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Hanging pictures in your home or office can add a distinctive touch to a room and make it more personal. This is particularly important as more of us spend more time at home, now even work at home.
Putting up your favorite paintings, posters, or photos of precious memories can make a room feel truly unique. However, simply nailing photos to the wall isn’t always an option. If you’re renting, or if you want to avoid damaging walls, you might need to look into alternatives for hanging pictures without nails. You may be keen to cause as little damage as possible by using a picture hanging rail. In this guide, we’ll go over what types of picture-hanging options there are, as well as the pros and cons.
What are picture hanging systems?
If you’re looking for a way to hang pictures, paintings or artwork, a picture hanging system can give you terrific flexibility combined with convenience. For example, a rail system will let you hang multiple different pictures on the same rail, giving you the option to adjust the height and spacing easily. These systems can be installed with a few simple steps:
- Mount the picture hanging rail to the wall or ceiling. This will need drilling into the wall, but this is the only time you’ll need to drill
- Hook the cords onto the rail wherever you want your pictures to be
- Add the hook onto the cord at the height you want
- Slide the picture onto the hook.
Do picture hanging systems damage walls?
Picture rails like these do need some holes to be drilled in to secure the rail initially. This can be either into the wall or ceiling. Even if you choose to screw it into your wall, this is still much simpler and more wall-friendly than making a hole for each picture. Even better, you don’t have to fill and re-drill holes when you want to change your wall decorations.
Are these safe for all types of walls?
There are so many different wall types that it can be a challenge to know where you can and can’t hang art. Luckily picture rails can be used by attaching them to the ceiling. This means that they can be used even on hollow walls or walls with pipes and wires inside.
What else can I hang from picture hanging systems?
You can use a picture hanging rail to hang almost anything. There are some great effects you can achieve by hanging textiles, light baskets of plants, and more to make a unique gallery wall. You could even make a decorative wall while saving closet space by hanging up hats and scarves. Just check the weight of the items first.
How do I pick where to place my hanging system?
Picture rails are so flexible and secure picture rails, you don’t have to settle for just hanging pictures on a firm and convenient wall. Instead, you can pick any area that you want to spruce up.
What other options are there?
There are other methods for hanging wall art. For example, you could look at:
- Adhesive hooks
- Hooks to hang pictures from molding
- Putting pictures on shelves.
However, none of these gives you the reliability and flexibility of a picture hanging system.
Picture Hanging Systems: Summary
Picture hanging systems are a great modern solution for hanging pictures, especially if you can’t drill directly into a wall. They also give you the flexibility to change your art around without having to deal with unsightly holes or marks left by other hanging options. Once you have a suitable system, you can let your imagination run wild while you arrange your perfect gallery wall of pictures, photographs, and even objects.
