I’m going to share with you one of my favorite tricks of hanging art easily and quickly. Creating art installations and groupings is one of my favorite feats of decorating! It never fails to amaze homeowners when I demonstrate my advanced picture-hanging skills. A few times I’ve had male homeowners who about came unglued as I began hanging art without measuring.
One guy argued with me that what I was doing made no scientific sense and that there was NO WAY it could be more accurate than taking multiple careful measurements. He shut up when he saw how quickly I was able to hang art completely level without measuring.
As I was hanging art in a client’s music room a few weeks ago, I had her record it so that I could show it to you guys:
I encourage you to try it for yourself. You might even amaze someone, too! If you want to learn how to arrange your furniture and art like a pro, check out my video workshop, Just the Right Furniture Arrangement.
What a great idea! LOVE that!
Does the wide painters tape help? I’ve noticed that long sections of tape will flex, keeping me from getting a straight line if I rely on the tape alone. Perhaps this is less of a problem with the wide tape you used?
Yes, Cindy – the wider tape keeps it from flexing. A couple of husbands have said it can’t be accurate because of flexing, but again, it’s wide tape and doesn’t give like less significant tape.
Kristie, my husband LOVES this trick! Before I go to a job where I’ll be hanging things, I always check with him to make sure I have the right equipment/hanging tools/nails/anchors whatever. . . and he always says, “use your paint tape trick that Kristie taught you!”!!! :). Thanks for the help!
Yay, I’m glad it’s working for you, Karen!
Kristie, I love this!!! I am mathematically challenged and have always found ways to hang or place things without measuring so this will fit right in with my bag of tricks. Bravo! No measuring and no shoes….my kind of woman! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Jacquie,
I am the WORST at measuring accurately – I’m much better at eye-balling most things!
Super easy! Love this. I’ve used a long piece of paper or cardboard to do the same thing. (Jordan watched this with me, she said “hi!”)
Awww, tell Jordan I said hello! 🙂
Ok, that’s brilliant! I am trying that with my artwork today! Thanks.
Let us know if it works for you (it will!).
Thanks for sharing this tip. Your method does appear quicker and less cumbersome than trying to balance a yardstick and a level and a marking tool simultaneously!
Yes – it’s sooo much easier, and even more accurate!
You are pretty much a genius!
Not quite, but thank you, Karin!
That’s absolute genius! Another great tip, Christie! Thank you.
We do this when we remember to have painters tape stocked in out tool bag. What a great visual you provided. Thinking of copying your idea and posting this to our site, if you don’t mind.
This is why I ALWAYS carry painter’s tape in my tool bag, Liz!!!
I’m always looking for easier ways to hang things, so I love this tip! One note, though:
Make sure the D-rings are attached evenly to the frame — otherwise you might need to compensate for the difference to make it level. The last big picture I hung had one ring almost a 1/2″ lower than the other!
Also, it might be overkill, but I usually use screws and wall anchors rather than nails to hang bigger items. Maybe just because when there are kids in the house I don’t want it going anywhere! 🙂
Thanks, Amanda. The only time I use screws is when the picture is particularly heavy. Once you put screws in the wall, that baby isn’t moving for a very long time. No one wants to deal with those big holes, so I try to avoid screws unless truly needed. Using two large nails with heads makes a very secure anchor when the art isn’t terribly heavy.
That was brilliant. THANK YOU. And, you’re so cute on camera.
Oh, thank you, Angela! You are very kind 😉
What a great tip! I’m a long time follower but first time commenter. May I ask what the paint color is in the room you are in during the video? Thanks. 🙂
Jennifer,
The paint color on both the walls and trim in this room is Sherwin Williams Pewter Cast.
What a great idea Christie! I will be sure to use it in the future!!!!!
What a great idea Christie! I will be sure to use it in the future!!!
I find that most times the D rings are not level, which means this method unfortunatley would not work in those situations. However, I bought a tool at a home and garden show a couple of years ago called Hang It (Google “hang it picture hanging tool” for their website). This tool compensates for the uneven D rings and allows me to hang artwork super fast – no tape, no measuring, no level (since it has one built in!). It has been an indespensable tool for my staging business!
Brilliant! I will totally use this! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing, Kristie!
Do you know where the framed sheet music is available? I have been searching for something like that for a long time.
Thanks!
I believe the homeowner bought that framed piece from the Nashville Flea Market!
Kristie thank you so much for showing this video. What a great idea. I will for sure use it on my next staging job. I hope to see more videos from you. I have learned a lot watching videos and reading your articles. Thank you.
Nina,
Thank you so much for the complement!
This is a wonderful tip! And the wide tape makes sense. Measuring doesn’t always work anyway, as you know. The only problem I can see is if the framer didn’t put the d-hooks exactly level on the frame…or if you have pre-made frames, sometimes, they are off a bit and you need to take that into consideration. Still, this beats measuring by a mile!
I wish I knew this tip when helping my mother-law with her pictures. I used the mearsuring method and it came out fine, but this is so much faster. I must admit that I tend to wing it more for my own home, except for really large and heavy pieces.
This will greatly help when hanging a pair horizontally even. I only ever eyeball, and often need to adjust the height in hanging a pair. This will assure an exact line. Thank you so much. It’s genius!
Glad to help, Patricia!
Great idea Kristie! So easy- which is perfect!
This is a great tip! We did something similar when hanging two mirrors, except we had a LOT of trouble getting them aligned with each other. Any tips on how to do that? They didn’t have D-rings, but those sunken slots for the screws to fit into on each side. I’m wondering now if we should’ve laid them out on the floor (spaced how we wanted them to be) and used one long piece of tape to go across both of them. Maybe?
Kristie!
Awesome~I will definitely use that trick!!
I love that idea!!!
That is so neat! I love the piano. I wish I had room in my house for one. I betcha I could fit it in here. lol I think that would be worth seeing the “Developing thought”s look on my husband’s face.
Great idea, Kristie!
You are a genius!!! I’m planning to move some art around and will be using this tip for sure!