My Mom’s “Look-At” Rule Is the Decorating Secret I Swear By Now

I’m of the belief that moms truly know everything. Even as I enter my mid-30s, my mom continues to give me clever tidbits on cleaning, cooking, hosting, and, yes, design, that I wish I knew sooner. While I feel like I’m learning new tips all the time, one of my mom’s design lessons that I reference the most dates back to when I was in college (so I’ve been able to reference it for nearly 15 years at this point).

We were in the process of hanging some artwork in my room at home when my mom reminded me that portraits, which I’ve always loved displaying, should be positioned to “look at” each other in groupings where you’re hanging two. Plus, they should be placed on the side of the wall that’s opposite from the direction they’re “looking.” I’ve come to call this the “Look-At” rule for hanging art.

“When I worked doing layout at a magazine, we were taught to consider photographs or pictures on a page as a unit,” my mom explains. “Likewise, when portraits are placed on a wall, they need to be considered as part of a whole, looking inward toward each other.” 

If you’re not fully understanding this rule, some visuals might help. You can see this method at play on this large gallery wall within my current NYC apartment. Not only are the faces in these pieces positioned so that they’re looking at each other, but also, the portraits that are “looking” to the left are placed on the right-hand side of the wall, and vice versa. 

This setup makes the most sense visually, but far too often I see people nailing portrait art into the wall with no regard to this design guideline, and it stands out to me every time! 

For example, in the illustration above, I would swap the oval portrait of the woman so that it’s on the left side of the gallery wall, and I would move the other female portrait to the right.  

Of course, you should display art in a way that makes you happy. If you really feel like following this rule would ruin your space’s vibe in some way, by all means, feel free to ignore it! If you’re like me, though, and appreciate a little guidance to tuck away in your back pocket as you design your space, certainly add this mom-approved suggestion to your list.