Ask Your Brother: What’s the Best Way to Hang a Picture Frame?
One of the best and easiest ways to make your home your own (even in a rental apartment!) is by decorating the walls with personal touches. Whether that means designing a gorgeous gallery wall; putting up a piece of art; or hanging memorable photos of family and friends, framing and showing off your personal style really makes your space come to life. The trick is, though, that you have to do it right! There are countless different wall types, textures, and lifestyles, and depending on your household, the best way to hang a picture frame will vary.
In this Ask Your Brother, Drew and Jonathan are here to explain their favorite methods for hanging frames—and trust us, they’ve tried it all! So this week, when Bryson from Moose Jaw, Canada, asked the Bros, “What’s the best way to hang a picture frame?” Drew and Jonathan went all-in to explain their favorite methods, and even provided some helpful framing tips and tools to problem-solve any hiccups along the way.
Method 1: Command Strips
These small-but-mighty strips are perfect for hanging picture frames flush to the wall without leaving any damage behind. Just make sure you’re paying attention to the weight that the tabs can hold. Each pack has a different weight limit, and you want to make sure you’re buying the strips that will be able to handle your frame’s weight.
“Keep in mind, there are also some that look similar to this that are strips that are double-sided without Velcro—those are not great for photos,” Drew says. “The whole point is, you have the little tab that you’re showing on the bottom side. You need to be able to pull that tab out afterwards to take this off without damaging the wall.”
Bonus tip: Instead of just placing one or two of these strip pairs on your frame, place one in each of the four corners on the back of the frame. This way, your frame will stay rock-solid against the wall—which is especially appreciated if you have a bunch of kids running around, live in an earthquake zone, or just generally have an active household.
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Method 2: Hammer & Nails
This tried-and-true hanging method is great for textured walls, heavy pieces of art, or frames that don’t have a straight back. To make sure your photos are hung straight and level when you drive your screws into the wall, you have a couple options:
Painter’s Tape and a Level: This method makes for an easy hack with some things you probably already have lying around the house or inside your tool kit. Simply run your painter’s tape across the back of your frame and mark where you want your nails to hang with a marker. Then, transfer that same piece of tape to the wall (you can make sure it’s level using a hand level or laser level,) and hammer your nails into the markings.
All-In-One Picture Hanging System: This little gadget is a great hack to easily map out exactly where you need your nails to go in the wall, and make sure the photo is completely level once it’s hung. You can adjust it to fit the width of your frame, and then simply stamp it right into the wall where you want the photo to go. It’ll leave two small marks that you can then hammer nails into.
“Depending on the weight of what you’re hanging, you might need to use an anchor, or you need to look for a stud. That’s why a stud finder is a great thing,” Drew says.
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Tips to Fix an Uneven Frame
Sometimes, your frame isn’t hung perfectly straight, even when you thought you did everything right! Don’t worry, there are a couple easy ways to fix a slightly crooked frame, and they don’t take much time at all.
Angle a Nail to Fix a Crooked Frame: If, after you’ve hung your piece of art with a nail and hammer, you find that it’s slightly crooked, you could easily fix this by angling one of the nails more downward or upward to bring the frame to a level position.
Wrap the Nail in Tape to Level a Frame: If one side of the frame needs an extra lift to make it level, you can also wrap the nail that’s lower in a ball of painters tape. This will shift the frame up and make the picture less crooked.
Ask Your Brother: Send us your issues!
Have you ever wished Drew and Jonathan could help you fix a problem around the house? Or weigh in a decorating decision you can’t seem to make? Maybe you’d like them to point you in the right direction when it comes to your reno?
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