Roundup: Tools for Hanging Artwork

Over the years we've rounded up a lot of tools to help hang artwork. And considering how much hanging art can pull a room together you'd think we'd all be on board. But it takes a big commitment (see all our framed prints leaned against the wall waiting to be placed in the *perfect* spot) to make the decision and sink the nail. Jump below for a roundup of helpful art hanging tools and for a tool we had almost forgotten about:

Remember that whether you're hanging artwork in a line or a discombobulated gallery to hang them so that the center of the frame or the group lands around 57" up from the floor. This is the standard for galleries and museums because it's about eye level for most.

In art school I used the string and pushpin method:
Measure up 57" from the floor where you want your first image, then do the same where you want the last one. Sink a pushpin into each spot and then run some string or thread between the two. This will give you a level line (as long as your floor is level, which it isn't always) to hang along so that a line of images will be in a perfectly neat row.

The hang and level boasts one of our favorite features, eliminates “mistake” holes and scratches. It also helps to hang things level (if you couldn't tell from the name). Reader Studio Starter reminded us about it in our post about a hanging that demands precision.

Here are some other tools that are helpful for hanging artwork:
How To: Arrange and Hang Picture Frames Using Butcher Paper
Tools: The Hang and Level
AT Reader Tip: Hanging a Frame with Two Holes The Easy Way
Art Gallery Layouts
Right tool for the job: Laser Level
One Finger Installation with Push Hang Drywall Hooks

If you're too afraid (or aren't allowed) to put holes in the walls:
Cheap and Easy Hanging Hardware Idea
Alternative uses for Binder Clips

If you're a renter that isn't allowed to hang things on the wall, how have you gotten around it? Do you use any of the tacky sticky stuff to hang things? Or wires? Or do you just patch the holes later?

Comments (12)

Has anyone tried the Hang and Level? That sounds great if it's as easy if it looks. Please let me know if it works well!

You should see my walls - I have holes all over the place from putting hooks in wrong, rehanging and rearranging...

...every time I paint a room, I spend at least a day in prepwork filling holes, waiting for the spackle to dry and sanding it smooth.

Oh - and my boss has an apartment where she "Can't" nail things into the walls. We've tried those 3M hangers - They stick for a while, then things start dropping off the walls...

...I recently told her I'm just going to use regular hooks and fill in the holes with spackle when she moves.

(When I was a kid, my Dad was in the USAF and we lived in Base Housing - in the late 60's and early 70's, folks often used toothpaste to fill in the holes in the walls before they moved!)

A lot of people did that toothpaste thing in our dorms too bepsf.

my school intentionally mixed a little bit of green in the paint (unnoticeable until contrasted with normal white) they used in the dorm rooms so that students couldn't easily hide the holes and they could charge you for repairs. but they underestimated the determination and color matching skills of their art students.

I've always put nail holes in my apartment walls even when I wasn't 'supposed to.' as long as you use proper picture hanging hooks that leave small, discreet holes and don't make too many, the landlords are often willing to overlook it.

In my experience, landlords don't usually notice tiny pin or nail holes in the walls, especially if you were a good tenant and the rest of the apartment is clean and undamaged. If you're paranoid, there's always spackle.

Hang and Level rocks!! It was developed in Canada by a woman who was a designer and hated how nervous she felt when she had a hang pictures for clients with them looking over her shoulder.

I really like my Hang and Level. I've used it to hang a large framed picture (by large i mean almost as wide as my bed) and it worked out perfectly. This is a purchase i'm not regretting.

I have one -- it's wonderful!

I have an extra one, unopened, and ready to ship if anyone is interested (I ordered two by mistake, and coudn't return it).

kim924 at gmail

Here's a handy push-hammer that I use: Nail Driver. Always hits the nail on the head (and never hits my fingers).

Wow! I'm so thrilled to read all your great feedback on Hang & Level. I'm the inventor of the tool, the woman in the picture at the very top of the page. As one of you mentioned, I came up with the picture hanging tool idea out of pure frustration and fear of putting extra holes in my clients' walls. Now, here I am with a whole team of people developing wall décor solutions to make picture hanging easy or easier. Many thanks for your support, we all appreciate it.