Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Hanging Pictures

I’ve been living in my house for 2 years now, and we still have pictures on the floor that have not been hung. It’s hard to decide what artwork goes where, how high it should be hung, and how not to have lots of unnecessary holes in your walls? I’ve looked into a few tips for how to hang artwork and hopefully this will also get me and my husband motivated to hanging those pictures that are lying around.

Things I’ll need before I begin:

Measuring tape

Pencil

Nails/ hooks

Hammer

Level

(All can be bought at Lowes or Elliot’s Hardware)

Decorator’s general rule of thumb is to hang artwork at eye level. The average human eye level is 57”. So the center point of the picture or grouping should be right at your eye level. Eye level is usually considered from the standing position, but if the majority of your time is spent being seated in a room, consider eye level from a seated position.

As for physically hanging pictures of the wall, I’ll need to look to the nearest home improvement store for hanging kits. I’ve found this Bob Vila Wall Picture Hanging tool kit that can be bought online at Overstock.com for $15. It includes everything I’ll need.

Nails are great because they are easy to install and are small enough that they won’t create large holes. Hammer nails into the wall at a 45-degree angle. Keep in mind your picture’s weight determines what size hook you will be using. Sometimes if your picture is very large, two nail-and-hooks will be needed

Choose smaller pictures for narrow walls and larger pictures for wider walls. When hanging art around furniture, make sure the pictures is not wider than the piece of furniture.

A level is great for making sure your photo is hanging parallel to the floor and not uneven.

Grouping pictures can be quite difficult. Choosing an odd number of artwork is best for balance. Lay them out before hand to get the right arrangement. Measure each piece of artwork and use tape on the wall to be a template for where each piece is going to be placed. This way you can play around with combinations until you find one that catches your eye. Use a measuring tape to make sure the distance between each piece is equal. You don’t want to upset the balance.

Lighting also plays an important role in enhancing your pictures. When a picture demands more attention, lighting should be used to enhance its beauty.

There is a new way to display your artwork called the Walker System. This new system makes it easy for you to rearrange your artwork and also have no more holes in your walls. Durable hooks attach to your molding to hang your pictures. www.walkerdisplay.com

Sometimes I worry about what happens if I put a picture up and don’t like where it is, ending up with an ugly unnecessary hole. Well to repair the holes myself, I can apply drywall compound over the surface of the hole, no more than 1/8 inch thick. Let it dry completely. Then scrape the surface smooth with a putty knife and apply a second coat. I’ll repeat the process until I’ve built up a compound a little higher than the wall surface. Lastly, I’ll sand the patch and blend into the wall. Voila!










$5.86 $15.31

Can be purchased at Lowes Home Improvement Store.

www.lowes.com


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