I’ve been dreading hanging artwork in our den for about seven months now. Yes, it’s naked as a jaybird.
We’ve gone seven months without hanging a single thing on the walls in our den – and I’m ashamed.
This little area between the kitchen and the den was looking particularly bare. (And yes, I know that the thermostat is not exactly a fabulous design feature – but this is the real world, people!!).
Over the weekend, I finally decided to bite the bullet and punch a few holes in that perfectly painted paneling (say that three times fast) – but carefully, of course. You see, it was my fear of turning my paneled walls into Swiss cheese that kept me from taking the plunge for all those months.
So I developed a plan. Plan #1 involved those Hercules Hooks (found at Bed Bath & Beyond) that were touted by the late, great Billy Mays. The idea was that I would place them just below the molding near the top of the wall so that the hooks (and any oopsie holes) wouldn’t really be visible. Unfortunately, those suckers were a no-go. Even though the website said they would work on paneling, that was a lie – I even poked a hole in the paneling with a nail first, and those little buggers still wouldn’t go through.
Ah, well.
Plan #2 involved real honest-to-goodness nails. Big ones.
I chose not to use anchors and just went for it with these big suckers. But before I started nailing, I measured between the edges of the panel to find the centerpoint:
Then I tapped in my nail just under the molding until only a tiny bit of the nail was sticking out. You might be wondering why I placed my nail so high – you see, I decided to hang my artwork from a long length of picture wire so that the hole in the wall wouldn’t be smack dab in the middle of the paneling, right at eye level. I think it gives the artwork kind of a gallery-like effect:
By the way, I absolutely love this piece (Phancy Pheathers) by Charles Harper. If you aren’t familiar with his work, you should definitely check it out!! My parents owned this piece for ages and gave it to me two years ago.
I now have several of his prints and I love them all!
But back to the picture hanging. Once the nail was in the wall, I took a long length of picture wire and strung it through the eye hooks on the back of the frame. Then I hung the picture from the nail while keeping a very firm grip on the frame – that way I was able to figure out how long the picture wire needed to be. Once I determined the length of the wire, I wound each end of the wire around itself several times, clipped off the extra wire, and called it a day!!
Turns out that hanging pictures in paneling wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be – now I can’t wait to hang the rest of my artwork!!
What do you guys think about the picture wire being visible? Yay or nay? I was thinking about painting the nail and picture wire to match the wall color, but I thought I’d live with it awhile to see how I feel. And I’d love to hear any tips or tricks that you guys have for hanging pictures on paneling!
This post is shared with DIY Day on A Soft Place to Land.
Those hooks don’t work on plaster either. They completely cracked and crumbled my walls.
I wouldn’t paint the wire. I think it would look too much like a cover up job.
I had the same experience with Herculean hooks as CeeDeeDee…completely worthless.
I love the artwork choice though — it works perfectly with your den!
Speaking of artwork… you were one of the winners of the Tim Irving photography giveaway. Come on over and give me your full info, with your pick, and I’ll be sure you get your lovely print!
Kate
I love it – the wire showing, the placement and the artwork! I hadn’t heard of this artist before, so thank you!
The old high-ceilinged houses had picture moulding around the tops of the rooms and we hung everything from it on clips, with “silk” cord no bigger around than your wire. The cord could match the wall (disappear) or be a bright accent color!
Hey guys, thanks for weighing in on the picture wires!! I’m glad to hear that you guys are liking it, and that I’m not the only one who can’t get those darned Hercules hooks to work. :)
Janis,
I thought about those clips but I have no idea where to find them – any ideas?? Thanks for your help!! :)
Kate at Centsational Girl,
I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!! Thank you!
~ Liz
Elliott’s might have something locally, but google took me here for some really good-looking clips:
http://houseofantiquehardware.com/s.nl/sc.13/category.142/.f?GCID=S14464x015&KEYWORD=victorian%20picture%20hangers&partner=gpc&s_kwcid=TC|7359|victorian%20picture%20hangers||S||4068005319&gclid=CJqa5YKt-ZsCFRINDQodeRqb-A
Janis,
Thanks so much!!! I’m going to check these out – I’m wondering if the top of my picture molding is rounded enough for these clips to hang on? Some investigation will be needed – I’ll keep you posted, and thanks for the link!
~ Liz
That link that became invisible works when you click it, but if you’d like to know the name, it’s Houseofantiquehardware.com. I see they also sell the cord!
Thanks for sharing! I love DIY DAY!
Love this piece of art,so unique and how nice to have it given to you .I will check out his work, Kathysue
Ughh I hate hanging art! I think its always crooked!