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It can be challenging to find the ideal layout and method for hanging your favorite pictures around your home, so we’ve gathered the best picture hanging hacks to help you get started.
Before you hang anything, there are a few things to note: it’s recommended to mount a picture so that its center is at eye level, which on average is 57 inches from the floor, according to most galleries and museums. Another rule of thumb is to hang frames anywhere from seven to 10 inches above the top of nearby furniture. Finally, know what type of wall you’re dealing with (drywall, masonry, etc.), research if you’ll require anchors, and purchase all necessary hardware and tools for mounting items onto such a wall.
Read on to find out 15 easy picture hanging hacks to save yourself time.
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01
of 15Use Adhesive Mounting Strips
The Spruce / Marty Baldwin
If you prefer to do away with all tools, nails and anchors, and holes in the wall, the easiest way to hang up a picture is via hook-and-loop adhesive mounting strips such as the velcro and 3M Command variety.
This is only ideal when you’re using lighter-weight frames. Be sure to buy the appropriate strength strips that correspond to the weight of the item, and to follow instructions such as adhering the strips to the wall without mounting the item for a certain number of hours or minutes.
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02
of 15Try Toothpaste
The Spruce / Letícia Almeida
If you already have a framed piece you’d like to hang and the frame itself has two integrated hanging rings spaced apart, you can often skip the measuring steps by making temporary markings on the wall with toothpaste.
Dab a smidgeon of toothpaste onto the ring backs (just enough to leave paste marks when you press the frame against the wall) while placing a level on top of the frame. Then, hold the frame up to the wall in front of you, pressing against the wall when the level is straight. When you remove the frame, you should see the paste remnants marking exactly the two spots where you need to hammer in nails or hooks.
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03
of 15Install a Ledge
@estherbschmidt / Instagram
If you have multiple frames to display but don’t want to bother with measuring, marking, and installing mounting hardware for each picture, you can cut down on preparation time by installing a simple picture ledge.
There’s still measuring and drilling involved, but it will be for a singular ledge as opposed to multiple frames. The best part is that you can move items around and change out items if you have new favorite art images or photos to share.
Be sure to purchase an appropriate length ledge to suit the space and surrounding furnishings, and check that your chosen product can accommodate the total weight and frame dimensions. As with any installation, use a level to avoid a crooked ledge.
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04
of 15Skip the Drilling
The Spruce / Meg MacDonald
If you’re dealing with drywall and your picture is on the heavy side, there’s actually an easy-to-use no-tool product that allows you to skip the process of drilling holes for anchor-and-screw attachment.
3M released its claw product, which is essentially a metal plate with an integrated hook on the front and a pair of claw-like curved points on the back that you push into a drywall using your thumbs. Surprisingly, they’re sturdy enough to hold 15 to 45 pounds (depending on which claw product you purchase). Best of all, if you mess up mounting placement, you can just as easily remove the claw by sliding a flathead screwdriver behind the plate to loosen it and pull it away from the wall, revealing holes that are much smaller than typical anchor holes.
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05
of 15Unlock a Keyhole
The Spruce / Meg MacDonald
Though it’s less common, you might find that your frames have keyhole-like hardware on their backs, which differ from standard D rings, sawtooth hangers, or wires. They have wide holes on the bottom to “catch” a nail or hook, and narrower holes at the top that “lock” the frame into place.
You can save yourself time by taking any sheet of paper, aligning the top edge of the sheet to the top of the frame, and then tracing or making a pencil rubbing of the keyhole(s) onto the paper. Then tape the paper template you’ve just made to the wall to guide your hammer and nail.
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06
of 15Tape Your Layout
The Spruce / Marty Baldwin
Envisioning the layout for a full gallery wall of multiple frames can be a difficult feat. To avoid filling the wall with pencil marks or premature nail holes, you can always use paper cutouts corresponding to each frame you wish to hang there.
Simply use scotch or painter’s tape or museum putty to temporarily position the cutouts on the wall, adjust positions, or completely move them around. You’ll want to mark each paper cutout with something to identify which frame or picture it represents to give you a sense of how the layout will look and how to balance things visually.
It’s also helpful to mark each template with the exact spot where you’ll need a hook or nail. This way, you can even hammer nails directly into the marks while the template is on the wall and then carefully rip and peel away the paper.
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07
of 15Get Sketchy
The Spruce / Meg MacDonald
Another way to envision a gallery wall is to draw it: pencil frame outlines onto any type of rolled or large-swath paper (the white/blank side of leftover wrapping paper, kraft paper, or kid’s drawing paper.) roughly in the locations you think you want to place them. Once you’re satisfied with your layout, adhere the whole composition onto the wall to begin hanging the corresponding pictures.
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08
of 15Use Tape As a Guide
Getty Images / RightFramePhotoVideo
If you like the toothpaste idea but aren’t keen on getting paste on the wall (and having to clean it off), another simple method of marking the hanging holes or rings on the frame is to use a strip of painter’s tape.
Hold a strip of tape that’s roughly the same width as the frame, sticky side out, on the back of the frame so that the tape’s top edge aligns with the frame’s top edge. Grab a pencil, pen, or thumbtack to poke holes in the tape matching up with the hanging ring/hole locations on the frame.
Then stick the tape in the rough location where you wish to hang the picture. You might want to hold the picture up to the tape strip to make sure that’s where you want to hang it. Use a level and adjust the tape strip as needed to avoid a crooked hang. Then, drill or hammer the hardware directly into the holes you marked in the tape. Peel the tape away carefully and hang your piece.
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09
of 15Consider a Laser
The Spruce / Henry Wortock
If you’re using one of the hacks listed here to create a gallery wall or just planning a singular row of several pictures, consider using a laser level on the wall. It will speed up the process by allowing you to align whichever gallery planning method you prefer in one shot as opposed to constantly picking up and dropping a conventional level.
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10
of 15Stop the Swing
The Spruce / Meg MacDonald
If you’re hanging a single frame that has a fixed wire on its back as opposed to rings, you’ll have some leeway on installation so long as you get the height correct.
You can hammer in a nail and hook at an approximate as opposed to precise spot width-wise and then slide the frame’s wire bit by bit to center it until it’s level. The bad news, however, is that this type of frame can swing from any house vibration and can be nudged lopsided as someone walks past it.
An easy fix for this is to use a couple of pebble-sized balls of museum putty on the frame’s bottom corner backs to create friction between the frame and the wall. If you can’t find museum putty, try self-adhesive furniture feet non-slip grippers, or bumpers but check that the product thickness doesn’t push the frame too far out from the wall.
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11
of 15Magnetize Posters
@estherbschmidt / Instagram
An oversized frame that holds poster-size pictures can be costly. Consider skipping such a frame with a magnetic poster hanger. Poster hangers encompass two pairs of minimal wooden strips that integrate magnets, enabling the strips to sandwich and hold the top and bottom edges of the poster or print.
The second pair of magnetized wooden strips weigh down the bottom edge to keep it from curling up and catching on to anything that brushes by. The strips, available in a range of widths and color finishes, typically have one or two rings — sometimes with string — at the top to hang the poster.
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12
of 15Plan Ahead
The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska
If you’re hanging up a heavier frame of any sort, do yourself a favor and mark the wall with a strip of painter’s tape roughly where you plan the top edge of the picture to hang. Then, use your level against the tape strip as opposed to struggling to hold both the level and heavy item against the wall.
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13
of 15Spare Your Fingers
The Spruce / Marty Baldwin
Sometimes called invisible-nail picture hangers, non-trace nail hangers are plastic pieces that incorporate a hook and three or four short metal pins that stick out in front.
When holding one of these flat against the wall, you simply hammer in those three pins—which have needle-thin points on the wall side—until they’re no longer sticking out of the hanger face.
The benefit of using these is that the short metal pins secure the hook in place while creating very minimal needle-sized holes in the wall. There’s also a lot less risk of accidentally hammering your finger as you’re holding the plastic hanger in place as opposed to a single narrow nail head. There are various hook styles available for different weight capacities and wall types from concrete and masonry to solid wood.
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14
of 15Make Cleanup Faster
The Spruce / Sanja Kostic
By now, you’ll notice that painter’s tape is somewhat a panacea in home improvement tasks, and this includes catching the dust you create from drilling holes into the walls.
When your picture requires you to drill a hole to accommodate heavier-duty wall anchors, stick a piece of painter’s tape just below (about an inch or two) the hole and peel the tape forward so that some of the sticky side is facing up toward the hole location.
Drill and watch the wall dust fall onto the sticky tape. For best results, you may want to use a thicker-width tape or stick multiple pieces together to increase the catching area.
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15
of 15Use a Fork
The Spruce / Candace Madonna
For those times you’re having difficulty hooking a frame that utilizes a wire on the back, there’s a super simple hack to stop wasting time and stop scuffing the wall paint: A fork.
Once you have a hook or nail in place, place the head of a fork on it and then slide the frame onto the fork handle all the way down until it reaches the nail or hook. Then lift the fork back up and out from behind the frame.