How To Choose the Right Picture Hanger

Pictures make a huge decorative difference to a room. They could liven up the atmosphere, make a room more homey, and make it more cosmopolitan. The possibilities are endless. Hanging up pictures is one of the easiest and most convenient ways for you to let out your inner interior decorator – we all have one, don’t we?

Apart from choosing which pictures to hang, another important thing you’d have to take into consideration would be how to hang them. There are many varieties of picture hangers available. Read on to find out how to choose the right picture hanger:

1. Know the picture hardware involved. In order to hang a picture, a picture would need to have a wire running across its frame, or a kind of sawtooth attachment (both of these will be found at the back part of your picture). This wire or the attachment would serve as the area where the hook that would hold up the picture could pass through. In essence, therefore, you would need two components: the picture wire or attachment, and the picture hook. These two make up your conventional picture hanger.
2. Know the different factors to consider. The most important factor to consider would be the weight of the picture you would hang. Always make sure that you ask how much weight the hooks are designed to carry. For example, Ook professional picture hangers have picture brass hooks that could carry pictures ranging from 5 lbs to 100 lbs.

   If you don’t want to drive nails through your wall, you could consider using picture hooks with strong adhesive material that would enable you to stick it directly to your wall. Make sure that you follow instructions properly to make sure that the strips are firmly attached. Better yet, there are available strips that you could stick directly to the back of the picture frame, which then enables you to attach it to the wall – no more need for picture hooks and picture wires. One company that manufactures this technology is 3M, with its “Command Strips”. You could choose small strips which could hold a picture weighing 1 lb; its medium strips could hold up to 3 lbs. Check out solutions.3m.com for more details.

   Back to the conventional picture wire and picture frame method: it depends on the frame of the picture which kind of hanger you would use. Remember, a metal picture frame needs a metal hanger, and a wooden picture frame would need a wooden hanger.

3. Know the components of a picture hanger kit. Conventional picture hanger kits would have the picture wire and screws which you would attach to the back of the picture, and the picture hooks and nails (which you would attach to the wall).
4. Know the available features and options. There are many other options available. One example is Ook’s “Kidsafe and Preparedness Hanger,” which incorporates earthquake precautionary measures (for example, center of gravity nail guides, re-enforced elbow, etc.) to its picture hanger kits. If you’re looking for mirror hangers, you could choose from hardware such as mirror holders with anchors, mirror clips, and adjustable mirror holders. For heavy duty hanging, consider heavy hangers that are designed to hold pictures from 100 lbs to 160 lbs – excellent for use in art galleries and museums. For more lightweight and easy hanging, choose plastic hangers and hooks that have adhesive material. You could also take advantage of a picture hanger helper (find out more at inventionconnection.com for more details) for more accurate hanging. Why not make your picture hanger a decorative centerpiece in itself? You could make a bow from leftover fabric and then use it to cover the picture hanger hooks.

That’s it! These are just some of the things you’d need to consider in order to choose the perfect picture hanger for you. Now after you’ve chosen your picture hanger, it’s time to choose the picture, but that’s a different article altogether.