Styling a Woven Wall Hanging: Height, Light and Company

Why a textile on the wall works

A woven piece on a wall does what a framed print cannot: it softens a room. It brings texture at eye level, it takes the edge off a hard, echoing wall, and it reads as warm from across the room. Our wall hangings are sheesham wood and wool, so the wood gives a clean line at the top and the wool hangs below it.

If you want to hang a full rug rather than a wall hanging, see hanging a rug on the wall, which covers battens and weight.

Choosing the wall

The best wall is one you see from where you sit. Above a sofa, above a bed headboard, at the end of a hallway, or on the wall facing the door as you walk in. Avoid the wall directly behind a television, where the piece competes for attention.

Keep it out of strong direct sunlight, which fades wool over time, and away from kitchen steam and bathroom damp.

How high to hang it

Over a sofa or bed, leave a clear gap between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the hanging, enough that it reads as one composition rather than touching. A hand's width or a little more is a good starting point.

On an open wall, hang it so the centre of the piece sits around eye level for a standing adult. In a hallway, err slightly higher so it is not brushed by people walking past.

As a rule of width, a hanging above a sofa looks most settled when it is clearly narrower than the sofa. Tape the outline on the wall with masking tape before you drill.

Light

Woven texture shows best with light coming from the side or from above, which throws small shadows across the surface. A wall washer or a picture light works; so does a floor lamp beside the sofa. See lighting a room around a rug for the same idea at floor level.

What to put it with

Let the hanging pick up one colour from the rug below it, not all of them. If the room has a busy patterned rug, choose a quieter hanging; if the rug is plain or natural, the wall can carry more.

Leave space around it. A wall hanging surrounded by framed pictures turns into one more thing on a crowded wall. On its own, it becomes the focal point.

Care

Dust the wool gently with a soft brush or a vacuum on low with a brush attachment, holding the nozzle a little away from the surface. Wipe the sheesham with a dry or very slightly damp cloth. Do not wash the hanging.

Each piece is made to order and ships free. Some images are digitally rendered, so colour and texture can vary slightly.

Hanging it straight and secure

A wall hanging with a wooden top bar needs fixings that suit your wall. On solid masonry, use wall plugs and screws sized for the weight; on a hollow plasterboard wall, use fixings made for hollow walls, or find a stud. If in doubt, ask someone who fixes things to walls for a living.

Mark the position with masking tape first, check it with a spirit level, and step back to the place you will usually see it from before drilling. A hanging that looks centred from close up can look off-centre from the sofa across the room.

Let the wool hang freely below the bar. Do not pin or tack the lower part to the wall; it should move slightly and settle under its own weight.

Proportion, room by room

Above a sofa: the hanging should feel related to the sofa, clearly narrower than it, with a small clear gap above the sofa back. Too small and it looks like it has wandered onto the wall; too wide and it crowds the room.

Above a bed: treat the headboard as the sofa back. The hanging can be a little wider relative to a bed than a sofa because a bed is visually heavier.

On a staircase or landing wall: hang it a little higher than eye level from the stairs, so it is not brushed by shoulders or bags.

In a study: on the wall you face when you look up from the desk, not behind you, so you actually see it.

Common mistakes

Hanging it too high. The most frequent error with any wall piece. If the bottom of a hanging is far above the furniture beneath it, the two stop reading as a group.

Crowding it. A woven piece needs some bare wall around it to show its texture.

Putting it in full sun. Wool fades with long exposure to strong light. A wall that gets direct afternoon sun is a poor choice.

Hanging it where it will be touched constantly, such as beside a light switch or a door handle. Hands carry oils that mark wool over time.

Moving it later

When you take a hanging down, roll the wool loosely around the bar rather than folding it, wrap it in breathable cotton and store it somewhere dry. Folding leaves creases in wool that take time to drop out once it is hung again.