Avoid measuring mistakes

Hanging light fixtures, flat-screen televisions and art all require commitment — you've got to put holes in your walls or ceiling, which can be a scary proposition.

The right measurements depend on your physical height and the room's use, but there are guidelines you can follow. Here's how to make sure your walls don't end up looking like Swiss cheese.

Artwork

The biggest mistake people make when it comes to hanging artwork is not hanging it at all. David Kassel, the owner of ILevel, a professional art installer in New York, says that people are just too scared to put holes in their walls.

But unlike a light fixture or flat-screen television, hanging art does very little damage to your wall . As for art placement, Kassel says there is no right or wrong, but there are some general rules of thumb:

• When hanging art, make sure you consider the room's purpose. In a living room, for example, art should be hung at a height that looks good when viewed while standing and sitting.

• In general, pictures should be hung so that the center of the work is at eye level; for most people, that means the middle of the picture should be about 58 to 60 inches from the floor.

• When hanging pictures next to one another in a grid, you should have about 2 inches both vertically and horizontally between items.

Flat-screen TVs

Most professional television installers say that many people ignore the optimal height guidelines for hanging flat-screen televisions to hang their televisions over a fireplace, which is almost always too high. Optimal viewing, no matter the size of your screen, is straight on at eye level.

Travis Bingler, commercial account manager at the Charlottesville, Virginia-based electronics store Crutchfield, suggests always assessing the right height from a seated position rather than standing, and ensuring you have thought of all the wires, power source, components and cables.

Sconces

If you hang wall sconces too far apart, your room will look disjointed; too close, and it will look cramped.

When hanging sconces in a hallway or living space, you want 8 to 10 feet between them so they emit a good balance of light. They should be just above eye level, anywhere from 60 to 68 inches from the floor to the center of the sconce back plate.

Dining room lights

You want to center the fixture over your table and hang it so the measurement from the bottom of the fixture to the surface of your dining table is 30 to 36 inches.

Choose a fixture with a width at least 6 inches narrower than the table's width on all sides. If you move your dining table for parties, use an S-hook on the chain to lift the fixture up five or six notches to accommodate people walking under it.