It’s a familiar scenario: you’ve fallen in love with a piece of art, brought it home and then have been too unsure or intimidated to hang it. Or, worse still, that pricy investment that sent you subliminal come-get-me messages from the white-walled gallery now looks hopelessly out of place in your not-so-minimal home.

Hanging artwork has for years baffled countless aspiring home decorators. How high should a picture be hung on the wall? What form of lighting is most suitable and will different styles and sizes of picture work well together? Positioning your pictures is not a science, yet there are a number of factors to consider before creating a home gallery that is visually effective.

Art in the home, according to many experts, tends to be hung too high, usually to make space for furniture. Ideally, artwork should be hung so that the centre point of the picture or grouping is at about eye-level (approximately 1.7m above the ground) for the average adult. While this won't be possible or prudent in every situation - in a dining room, for instance, where viewers will be seated, you may want to lower the centre line - it's a useful measurement to keep in mind.

Grouping - hanging your paintings so they ‘feed’ off each other - is another area that continues to flummox even the most ardent art enthusiast. Although there are no hard and fast rules for mastering this technique - the eye of the beholder is what really counts – there are certain pointers to simplify the process.

Firstly, consider the layout of the rest of the room. Do you want just one group of pictures in a single area, or will one or two pictures elsewhere help balance the room? Secondly, think of a grouping of pictures as one unit. Test all potential arrangements of pictures by laying everything out on a large table or on the floor, playing with combinations until you hit upon one that works. Bear in mind, though, the layout and furniture in the proposed area as this may influence how you want the pictures laid out.

Galway-based art dealer Calvin Campbell recommends choosing pictures that harmonise in some way. A group of framed black and white prints of all shapes and sizes invariably works well together; hanging in blocks and rows is visually effective when the frames are the same. However, if you have a mix of frames, consider a ‘salon hang’ whereby frames suggest their own pattern, allowing works of different scale and size to be displayed.

Other popular hanging configurations include the cluster arrangement, which works well on both large and small wall spaces and comprises a group of pictures positioned closely together to create one large focal point; and the conventional ‘in a row’ option where pictures are displayed in a horizontal line, thereby giving one another balance.

Lighting is another crucial factor in your hang. With badly positioned or poorly chosen lighting, entire compositions can appear murky or bleached out, oils can acquire the appearance of lunar landscapes, and varnished surfaces gain irritating reflections.

Depending on the location and the painting, it may be appropriate to install special lighting. This needn’t be expensive or disruptive to your home, but will greatly enhance the artwork. Flexibility is key, however, when choosing lighting - you’re likely to want to rotate or update your collection so keep the lighting as versatile as possible.

Although popular, spotlighting tends to be frowned upon by professionals as it tends to cast a ‘hot spot’ which creates a glaring reflection on a painting. Similarly, traditional picture lights are not without their drawbacks as a light source, not least as they tend to light only the top third of a picture.

“Art lighting is a compromise and requires some expert advice,” said Dr. Lori Verderame, director of the fine art and antiques resource www.DrLoriV.com, who advocates a combination of halogen and incandescent lighting as the most practical solution for the widest range of art lighting situations.

Following all the rules in the world is, in itself, not a foolproof recipe for success. If you can’t find a place where the art looks its best, you may need to make some changes in the room, such as moving furniture or taking down patterned wallpaper and repainting in a neutral colour. Inconvenient as they may be, such changes will be worth making in order to enjoy the art you love.