No home would be complete without at least a few pieces of artwork on the walls. And since these displays will be an enduring part of your home's appearance, you'll want to make sure you don't make any mistakes when putting them up.

Choosing the location for a picture is one of the first considerations you'll have to make. The size of the artwork can help you determine a good place for it. Liette Tousignant, an interior decorator and inventor of the picture hanging tool Hang & Level, says smaller pieces can be dwarfed if they are placed next to large pieces of furniture.

Be careful about where you hang a piece on the wall. Adrienne Breaux, writing for the home design site Apartment Therapy, says you want to be especially careful about placing art too high on a wall. This placement will look awkward, and will make it much more difficult to appreciate than artwork placed at eye level.

The sun can affect how the artwork will look. Tousignant says pieces that receive more exposure to sunlight will fade over time unless the glass in the frame guards against ultraviolet light. For this reason, you might not want to hang artwork with bright colors on a wall that is frequently bathed by sunshine.

Consider how your artwork will fit into the room. Breaux says you don't want things to be too uniform, and mixing up colors and styles will create a much more interesting layout.

Don't go overboard with picture hanging. You shouldn't cover every single wall with pictures, mirrors, or other items; leave at least one wall clear.

One way to see how a picture will look on a wall is to put a mockup there first. Chris Gardner, writing for the home improvement professional Bob Vila, says you can cut out a piece of newspaper to the same dimensions as the frame and tape it to the wall. This method is particularly helpful when you are planning to put up multiple pieces of art, since it allows you to find the best locations before you start putting holes in the wall.

When hanging a picture that has a wire on the back of the frame, start by using your fingers to pull the wire taut and measuring the distance between where your fingers end up. The magazine Family Handyman says you should also measure how far these points are from the edge of the frame. This method will let you know how far apart the hangers should be placed on the wall.

It is best to use hangers that are rated for holding up pictures. Gardner says a single nail won't be able to support much weight, so a frame might come crashing down unexpectedly. Family Handyman recommends using double or triple nails, or wall anchors, to hang heavier artwork.

For lighter artwork, it isn't essential to secure the nails to a stud. Joe Truini, writing for Popular Mechanics, says you'll still want to hammer the nails at about a 45-degree angle to give them better staying power.

Drilling or hammering to get the hanger in place can create dust from the drywall or plaster of the wall. Gardner says one simple trick to cut down on messes is to post a sticky note on the wall, folded up to catch any debris as it falls.

The frame may scrape the wall or tilt when you finally get it onto the hangers. Adding rubber bumpers to the back of the frame can help avoid this issue.