Hang Your Pictures Like a Pro

Whether you’re hanging just one piece of artwork or a whole wall of pieces, here are some tips from the pros to make the job easier for you:

1.  Hang so that the center of the piece is 60″ – 62″ off the floor, which in general is eye level for the average person.

2.  When hanging two or more pieces in a grouping, space them approximately 2″ – 4″ apart, depending on the size of the frame.

3.  To create a collage of pictures:

a.  Trace the size of the pictures on brown craft paper or newsprint

b.  Flip over the pictures, put the paper template on the back of the picture

and rub a crayon over the hanger to mark it on the paper.

c.  Arrange and tape the paper templates on the wall until you like the

way the grouping looks.

d.  When you’re happy with the arrangement, put the picture hanger right

through the paper template.

e.  Take off the template and hang each picture on its hanger.

4.  To hang one picture on top of another, hang the top picture first.  Make

your own plumb bob with a heavy washer on a piece of string – hang it

on the hanger of the top picture and it will automatically give you

the exact vertical line.

5.  If your  picture has hangers on both sides, place a strip of masking tape

across the back and mark exactly where the nails will need to be placed.

Then take the tape off the art and put it on the wall.  Put your nails through

the marks on the tape.

6.  If the wall is wallpapered, use a sharp box cutter to cut a V through the

paper where the nail will go.  Lift the V- shaped paper and drive the nail

into the wall.  Later, if you move the picture, you can glue that flap of

V shaped paper back in place and no one will know there was a hole there.

7.  To keep the picture hanging straight, hammer a very thin, short nail into

the back of the frame on one of the bottom corners, leaving about 1/2″

of the nail exposed.  Use pliers to cut off the nail head.  When the picture

is hung and leveled, press the bottom corner of the picture tight against

the wall so that the thin nail goes right into the drywall.  You’ll never have

pictures hanging crooked again.