apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

This would be perfect for hiding an ugly unusable intercom in my hallway. I'd been thinking about covering it with some fabric stretched over a canvas but don't have extra fabric scraps that would work. Finding a picture to put over it would be much easier.

I think 4" is a little too far out for me, however. I'll have to figure out a way to DIY this.

slowdown, yes, DIY is the way to go; especially at $16(!)
and I'd like to see them at different depths, plus more 'solid', so your picture isn't dangling, just in case something got bumped.

This is incredibly handy. Clearly an easy DIY- hardware stores should provide several similar options in different sizes. However, this is a time and energy saver... and the results are really neat.

Thanks for pointing this out!

Nice! I agree with MaeEast about the different depths.

You don't need these things to hide unused intercoms or thermostats unless they're amazingly bulky - and if you do use this thing, you're still going to see the object that's behind if you're not directly in front of the piece.

I hide intercoms and thermostats with regular pieces of artwork that are not flush against the wall - pieces with a gap between the backside and the wall but where the frame or edge of the canvas is against the wall - and you'd never know that there's anything back there.

It appears that these may only work with small pieces as well, as wider/heavier pieces of artwork require two hangers - both to support the weight and keep the thing from tipping to one side or another.

I'm sure an iron welder can make a few of these in a variety of depths faily inexpensively. I might buy one just to have it reproduced.

"...but don't have extra fabric scraps that would work."

How much is a fabric remnant from a flea market, garage sale or eBay - Five bucks?

@bepsf: Obviously scraps are cheap, but I don't have the time and patience to source something appropriate and I'm not a crafty person in general, so I don't have any just hanging around. Sheesh.

I would just use some wood scraps to hold the hanger you would use directly on the wall. (Nail or screw the wood to the wall, attach the nail or hook to that, hang the item. Obviously this wouldn't work for transparent things.)

Nice idea if doing a montage of photos like in the photo above to allow one or two smaller art pieces to hang out over the larger pieces affixed to the wall itself and that is more of what I think it's intended for anyhow.

I saw these in the catalog as well, and I wasn't impressed. The idea is great, but I don't there is anyway to pull this off cleanly. You have a very limited viewing angle. From the side, you'd see these weird things sticking out of the wall.

What's with the sudden influx of "don't want it to look too catalogy" comments. First, from what I've seen on here, that chances of that happening are slim to none. Secondly, rooms in catalogs are styled by some of the best in the business. I wish my room could look like some of the catalog pictures I've seen. Most of which simple reflect rooms people like you and me have decided were wonderfully liveable.

Having vented that tirade, I have always liked the 3D wall art display. It's nothing new. It's usually done by attaching a piece of 2x4 to the wall and mounting your piece to it. I like this tool, though. If interested in hacking something yourself, go for it. Bet there are lots of things out there that would work.

But, think before spending your valuable time hacking a $16 picture hanger. Saving money is good only if it doesn't waste time. You can get more money, you will never get the time back.