Many people like to buy artwork, but how do you hang the picture on the wall properly once you buy it? There are certain tricks of the trade you can use to make your picture look great every time you hang it.
A picture hanging system makes putting up artwork simple, but if you are hanging a painting at home, here are some tips:
Consider Your Strategy
You need to consider the weight, shape and size of the artwork you intend to hang. You also should know what the material of the wall is before you attempt to put it up. Can you drill into the wall if it is brick? What if the wall has tile on it? Will the plaster wall hold up the picture if there is no stud behind it?
Collect Supplies
You need a hammer, a pencil, and a measuring tape. But there are other things you should have on hand:
Lightweight pictures need small nails, while medium-weight ones need a picture hanger. For the heaviest pieces, you need to have a large nail, stud finder or wall-plug anchors, screws, and a screwdriver.
Hang It Up!
There is definitely a science to getting the height and position of the piece exactly right – this is what measuring is for! To be precise, the center of a framed painting must be 57 inches above the floor; this is the average eye level for people. It also is the height that galleries use to decide where to put their paintings.
Mark 57 inches with your pencil. Now, measure the middle of the wall from side to side and mark where the points meet. That is where the middle of the painting should go.
Next, you should measure the distance between the middle of the artwork and where it will latch onto your nail, or where the attached wall hanger is.
Measure that difference from the midpoint mark on your wall. This is where you will put the nail. But if you are hanging a heavy piece, you should use your stud finder to locate the stud. See if it is in a good position for where the nail is going.
If so, you can hammer in your big nail and hang your piece. But if the stud is not in the right place – which is most of the time – you can use an anchor and screw.
Drill a hole, tap the anchor made out of plastic into it, and screw a screw into the anchor. Leave a bit exposed so you can hang the picture on it. And you are done!
