If you want to make a home feel like your home, personalized wall art is among the most surefire (and cost-effective) ways to do it. Treasured family photos, stencilled monograms, reproductions of your favorite painting—all can be printed as custom canvas prints, as well as wood, metal, and even blankets. But to make custom wall art truly shine, its presentation should be as personalized as its content. Here are three easy design concepts that can be applied to any room:

Shelf or Mantelpiece Showcase

Transform a shelf or mantelpiece into a memory of your favorite vacation with a collection of souvenirs and custom photo prints. When printed on a small wood panel or gallery-wrapped canvas, photos can simply be leaned against the wall—no frame or hanging hardware needed—to help lend a sense of place to seashells, knickknacks, and any other mementos you brought home with you.

Triptych

A triptych can make a dramatic impression, whether it’s a single image divided across three panels or three related images hung side-by-side. This format works especially well with panoramic landscape photos, as each individual panel can help highlight interesting features that would otherwise be lost in a single giant image. In the process, it covers more horizontal space—perfect for longer walls or hallways.

Photo Montage

Can’t decide which of your child’s artworks is your favorite? Create a large centerpiece from several smaller images with a photo montage. This is a great way to impose order on several assorted-size images that might look awkward hung side by side. It can also lend a sense of narrative to related images, such as several years’ worth of school portraits or family photos taken at your annual vacation spot.

Final Suggestions

Art looks its best when it’s easy to look at. So once you have your personalized wall art printed and ready for hanging, keep the following in mind:

Hang it at eye level

Hanging your custom wall art about 55–60 inches from the floor to the center of the piece ensures that it naturally draws the eye without any neck-craning. In rooms where people spend more time sitting than standing, such as a dining or living room, hang it a little lower so it’s easier to admire while seated.

Ensure even spacing between multiple pieces

This is true for any collection of artwork, but especially crucial for making triptychs and photo montages look their best. Measuring tape is your friend here; use it to get exact measurements and then mark each piece’s position before hammering in the hanging hardware. A bubble level is also essential for making sure nothing is hanging crookedly.