep up. I just saw brass hardware is making a come back and I am still trying to get rid of it.
First I have to say I absolutely love your choice for the wall color. It is such a pretty blue/teal.
Second who really cares where the mirror is hung. When I read some of the comments telling you that you should move it higher I thought who cares. I have gone into so many homes that have pictures/mirrors hung almost to the ceiling it drives me crazy. When I’m sitting there I just wan to move them lower to a normal height but I don’t. Why don’t I? well it’s not my house. If I were you I would ignore all of the unsolicited advise that is given to you.
Looking forward to seeing how you rework that wall. So far the room looks amazing.
Oh, I won’t ignore it all, because I really do get some amazing input and advice from people, even when I don’t ask for it. Sometimes I feel guilty for having this opportunity to have so much input and help on my rooms when I get stuck on something! 🙂 But lots of things, like my current furniture arrangement which I LOVE, came from an unsolicited suggestion, and I’m so thankful because it’s the one thing that made things really click for me with this room in the beginning. I was trying to force an arrangement that just wasn’t going to work. So I just take the good, and dump the bad. 😀 But I don’t think I’ve ever posted anything that got so much unsolicited advice as this mirror. It was really kind of funny!
I think what is throwing people is the molding and change of color so close to the bottom of the Lotus Mirror. But, I have lived in my house for 10 years and it is not decorated. I don’t even have drapes. So, I am not an expert and I am just watching you create to see if I can learn enough to step away from my fear of committing and decorate my next house. But, I love this discussion! My husband and I are always “discussing” where to hang photos because I am only 5 feet tall and he hangs them at HIS eye level which means that ALL of the artwork in our house is hanging at about 68″. I agree that is way too high. We are moving to an old farmhouse soon and I am going to insist he hang everything centered at 57″ like galleries do.
Yikes! 68 inches is definitely way too high! 😀 I’m only five feet tall as well.
I love how you addressed this! You’re good at what you do, my dear. By the way…I love your lamps!! I’m inspired and will be attempting this on my own.
Yay! You’ll have to send me a picture when you’re finished!
I would have left it higher. Due to if you want to put a tall vase on the credenza. With a tall vase it would add balance to the wall and any lower items added. I know you’re going by what heigth it should be at by design standards. But some standards don’t always apply to design and need to be adjusted. Just saying!!!
Wow! What if she doesn’t want to put a tall vase there? Did you read the post? She’s putting a fireplace there in a couple of months!!! Ugh!!! Seriously!
It’s a mirror, for heavens sake. You need to see your reflection in a mirror. It has never been hung high, so how could she have left it there. She only made a computer image to show it higher and she stated that simply. Obviously, you are not following all her posts as she has had to explain this over and over again. When, and only when, the fireplace is done, should she decide how high is correct. And by then, it’s also possible that the fireplace is too high to hang the mirror above it. Or maybe the mirror portion may have to be covered with something else so as not to have a mirror centered out of everybody’s reflection. Or maybe she’ll find that the mirror fits better over the console table on the other end of the living room where it will be against a teal wall instead of the white woodwork above the fireplace. This is a work-in-progress, and she should not make the permanent decision at this point. Some of you one-timers just won’t read enough to get the right idea! Kristi has been too kind in trying to soothe the nay sayers, so maybe some of the rest of us have to explain it to you a little better. Sorry, Kristi, for butting in.
Ok, I am loving the direction of your room, not my style but I can see your vision and I like it. I absolutely love the credenza and am searching for one to redo just like that! 🙂 Ps This is the reason all the decorating shows make the home owners leave!
Yes! I almost mentioned that, Elizabeth. On the decorating shows, alot of them absolutely do make the homeowners leave because it’s very common for homeowners to question and second-guess decisions along the way when they can’t see the vision of what’s in the designers head for the completed room. 🙂 When I was decorating for clients, I often wished that I had that luxury to send them away, get the job done, and then invited them back with a big, “Taaaa daaaaa!” 😀
You have had much more patience that I would have! I am appalled at the mindset of people on social media these days. Ugh! Perhaps it is due to how easy blogging allows any “crafty Jill” to present themselves as an interior decor/design expert. I think our profession has been devalued to some degree by all of the decorating blogs. Sadly, I can’t tell you the number of times I have read posts on how to do a project, only to realize that there is some potential fail in the process, just waiting to happen. Or, perhaps, they are trying to instill some wisdom on choosing a paint color and the process is little ore than go to the paint counter put some chips together and try some on the wall. Nothing on analogous/contrast/complementary color choices or undertones. Drives me batty!
I just want to finish by saying that I love your color choice for the walls and can’t wait to see this fireplace!
Would not your beautiful mirror be just as suitable to hang above the gorgeous entry table?? Your thoughts, pro and/or con, please.
I think it would, but I’m anxious to see how it looks over the mantel on my fireplace as well. 🙂 If the mantel ends up being too high that such a large piece won’t fit over it, I’ll definitely consider using it over the console table. Nothing is really set in stone right now, so everything is subject to change. Everything. 😉 I feel like I really won’t know exactly how things will fall into place until I get the fireplace built, since it’ll be such a huge feature, architecturally and decoratively, in the room.
I am afraid you will be steering these poor dimwitted ugly talking souls to your blog page from your fb page. I hear your frustration…love the humor you hit them with. Keep on Keepin’ on. 🙂
The day they take over my blog is the day that I’ll quite blogging…and the day that you’ll probably see me on the evening news having gone on some psychopathic rampage driven by Facebook insanity. 😀 Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. LOL.
LOL, I do love that you have dealt with them in humor. I might even giggle if you deleted a few of them. lol. Love to see your projects and ideas. Keep up the creativity 🙂
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Years ago when Home Interiors was a top selling company, it was said that pictures and mirrors should be eye level. I personally arrange ( if a grouping) what I think looks best for me! Who knows whose eye level will be looking at it at any particular time?!!!!
I have to say I never ever noticed where the mirror was hung on the wall. I love the visit you have for your room and look forward to seeing the finished room.
I mean the vision you have.
Wow. Thanks so much for explaining all that. It makes perfect sense!
Although I am sometimes not wanting to follow the rules on height. I’m short. ha. Also, I have a chandy hanging over my dining room table that people will say is a little too high, but I did it for a reason. One is that I want to have a vase of flowers there without it hitting the chandy, and I personally like the chandy where it is. Must we always follow the rules?
Nope, rules are made to be broken. 😉 I think the sign of a good decorator is knowing when to break the rules and when the rules should be followed. Your example is a great one. If the standard height for a chandelier interferes with the vase of flowers that you like to keep in the table, the the rule should definitely be bent to accommodate your decor.
Kristi…please know that I am happy to be able to see your home progress, project by project, and love the fact that you always give clear, concise instructions as to how you accomplish the miracles you do. I am often accused of hanging art too low, and am of the mind that if you like it there, there is where it should be. You are doing a magnificent job on the living room, and I envy your talent. I just hope you will not let negative people destroy you and your zeal for what you do. I, for one, would hate to lose you and your wonderful teaching abilities, and all the future projects you will be tackling.
Yeah, I totally like where the mirror already is. Can’t wait to see what you end up with when your wall transformation is finished!
1. It is your home!
2. You can hang it anywhere you want.
3. You have repeatedly stated that it is heavy and the placement is temporary.
4. I LOVE it where it is!
Ditto!!!!
Ok first things first…love the new paint color. Now, I agree with you and how YOU hung the mirror…It’s so frustrating seeing people hang pictures so high that you have to crane your neck to just see part of it. AND with a mirror…ya kinda need to be able to SEE yourself in the actual mirror….Keep doing what you do best!!! Love your blog and have turned my Interior Design students onto your blog!!! Thank You for empowering women!!
I love you and my husband thinks I have lost my mind(I walked around measuring pictures and mumbling to myself). Now I understand why so many of my arrangements look wrong. Thanks for helping someone who loves to decorate herself but can’t always pull it off!
LOL Amanda. I just got a visual of that — walking around, measuring, and mumbling — and it made me laugh. 🙂 Just remember, they’re guidelines. You don’t have to have it down to the inch. 😉
I have personally liked where you hung the mirror. Not that it matters; it is your home not mine. And I absolutely love that mirror! I hang my wall decorations at eye level and I have actually had one person tell me that it was to low. Wanted to tell them it was none of their business but I explained about how paintings should be at eye level, a fact they did not know. But how rude of them was that?
I think the only time I would walk into someone’s house and tell them something like that is if it was my mom’s house. And that’s because I’m the one who decorated it. 😀 I try my hardest not to give unsolicited advice when I’m at someone’s house, no matter how hard it might be to keep my opinions to myself.
Now I do think my blog is a little different, since I share it so openly, ask opinions quite often, and regular readers start to feel personally invested in my projects (kind of like I’m personally invested in my mom’s house). So that doesn’t bother when people make suggestions.
But I can’t imagine walking into someone’s house and handing out unsolicited decorating advice, especially when they certainly haven’t put it out there for discussion. I’m sure I wouldn’t be invited back! 😀
I say you offer them a cookie and politely ask them to leave 😉
Thanks you so much for this information! I always wondered how to hang things and usually just keep making nail holes until I like what I see. I’m looking forward to having less holes from now on!
I don’t feel the mirror is too low so much as I feel the shades are too high and slouchy. If they were lower and more like your original mock up it would feel more sleek.
The shades are hung high because it’s the same level as the curtains. Hung lower, and that wall feels unbalanced next to the curtains. I will be keeping the shades open more as soon as I can replace that ugly aluminum window with a wood window to match the rest, and then get the other window repaired and in good working order. Until then, I’d rather look at pretty fabric instead of ugly windows. 🙂
And I only offer my humble opinion not to be rude or a negative Nelly but I did it constructively and politely. And I know you don’t want only Yes women commenting. 🙂 have a great day
I can relate to you on this!! I build and dress sets for our theater and inevitably, before the set is done, someone will comment on something that seems undone or done wrong. I can’t tell you how many times I have had to ask people to wait until I am done before they have opinions!!! Lol!!! I did want to tell you that my eyes were always drawn to the curtains when the walls were brown. I couldn’t put my finger on what seemed off. However, the new wall color brings those curtains into the room like the brown never could. For me anyway!! I so love that teal, it is very elegant!!!
I like where your mirror is placed and the bottom line is – it’s YOUR home. I hate people that seem to think that they know what I want in my home better than I do. I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes I hang things and then later rethink them and hang them differently but that’s just part of the fun of decorating! 😀
Excellent information!
Love the new lamps and they look great there!
This brought a chuckle to my face…my sister has a habit of hanging things waaay to high…it drives me nuts. I mentioned it one time about a picture she had up, but she insisted it was not (and it clearly was….just a few inches below the ceiling)! But….I say to each his (or her) own!
I happen to like the mirror where it is….but as you say…time to change it will be when your fireplace is done.
htpp://queenoftheisle.blogspot.ca
When you mentioned just a few inches from the ceiling, I had to laugh. I lived in Turkey for a year and a half, and I was always walking into the homes of Turks and seeing pictures hung on the walls in the STRANGEST places, like an 8 x 10 picture hung way up in the top right corner of the room next to the ceiling or something. I always thought it was so bizarre, but I just chalked it up to a cultural thing. Not sure if it was, but it always made me laugh. Not out loud, of course. That would have been rude. 😉 But I certainly chuckled quite a bit in my mind.
I would totally agree with the hanging requirements… But the eye is taking into consideration the wainscoting.
It is also working as an anchor, the eye is judging the distance between the wainscoting and the bottom of the mirror and of course, the distance of the top of the mirror to the ceiling, regardless of what the standard hanging height requires. I have learned that I do not have to have everything perfectly symmetrical… But the eye knows what is pleasing and I am so sorry that you have received so many negative comments of people who have not read the post. It is very frustrating.
With out the wainscoting, the mirror looks fabulous at that height. But that is just my personal opinion. I Totally understand not moving the mirror until the room is finished. I have plaster walls and have to put some serious thoughts as to where I hang the items I want. When transforming your room, why do unnecessary work!
A fireplace, I am seriously jealous! Everything I have seen of yours is so wonderful and you are an inspiration!
Yep, the wainscoting/chair rail definitely brings a new consideration into the equation. If I were keeping the credenza, it’s very likely that I’d end up moving the mirror up just a couple of inches, but I’d wait until I had the rest of the vignette “ingredients” before I made that final decision. But certainly things like wainscoting, chair rails, the height of a sofa back, and things like that need to be taken into consideration when hanging artwork. 🙂
Your room, even as it is transforming, looks amazing! And I agree with Renee, that mirror is truly a work of art! And I wholeheartedly agree with: “and whether you can see yourself in it doesn’t matter…unless it matters to you.”
The vignette would make all the difference… it might even “hide”, or the wainscoting would just peek through with no distraction. I am anticipating the fireplace! You are very talented Kristi! KUDOS!
I agree, the wainscoting makes the difference. It makes the ‘mirror’ appear too heavy for the wall. And like you said, what is pleasing to the eye…Altho you are calling it a mirror, it is truly a work of art and whether you can see yourself in it doesn’t matter…unless it matters to you.
Hey Kristi,
Have you thought about moving your mirror up a few inches?
TeeHee 🙂 😉 🙂
That room makes me want to sit down with a cup or tea & just stare at every little detail. Loving the colors & the window treatment fabric makes me smile.
Enjoy the process…thanks for sharing your diy journey with us!
Hahahahahaha. That’s exactly what I was thinking!
I totally agree that the room is so inviting that a cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate and a good book would complete it! : )
Oh my gosh, you had me going!! I read the first sentence, and I was like, “Seriously?!” 😀
That was funny. 😀
Kristi, I agree with you totally! The mirror is right where it should be! Keep up the good work!
Bottom line? It’s your mirror, your wall, and your home. Put the mirror where YOU like it best
Thanks for the lesson! My brain and eyes absolutely don’t understand design and decor, as much as the rest of me wants too. And they are almost completely incapable of visualizing the long-term, big-picture. Mostly they just want matchy-matchy and symmetry all over, which I know is not right. That’s why I read your blog and others like it; to learn decorating tips despite my stubborn brain and to see examples of what others are doing. Thank you for not only showing us your designs and decor, but also explaining them so people like me can take away applicable knowledge for our own homes.
Thank you Kristi for the information on the correct height to hang pictures, art or mirrors. I honestly did not know that!
BTW: the room is looking awesome ❤️
Is it just me, or does the mirror hanging where it currently is make the celing appear taller?
I would agree with that. I think the higher it’s hung, the lower the ceiling appears.
Kristi,
I love your blog, your style, everything. Please disable comments on your FB page. Most of those people are not reading your blog and are just there to vent. I’m thinking it would make your page easier to manage. We want you posting decor ideas and advice. Not dealing with social media crazies. It takes more effort to post a blog comment, thus eliminating most of the crazies.
Keep decorating!!
DeAndrea, I seriously wish I knew how to disable comments on that page. I’d do it in a heartbeat!! I don’t think that Facebook gives that option. If you know of a way, PLEASE tell me!!! 😀
If you are really serious about this, here it is:
To turn off the ability for people to post on your Page’s timeline:
– From the top of your Page, click Edit Page
– Select Manage Permissions
– Uncheck the boxes next to Everyone can post to [your Page’s name]’s timeline and Everyone can add photos and videos to [your Page’s name]’s timeline in the Posting Ability section
– Click Save Changes
For more information about controlling your Page posts, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/help/331310093617829/
Thanks for a great teaching moment. May I say also, not all mirrors are hung for looking at yourself. I think that sometimes we forget that a mirror is great for reflecting light or making a room show as larger.Or showing off a vignette. I so look forward to reading your next great teaching moment!
Everything in my house is hung kinda low.
We are a short family, so I hang things where I can look in the center of the item, so I can enjoy it.
Company comes and goes, I live here, things will be placed where I can easily see and clean them.
Just a minor observation, and definitely NOT a criticism. While everyone else says the art lamps look much better on the end tables, I feel like they may be temporarily located, too. Once your fireplace is built, I am sure you will have tile or glass surround on it. Rather than let the tiles lamps distract from the tiled fireplace surround, I believe the lamps may eventually be moved back to the console table where the tiles can show up against the teal paint. I’m so excited about seeing this room progress. And I am also very happy that you have chosen an electric LED fireplace over a gas fireplace. Most of the year in Texas, you would not be able to turn the gas fireplace on due to overheating your room. You can keep the electric LED fireplace on day and night year round, so you’ll get so much more use from it at very little cost. This has inspired me to possibly set electric LED logs in my wood burning fireplace at home, so I can enjoy it all year. And they could be pulled out if the power went out and burning wood was an absolute necessity. That is, when I’m eventually able to leave my 99-yr-old father’s home and return to my own home. You have me thinking about home again.
I think you’re right, Genelle. I’ve been trying to make a decision regarding end tables, floor lamps, table lamps, etc., and finally decided that there’s no way I can make a final decision until the fireplace is built, because it’s going to be such a HUGE part of the room. What looks good now may look awful once the fireplace is in place. 🙂
Well, you did ask…I think that when we have blogs and loyal followers we really can’t expect people who disagree not to say so. That’s what we want -Feedback right? . BUT…why is it they have to be so dang rude??? Why do people have to continually tell you what you NEED to do in order to please them with your room. I also notice…do people actually READ the entire post you write???? It seems that it never fails, people ask questions or comment on something you have already mentioned in your writing. While I do feel the mirror is slightly low, I don’t believe in rules. (Except that YES most people hang pictures WAY to high and it drives me nuts! ) lol..
Put the mirror where you want it. What you feel comfortable with. Rules??? Didn’t they use to say green and blue didn’t go together? 😉 I agree with you, wait till you do your fireplace, accessories and then decide.
I actually don’t mind the input, even the unsolicited input, from regular readers. 🙂 I told my family the other day that my blog is where the nice, intelligent people hang out. And fortunately, the rude people seem to be isolated to my Facebook page. The day they find me here, like zombies beating down the door of my secret hideout, is the day I will disappear for good. 🙂 And no, the overwhelming majority of the people on that Facebook page don’t read a darn thing before the offer up their comments and suggestions. It almost drove me to insanity this morning, but I took my frustration out with some demolition (breaking things is incredibly therapeutic), and now I’m hanging out here with the nice, intelligent people. 😀 I feel much better now.
I am slowly weaning myself from facebook…it seems it is getting ruder and ruder these days. Kristi, your blog is amazing and you do an awesome job and mostly…it’s YOUR home to do with what you want and we wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) be here if we didn’t love your designing girl! I can’t wait each day to get my email update so I can see what new and exciting project you are doing! 🙂
Posts like this are why I follow your blog :3
I think the mirror is perfect where you have it. I hate when people hang this too high on the wall. Love the room color!!
Boy, I wish there was a like button on the comments! Kristi I LOVE your work even though it is not my style. You are such an inspiration. I come from a family of artist and learned early about not hanging picture and such too high. I admire your gracious spirit in dealing with those who criticize. Keep up the great work!!!!
Who knew a mirror’s placement could cause so much interest and discussion! 🙂
I love a good rule….and often those rules need to be broken. As a gal who stands 5′ 4″ I have come to enjoy my artwork hanging low. It just feels good in most rooms. Why? Because I sit down usually in most rooms in my house. (Okay…many days I never sit down…Haha!) No one likes to crane their neck to enjoy the art from a seated position. Here’s my personal “rule” for ‘sitting’ rooms. I hang most pictures/art so that the top of the frame is about even with the top of my head…I guess that would be 62-64 inches. It feels good to me and my 6′ 1″ husband and my guests….who always say that my house is such a peaceful place to be. It wouldn’t be peaceful if the artwork was hung in the clouds…that’s for sure. [wink]
Love what you’re doing with your living room Kristi! Even more…I love the success and growth you’re having with the blog. What a blessing for you and Matt! I don’t comment much…but I’m enjoying keeping up on your progress. Keep keepin’ it real!!
Blessings!
All this up, down drama has to stop! It’s mute anyway, ’cause once the mantel is done, it’ all probably going to change. Rest assured ladies and gents that Kristi will put it in the perfect place when the time comes.
Now, I say put the credenza where the scroll table is by the front door. That will give you some place to drop your keys, mail, etc. Good place to put gloves and scarfs and a throw. Place a nice mirror above it, and a lamp.
Oops, am I getting ahead of myself… ;o)
Haha! I will take all of that into consideration. 😉
As one who has always followed the eye level rule, centering it looks “off” to me. That being said, there are times when rules are bent, as in the art above my bed! One thing is for sure..that new color is kickin’!! It looks so fab with the fabric! Whole new room!
I’ve even been known to hang a small piece of art BENEATH a lamp shade as part of the vignette over a night stand. Who’s to say it’s too low? It’s my vignette, my nightstand, my bedroom and my home. No one has ever told me anything but how nice the vignette is. (Sorry, can’t remember my spelling tonight.) But what I really want to say is, Kristi will get everything right in her own time. She always does. She’s such a perfectionist.
Gennelle-
So funny that you say that. I have a sweet plaque given to me by my BFF hanging below the lampshade by my bed so I can see it every morning!
Please, please don’t shoot me. I’m 5’2″ on my good days, so I certainly don’t want art to float higher than my visual field. I looked at this stage of your room for a long time–I love the interplay of the fabric and new wall color. I was just wondering, though, (and I’m getting ready to duck) what your mirror would look like if you rotated the axis so that the longer points made an X on the wall instead of the + as they now do. Just saying….. Can’t wait to see what comes next.
Haha! Okay, that’s funny. I remember when I was getting ready to hang the mirror, and Matt and I went back and forth on how the mirror should be hung. Up and down? Diagonal? He insisted one way, and I insisted on the other. And you know what? Now, looking back, I honestly can’t remember who won. 😀 I can’t remember if I liked it better this way, or if he did. But now that you mention it, once the mantel is done and I rehang it, I just might give it a go the other way. I’d be interested to see what it looks like!
*That* is THE thing that has driven me nuts about your beautiful mirror. ~;) It’a gotta be an “x” instead of a “+.” heehee 😛
I think it probably bothers most people because they want the bottom line of the mirror to connect with the bottom rested line of the shades.
Hmmm…interesting. And the height of the bottom of the shades is subject to change on a daily basis as soon as I get my windows fixed and I raise and lower the shades on a daily basis.
LOL. Maybe you could raise and lower the mirror each time you raise and lower the shades. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
This post made me giggle, everytime I read a comment in the other posts about the mirror being too low I cringed thinking but once she adds to the credenza it will be just perfect so glad you didn’t and aren’t planning on moving it for this phase 🙂
How high/low you hung your mirror was never a concern for me! All this over a few inches in a home not our own? LOL Take a seat in that stunning teal room and breathe deeply!
I was taught in design school that placement of artwork and accessories should also include how the room is used. For instance hanging photographs along a gallery wall in a hallway, people are always standing… so their eye level is higher then if it was a room where people sit as a rule. Hanging art above a sofa or fireplace where the viewer is sitting down means the eye level is lower, therefore the objects should be hung based on a lower vantage point. The biggest mistake I see in peoples homes is artwork hung too high, as if they were 7′ tall and always standing. The old half way rule is not a “good rule” especially when the ceiling is high. Then what?
This was a great post! Made me see things in a new light and I learned something new. (Just so you know, I never complained about your mirror.) Thanks for the explanation.
This post brings back a fond memory. Many years ago my aunt went to a Home Interiors Party where they said wall hangings should be hung at eye level. As my aunt left the party she told the hostess that she had to go home and get the ladder out of the garage so she could “climb up and get Mama and Papa’s picture off the wall and rehang it.” 🙂
By the way, I like your mirror right where it is. I think it looks awfully high when it is centered. Keep doing your thing!
LOL! Ummm…yes, if you have to get the ladder out to reach your artwork, it’s probably too high. 😀
I’m really glad you moved your new lamps into the living room. They look awesome there. You could even use your trusty MDF to make a box around the poles of your floor lamps and do something equally stunning on them.
I love how your room is coming together and I think the mirror is fine where it is. Maybe when those folks get a mirror of their own, they can hang it just as high as they want to. Enjoying your blog.
I never thought to comment on mirror placement before because it looked good to me. It is one of my pet peeves when I see people hang artwork & mirrors too high. And so many people do it. Looking good.
It’s perfect right where you have it. I used to hang mine way way to high, then I read a blog post on hanging them at 55 – 60 inch from Better Homes and Gardens – when I lowered them all, bam, my eye was drawn and my room seemed taller. Amazing!
I go by the rule of hanging wall items “eye level to the lady of the house”! I agree, most people hang wall art too high.
I have learned so much and been so inspired by you. Thank you..thank you..thank you!! You are blessed to be so creative and talented!!
Your room is coming together beautifully!! I wasn’t so sure on the teal Walla, but they make the room pop!!! I really didn’t care for the lamp project when it was posted, but now seeing it in your room, WOW, love it in your room. Looking back thru previous pics of lamps u were debating on, I just giggle..the ones u now have are perfect!!!!!
I cant wait for the fireplace project!!!!!!!!!! I have been wanting to add an electric fireplace…..this is my 4th house and the first to not have a fireplace :-(:-(
Loved your comment about unfinished! Lots of people have trouble with visualizing (my husband). And, is any room really finished? What about the perfect thing I saw yesterday?
I love the new wall color….I love all the things you make…The mirror I have thought needed to be hung higher, but I also thought the mirror glass itself should be bigger, like one layer size more of the glass than of the petals. But….like you said about things looking different up close and personal, actually being there can give you a different perspective. So, I should probably come spend the weekend there with you to see for myself….Ha!….just kidding…not a safe thing for you to do…although I’m sure I would be fascinated by all the charm….yours and.your decorating skills!
Kristi, The trim on my house is all white and the house is tan. I want to paint my front door different then plane white. What color do you think would be good or should I leave it white? Also I love blue and teal and green,so your room looks so amazing to me and the mirror looks awesome. Thanks!!
Janis, are you talking about the inside or outside of your door? In either case, I don’t really ever thing that a door needs to be white, but especially if it’s the exterior you’re talking about. The exterior of your front door can be just about any color you like. Black is always a bold, yet kind of safe, color. It’s also great for the interior of the door. I say just go with whatever you like! There’s really no “right” or “wrong” when it comes to painting front doors. Remember…at the condo, the interior of my front door was orange! 😀 And the exterior was red, although I didn’t have a choice in that one.
The exterior door side I want to paint it dark teal, but truly need your input. This is all new to me, using color,but since I’ve been following you I’ve learned that color is what makes a house a home, my home. No more Ms. Beige.
“Great design is about understanding all the rules, and knowing when to break them.” -Candice Olson
I totally agree! 🙂
the funny thing is, that whenever you showed photos of the room before I always thought to myself: I would have hung the mirror a little higher so it’s centered in that area of wall space. But after seeing your photoshopped picture, it looks all wrong to me and now your original version is the right choice for me, too 😉
I want to add how much I like the new wall colour – it’s changed the entire room and makes it click completely for me now! Esp. the combination of the walls and the table with the blue fabric is stunning!!! Great choice, congrats on your relentless search for improvement – I would have let the brown walls stay brown as I’d have thought: I’ve only just painted them… you rock!!!
Holy Crap! Don’t move it it’s perfect! It shouldn’t be centered, it should be eye level sitting down-or at least where it is currently hung. Man, you’ve been doing so good-that wall color is awesome, you know what they say, it always comes back to your first choice.
Never judge a room till it is finished. Boy, I have heard that one before and it is so true but when it is your home sometimes it is difficult to trust the decorator and her vision. I wanted a professionally decorated house, so at first I would hand over complete control, but again and again, I would hate the end product. I had seen friends fight decorators tooth and nail over every decision and I thought that the decorators were right. But in trusting decorators who didn’t understand my style, I have thrown away thousands of dollars worth of overpriced bedding, drapes, lamps etc. Many decorators are one trick ponies (not you of course) and what you see in their portfolios is all they can do. So before you trust them, you had better like what you see in that portfolio. When I started decorating this house everything was feathers coming out of dried florals of preternatural green, multiple faux surfaces and toile and so just not me but I really didn’t know how to achieve what I wanted either. Finally I found someone who really understands me and she helped me define my taste and I can and do trust her. She taught me to trust my own eye too. The height of a mirror is a small thing compared to letting someone paint a ceiling dark brown and believing it will look good when the rug comes. Finding someone you can trust is another issue entirely but it is part of not judging a room till it is finished.
I agree with someone who commented earlier that the moulding is also throwing people off. At first, I thought the mirror was to low, but then I realized if centered, it would be too high for use. Maybe a photoshop mockup would show that clearly? I bet that would make the first glance say “just right!”.
I am always late in getting in on a discussion, but here is my ‘two-cents’ too late…I think sometimes rules are made to be broken.. For what ever reason, the placement of the mirror is not pleasing to the eye. But, like Kristi said…’it isn’t done yet.. So when she finishes the fireplace it may look different. I also think the curtain material is wrong for the living room. It seems more of a bedroom pattern to me, but I don’t have to live with it. All in all, Kristi’s decorating follows my taste so I will keep on following her advice and blog because she is incredibly knowledgable and I appreciate any and all views. Thanks, Kristi.
The mirror is right where it should be, but the chair rail….. something I learned when looking at putting chair rails in a new house… “Most experts place chair rails at 1/3 the distance of the ceiling height.” Yours should be lower, which would put the mirror right where it is now, and looking right.
http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/home-improvement/chair-rail-height/#.