There’s no picture hanging without a space for hanging or displaying pictures—this is a basic fact of reality we know well. Whether it’s a premier art museum or a cozy home gallery wall, we dedicate entire spaces for art, to appreciate it, to express ourselves, or to surround ourselves with beauty as much as we possibly can. You can even argue that any space can be a picture hanging space, as long as there’s a wall, or even without any walls. 

Nevertheless, we know that there are spaces much more inclined to displays of art. What are these spaces? Where do we usually hang pictures and what makes a place a good picture hanging space?

This guide will explore the answers to these questions and enter all the picture hanging spaces we know best. You’ll also find out how to make the most of every type of space, from the comfort of the home to more open locations and outright risky settings, and just how much the whole picture hanging experience hinges on what a given space is for.

When we say picture hanging space, we look at any place that hosts or curates collections of art, decorates with art, or produces pictures or art as a service. Some places are more easily pinpointed as one of these spaces, while others fall under a more general scope.

Here, we’ll look beyond the confines of the home and of the personal. We’ll look at picture hanging spaces in the business world, in workspaces, and in some unexpected places that might never have occurred to you.

The more we learn about picture hanging in these spaces, the more we’ll understand that the whole picture hanging process and experience depends on the most prominent characteristic or purpose of a space. Whether a space is largely for private use, whether it’s defined by its size, or whether it gets an impressive amount of foot traffic—these aspects will often dictate crucial details in the process of picture hanging.

Now, let’s enter these spaces, see what about each space impacts picture hanging, and demystify the process of hanging art in each type of space. Let’s get into it!

We’ll tackle each picture hanging space by the characteristic that most affects hanging projects in that space: access, function, and limitation.

Our first category of picture hanging spaces is defined by the kind of access people have to them, namely private spaces and public spaces. Most, if not all, spaces for hanging pictures can more or less be tagged under one of these two groups, but the places in these first two categories are most impacted by whether they are publicly accessible or not.

Private spaces are areas in the home where pictures are hung, while public spaces cover a variety of establishments and places most people have access to.

Because we decorate our homes, the most private and personal space we have, these are primary spaces for hanging pictures. Decorating the home with art is one of the most personal ways to display pictures. It is also the one space that is most likely to not exclusively display art. Instead, personal mementos and photos hang side-by-side with art.

The living room and bedroom are prime areas in the home for hanging pictures. Here is our guide to hanging bedroom art and wall decor easily:

There are even unexpected places in the home that you can use to expand your decor, like the mantelpiece or doorways. Check out this guide to doorway picture hanging:

Some homes were built in eras with construction practices and housing elements different from today. This guide covers picture hanging in those older homes:

Commercial spaces are, by and large, public areas. These spaces are built for business, so they’re characterized by high traffic and limited room for decor, if it's a priority at all. Not all public picture hanging spaces are strictly commercial, however, they are still similarly distinct in the amount of activity they attract and generate.

Establishments and institutions in the art world are among these spaces, mainly:

• Museums

• Art galleries

• Art studios

• Art exhibitions

There are museums dedicated entirely to art, and museums with art exhibits. Art studios can also display art depending on whether it’s a pottery studio, a photography studio, a dance studio, and so on, while art exhibitions are hosted in various places, from event halls to trade fairs and shopping malls.

A subset of these commercial and public picture hanging spaces belongs to the hospitality industry. The nature of this industry and many of the fields within it makes wall decor and picture hanging more relevant than it would usually be in other commercial spaces. These spaces include:

• Restaurants

• Cafes

• Hotels 

• Resorts 

• Conference halls

• Banquet halls

• Event spaces

• Airbnbs

• Vacation rentals

Aside from the spaces we’ve listed, retail establishments also benefit from and partake in picture hanging and similar displays. All the spaces in this category accommodate a large number of people on a daily basis, making any displays of art much more prone to disruptions, accidents, and theft. On top of the regular picture hanging process, additional measures for security and safety factor in for these picture hanging spaces.

Dive into our guide for public and commercial picture hanging:

Beyond the first two types of spaces above, each group of picture hanging space that follows has a more prominent aspect beyond being a public area or not.

Productive picture hanging spaces are spaces in workplaces and in educational institutions with hanging needs that serve the main functions of these spaces. These also include communal spaces for work and study or similar spaces for learning, like:

• Corporate offices

• Co-working spaces

• Libraries

• Community centers

• Classrooms 

• Dormitories 

• University hallways

• Study rooms

These spaces are often publicly accessible, or at least semi-private, but some of them, like dorms or home studies, are private spaces. They all can house artwork for decorative or educational purposes, or to create environments more conducive to productivity. As such, they’ll often have more practical hanging needs that cater to these purposes. We have several guides for picture hanging in these productive spaces:

The spaces under this category have picture hanging needs dictated by a certain limitation. These constraints can be due to square footage, overexposure to the elements, or a non-static environment. Each limitation makes the hanging needs of each space unique and requires us to think outside the box. Many of the spaces below cover a more general category and may often overlap with spaces in the categories we’ve discussed above.

A rental space like an apartment rental or corporate office rental may have different purposes from one another, but they all answer to rules set by landlords. This will often mean more restricted picture hanging, where you can’t drill into walls or make any permanent changes to the interior of a rental space. These spaces need more wall-friendly hanging solutions and methods.

See our guide to picture hanging in rental spaces:

Like rental spaces, this type of space is also a more general group and can apply to a home as much as to an art studio or a cafe. When square footage is limited, it may seem challenging or even impossible to decorate the walls with art. But you can hang art even in the most modest-sized locations. 

Mobile spaces are picture hanging settings that are not stationary, or at least not always. Picture displays in these spaces are vulnerable to movement, especially unpredictable movement, and thus need hanging methods that prepare and protect wall decor from any swaying, shaking, jumping, and falling. Mobile picture hanging spaces can be found in:

• Mobile homes

• Trains 

• Ships 

• RVs

Decorating these spaces can be quite different from the usual picture hanging experience, particularly because the walls are not the same as the substrates that most picture hanging hardware is designed for. This results in resorting to adhesives and minimal drilling.

Our guide to RV picture hanging delves into what it’s like to hang art in a mobile space:

It’s not that there are places best for hanging art, it’s that art can be hung in just about any space, and we make these spaces accommodating of these displays to the best of our ability. That includes the help of many picture hanging hardware, so our pictures stay safe and stunning. 

From art museums and libraries to bathrooms and RVs, here’s to a happy hanging!