Expert Tips On How To Hang Heavy Photos
How To Hang Heavy Photos - Tips and Tricks
Do you have photos in your home that you’ve been waiting to hang? Whether they are framed or photo canvas prints, HD metal prints, and more – photos are an amazing way to turn any house into a personalized home. They can also help an empty room feel finished in just minutes. Maybe you’re a collector or a fan of DIY pieces to create a custom gallery wall. Quit ignoring the art sitting on the floor and listen to our tips on how to hang heavy photos.
When it comes to hanging your art, there is a right way to hang heavy photos without damaging your walls. Here we have a few tricks of the trade to make your home in the inviting space in your home.
Here are a few simple tips for how to hang a picture like a pro.
Measure Your Space
A lot of mistakes that come with hanging artwork has to do with not measuring the space first, and your photos look out of place. Before you just start hammering away, we suggest planning out the placement of your artwork with painter’s tape or even a paper cutout to give you a better idea for how it will look. Make them the same size and shape as your frames or canvas photos and place them on your wall. You can even use self-adhesive bumpers to the bottom corners on the back of the frame before trying to hang to prevent them from scuffing the wall. Feltworks just as well.
You don’t want to hang your frames too high or too low. The common rule of thumb is to keep everything around eye-level, especially when hanging them above furniture. Try to keep a 6” buffer between the bottom of the frame and the top of the furniture.
Weigh Your Prints
Once you’ve got the placement down, the next step will be choosing the hardware for hanging, which begins by weighing your prints. Canvas is usually fairly lightweight, and a single nail could do the trick. However, if you are trying to hang heavy photos or particular large ones, you’ll want to use a level and use two or more nails so that your picture doesn’t swing or get uneven when someone walks by it.
Heavier photos might also need screws instead of nails and could require a little more maintenance than simply swinging a hammer. Read on as we talk about using studs and the right hardware for your artwork.
Find The Stud & Use The Right Hardware
You’ve heard this before, but when it comes to how to hang heavy photos, you want to hang them on a stud. Studs, or wooden support braces, is usually about every 16 inches in drywall. You can easily get a stud finder, or use the gentle tapping method until you hear a solid sound. If the sound is hollow, you aren’t on a stud.
Narrow pictures probably need a hanger that uses several nails for added strength. If you don’t have studs that are easy to find, like with plaster walls, you should definitely use a photo hanger that uses screws and not nails.
However, we know that you might not want to hang your pictures where the studs are. There are other methods. You don’t want to rip your photo out of the wall, so studs are best. But a lot of people, especially renters, are looking to non-nail options like the popular 3M Command adhesive hooks. They are relatively inexpensive, hole-free hanging, and can hold very heavy photos without peeling off the tape when you decide to move them. They also tell you how much weight each hook can hold, which is why weighing your prints is important.
Consider A Shelf Instead
Plaster walls can be tricky, and if you’re constantly rearranging or struggling to hang heavy photos, then a picture shelf might be the perfect solution. A picture shelf means you only have to hunt for studs once, and you can rearrange your photos however you’d like.
Similarly, or alternatively, a picture rail is great. Save your walls from holes and give yourself a more formal look than just a shelf. A secure rail near the ceiling of your design space gives you a place to hang your art using hooks and string, and again you get the freedom of rearranging however you’d like.
Order Custom Prints Today
Some people have an interior design instinct, without any fear of choosing the wrong photo prints or arranging perfectly the first try. However, most of us need a little more guidance when it comes to decorating our homes to match our own personal style. It can get overwhelming, and oftentimes we avoid having our home be how we truly want it.
However, when it comes to ordering custom prints, we got you covered. We make it easy to mix and match sizes and styles so that you get the gallery wall that you want. From gorgeous canvas photo art to HD metal prints to art printed on acrylic, you can turn your blank wall into an expression of your own personal character and design style. We’ll help you get creative with styles and textures and sizes, to create a look that is just your own. With dozens of options to choose from, you can artistic prints or glossy acrylic photos, there is no limit to how you can decorate your space. We hope that we’ve given you a decent how-to guide when it comes to how to hang heavy photos so that your next hanging experience goes smoothly.
Let the experts at Canvas Factory help you get the home you’ve always wanted. Start with finding the perfect photos, whether that’s your family or favorite locations, or you can browse through over 1 million free-to-use photos in our database. Then pick your style and quantity, fill out your shipping and billing info, and that’s it! Get beautiful and high-quality photos shipped right to you. If you have any questions about our process or are looking for help with a particular style, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
