Where to hang art next to a door?

November 17, 2017


We've been in our house for almost a month and I had a goal in mind to get every box unpacked by now. I've accomplished that for the most part -- there are a few more that don't have homes just yet. I built a bunch of built ins in our old house and until I create more here, some stuff will sit in our storage room. 

But I'm relieved that I can finally put the box cutter away and would be thrilled if I never have to look at a cardboard box again in my life. For real. It's so great to finally feel settled! And we've found almost everything we were missing. (Still can't find the saw, which totally perplexes me.)

Anyway...I'm on to hanging things on the walls which is super exciting. It doesn't take much to thrill me, obviously. 😂 I'm trying to be really be very deliberate with what I'm hanging because the thought of messing up and patching holes on these pretty new walls makes me sweat. 

I came to our basement bathroom and was about to hang this art (we like it because it looks like abstract buildings, which reminds us of NYC), but this is the one area I get stumped when hanging stuff. 

Do you place it where it looks best with the door open: 

Or with the door shut?: 

I should have shut the door to really show this, but you get the idea. If a door stays open all the time I go with the former and hang it to the side. But the rare times the door is shut, that really looks off, right? 

And with the door open it looks wonky in the middle to me. Same question goes for furniture -- in our master in both this house and our last, I placed a bookcase centered on the wall with the door open. Our doors are open nearly all the time and we're the only ones who see the inside with the doors shut. But in a bathroom your guests get a front row seat to your hanging skills. Ha! 

So what do you do in rooms where you rarely open the door? These are the real, serious questions in life people. ;) I NEED TO KNOW. 


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Comments

  1. I would buy a smaller coordinating piece of art to hang a bit lower and to the right. If the door hides part of the smaller piece then so be it.... but I would put the large piece to the left of the door.

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  2. I would hang it according to the door open (since you said it is rarely closed), and them maybe hang something behind the door to offset it, for when the door is closed. Just a thought. :-)

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    1. I agree! Then when the door is closed you get a nice surprise!

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    2. +1 That's what I was going to suggest, too.

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    3. Agree, center it on the wall.

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  3. Hang it so it is centered when the door is open.

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  4. My gut says Center it, but I like the suggestions of hanging another piece of art to the side!
    Can you share your wall color? I've bought so many sample cans and still can't find "the one"!

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  5. I tend to put hooks behind doors (such as in the bathroom or bedroom). Then, the art is centred in the space left when the door is open. I never thought about it before!

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  6. Would you consider doing two art pieces centered on the wall side by side? When the door is open you'll see a full, unobstructed piece and a partial piece -- seeing one full piece might help the balance when the door is open. When it's closed you'll have two pieces centered.

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  7. what you didn't show us, was the art with the door shut. I like Casey's suggestion. Or hang it with the door open. My eye says the wall ends where the door starts, when the door is open.

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  8. I always center mine in the space available with the door open.

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  9. Agreed. Hang it centered with door opened. I don't think you even need another piece. Don't overthink it too much!

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  10. Use the space available when the door is open.

    Here's a great link that has all you ever need to know about hanging pix-I use the museum "formula" of 58 inches from floor to center of the picture.

    http://interiordesign.lovetoknow.com/How_to_Hang_Pictures_on_Your_Wall

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  11. I would hang it centered when the door is opened.I like the clean uncluttered look.I think the picture is beautiful.It kinda looks like feathers.Your house is gorgeous. And I can't wait to see how you continue to make it make it your style 😊

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  12. Definitely with the door open. That way if I ever put anything in that floor space, it would keep a balanced look. Plus every time I would walk in and out of the room and saw the art half way behind the door, it would always hit me wrong.

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  13. A few things I would want to know - what is on the other side and is this a full bath?

    If the sink with a mirror is on the other side of the room - how does the art look in the reflection? Will the picture be centered in the reflection or not? Do you care? Could you use Command hooks to test out where you want the art to be? Then, you don't have to worry about nail holes and patching.

    If it is a full bath, where are you keeping your extra towels? Someone mentioned having hooks for towels behind the door. Do you want to have towels hanging there? The art looks like fabric hanging, so do you want to play on the theme and hang some towels in the same colors? It might be a fun look.

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  14. Sarah, You have received many good comments and suggestions. I will add another and hope it helps. Set your panic aside! You have been designing and decorating for a long a long time. Lean on your experience and skill, center the picture with the opened door so you can enjoy it when walking by. Then pick a complimentary art in two or three and stack or four, two on top of the other two. Select similar color and voila! Sit back (no pun intended) and enjoy from all aspects. We make things too hard and stress the small stuff. As a decorator, I know when you are intentional and purpose to create joy instead, you'll have many more smile than frown lines!

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  15. Apparently I'm in the minority. I would hang it so it looks good with the door closed. No one goes into the bathroom and leaves the door open to do their business. I doubt anyone is going to randomly look into the bathroom as they are walking by and even if they do, it would probably be a quick glance. I doubt they would even notice the art behind the door. Hang it so it looks good for people using the bathroom because they are going to be the ones looking at it.

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    1. I also agree with AllyG47. Never gave it a second thought until my husband brought it up. In our case, it's the Powder room and the door is rarely left open. The person using the restroom will see it with the door closed.

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  16. If the door is open most of the time then I would center it on the wall with the door open! You could add some nice hooks on the rest of the wall behind the door to fill in the space and make it look like it was all meant to be!

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  17. Such a tricky question! Is the distance from the edge of the open door to the door casing on the left the same as from the edge of the door to the wall on the right (if the door were closed)? I'm not sure if that makes sense, but if you are hanging the picture centered on the left half of the wall, I think it will look intentional if the door is open or closed. Does that make sense? It's hard to type out!

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  18. I vote to center it with the door open. You could then add two small pieces of art to the right of them to be seen only when the door is closed. These are the type of dilemmas that always stall me in decorating too!
    Shelley

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  19. I have the same wall. I went centered with door open as it’s how it stays 90% of he time

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  20. The paint color looks like spun cotton. I have this in my house and love it. Bought it a Home Depot.

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  21. I had this same quandary just now, but in the spare bedroom. I'm going with door-open centered, and adding a coat hook between that and the door to allow for someone to hang a coat or sweater there if they'd like. Since it's vacant most of the time, it won't take up space and is too small to off-center the picture, and if someone is here, it will balance the door being closed out. I might even get away with putting it just behind the door, but center to the new space, not to the door. Mind tricks used in web design a lot.

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  22. Hello! I’m assuming you already completed this since it was years ago - what was the decision? It seems there’s no “rule” or right or wrong way, but I have a similar issue and was wondering your outcome. Reading through the comments they seem to be split three ways - centered with door open, door closed, and adding additional items/artwork to balance on full wall/door closed.

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  23. Hi. I’d also be interested to know which layout you eventually choose to go with.

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  24. Maybe that is a wierd suggestion, but ...can't you change the orientation of the print, that way it will not bebehind the door and still be in the center once doors are closed.

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