Where to Hang Family Portraits in Your Home

Most family photos never make it to a wall. They live on a phone, get posted once, and quietly disappear into ten thousand other pictures.

If you're going to have portraits made, it's worth thinking about where they'll actually go. Here's how I think about it.

Above the couch

This is the wall that matters most. It's the biggest uninterrupted space in most homes, it's what people see when they walk in, and it's where your family sits.

The mistake almost everyone makes here is going too small. A single 11x14 above a seven-foot sofa looks like a postage stamp. The general rule is that your art should span about two thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over most couches, that means something in the 40 inch range or a grouping that adds up to it.

This is exactly why I project images on your wall before anything gets printed. Size is almost impossible to judge in the abstract, and almost obvious once you see it.

The hallway

Hallways are the most wasted wall space in American homes, and they're perfect for portraits. A series of pieces down a hall gives you something to walk past every day, and the tight viewing distance means smaller pieces work well here.

This is also where families put the story: the kids at each age, the grandparents, the ones who aren't here anymore. A hallway can carry a whole family across decades.

The entry

The first thing anyone sees. One strong piece here says something about the house before anyone says a word. Keep it to one, since entries are usually too small for a grouping and too busy for anything subtle.

The stairwell

If you have one, it's a gift. The wall along a staircase can hold a full family collection, arranged to climb with the stairs. It takes planning to hang well, but it's the most impressive placement in a home when it's done right.

Bedrooms, and why they matter more than you'd think

Parents put a portrait of the kids in their own room and see it first thing every morning. Kids get one of the whole family in theirs and grow up with the visual fact that they belong to these people.

Nobody outside your family will ever see these. That's part of the point.

The rule underneath all of it

Hang it where you live, not where it looks tidy.

Guest rooms and formal sitting rooms don't earn portraits. Kitchens, hallways, living rooms, and bedrooms do. The whole value of a printed photograph is that it becomes part of your ordinary day. Art you walk past twice an hour is worth more than art in a room you enter twice a year.

That's the reason your reveal happens in your home instead of over email. We're not picking favorites off a screen. We're deciding what belongs on your walls, standing in front of them.