Low-drama picture hanging

By badbadivy

Maybe it's just my family, but there's always a lot of drama when we hang pictures. It's always "No, the left side needs to be a bit higher. No, wait. Now the right side needs to be higher. Now the whole thing is too tall." Then there's the great problem of using a pencil to mark where the nail needs to go, then measuring carefully down from the pencil mark. It seemed our paintings never ended up exactly where we really wanted them.

I got a tip from a friend that has changed all that! All you need is some crappy lipgloss and a mini-level.

Sorry for the blurry picture, it was the best one I could get. My friend suggested using a kid lipgloss, but since my kid will only wear grown-up lipgloss, we had to use some lipgloss I have that I hate.

Apply a thin coat of lipgloss to the hanger(s).

Hold the picture about an inch from the wall, and use the level to get the painting completely level. Make sure it is hanging at the height you want it. Typically, the middle of your artwork should be at eye level. We hung our painting a bit higher in this case. When you get the picture where you want it, go ahead and press it to the wall.

This will result in a lipgloss mark on the wall. Now you know exactly where to put your nail, screw, or whatever hardware you're using to hang your picture with.

Caveat: I have a satin finish on my walls. The lipgloss wiped off easily and left no mark whatsoever. If you have flat paint on your walls, it may not wipe off as easily. I have not tried it, though, as I don't have any flat painted walls to test on.

The results: a painting hung exactly where we wanted it without any drama of measuring or guessing. (If it looks crooked at all, rest assured that's the fault of my crappy photography skills)

Tagged:
picture-hanging artwork hanging pictures