How to hang frames and paintings: the best techniques

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The first time I tried to hang a painting on the wall, it looked like this:

Confident as ever in my DIY skills, I rushed through it thinking everything would automatically be straight thanks to gravity... Needless to say, it gave my friends a good laugh and I wasted 3 hours redoing it all.

Luckily for you, I'm going to share all my mistakes and much more: you'll be able to benefit from all the tips of our best DIY experts.

It would be a shame not to get their advice: they have hung hundreds of frames and paintings for our clients, so we asked them to share their best tips with you:

• to avoid beginner mistakes

• to choose the right type of wall hanger for your walls

• to decide between drilling or non-drilling solutions

• to understand how to hang a frame or painting easily, all in video tutorials.

❌ What should you be careful about? Are there any mistakes to avoid?

Let's do a quick recap of the important things to avoid disaster before even putting in the first nail.

If you just want to know what type of hanger to use, you can skip the following lines and go straight to the next step.

1. Start by choosing the ideal wall

You probably already have a good idea of where you want to place your frames. That's great because the first impression is often the right one. However, try 2-3 other spots just to see how it looks and eliminate the ones that don't work.

Here's a tip from Damian:

For example, in my living room, I only had one wall available for frames, so I decided to go all out with a music theme... I like the effect I got, and that's all that matters!

2. Create a mock-up with cardboard frames

This is one of the best tips if you're not 100% sure what you want to do:

• cut out pieces of cardboard the size of your frames

• tape them to the desired location

• step back and assess the result

• make adjustments if you're not satisfied

• when you like the result, mark the corners of the frames with a pencil (don't forget to use a spirit level to ensure everything is straight)

It takes a bit of time, but it's always better than having holes in the walls!

3. Determine the type of your wall

Now that you know where to place your frames and paintings, you need to identify the type of wall you're dealing with. This is important because the tools will vary depending on the wall.

Tap on it like you would on a door. You'll get one of two results:

• it sounds hollow

• it sounds solid and dull

If it sounds hollow, great, the wall will be easy to drill or nail. If it sounds solid, you might need special tools... especially if it's a load-bearing concrete wall, you'll need a heavy-duty hammer drill that can be quite expensive!

4. At what height should you hang your painting?

This is a common question, and the answer is: it depends!

It depends on how many paintings you have and their size, the furniture underneath, and the atmosphere you want to create. When in doubt, there's a technique that gives you a good starting point, as Yohann explains:

And there you go, now you just need to choose your type of hanger based on the type of frame or painting you need to hang. It's perfect timing, as that's the topic of the next section!

What type of wall hanger should I choose for my paintings?

Let's get serious and explore all the solutions with and without drilling, their advantages, and disadvantages. You can skip to the option that interests you.

However, before heading to the checkout, remember that choosing the right hanger mainly depends on your wall's surface and the weight of the painting:

• small painting < 4kg = one anchor point is enough

• large painting > 4kg = at least two anchor points

To make things easier, we've asked some of our best DIY experts to give their opinion on each type of hanger!

Hanging a painting without drilling: it's possible with the following solutions

Let's start by helping the ones with a "sensitive" landlord who doesn't allow any holes in the walls... the task is definitely more challenging.

However, there are effective and easy solutions to install all your frames. Here's an overview of the best solutions according to our DIY experts.

3M Command Strips: perfect for not damaging walls

✅ ADVANTAGE: leaves no marks; very easy to use

❌ DISADVANTAGE: doesn't work on rough surfaces; max weight 7kg

🆗 EFFECTIVE FOR: paint; varnish; metal; tiles; glass

Command strips are THE magic solution for hanging your frames without drilling and with no effort. They are specifically designed for this task and do it perfectly.

I'm obviously talking about 3M Command strips like these:

Thanks to Robert, who introduced us to this wonderful, mark-free solution:

TESA adhesive nails for paintings: like nails, but without holes!

✅ ADVANTAGE: height adjustable; adheres to wallpaper

❌ DISADVANTAGE: supports up to 1kg, so only for small frames

🆗 EFFECTIVE FOR: smooth painted walls; wallpaper; plaster; etc.

Need nails but can't make holes? No problem with TESA adhesive nails!

They work similarly to strips, but the advantage is that you can adjust the height of the nail

Here's what Julian thinks:

Hooks without drilling? It's possible with double-sided tape

✅ ADVANTAGE: economical solution; can support heavy paintings

❌ DISADVANTAGE: not resistant to humidity, not ideal for the bathroom

🆗 EFFECTIVE FOR: all smooth surfaces

You might not be able to make holes to fix your hangers, but nothing stops you from using good old ultra-strong double-sided tape. You know, this one:

Thanks to this technique from Christian, a DIYer on Yoojo, you can use any hanger you like and install it on any wall. It's simple, but double-sided tape is so strong that it can replace any screw.

Note: do not use it on wallpaper as you risk tearing it off!

The best hanging solutions that involve making holes in the walls

If you can drill or use nails in your walls, the following solutions are clearly the best: simpler, more effective, and safer than the techniques mentioned above!

The classic picture hook: excellent for hollow walls

✅ ADVANTAGE: specially designed for hanging paintings; easy to use

❌ DISADVANTAGE: impossible to use if the wall is too hard

🆗 EFFECTIVE FOR: hollow walls like plasterboard; wood; wallpaper

If you didn't already know, there are hooks specifically created for hanging paintings, and they look like this:

There are models with 1, 2, or 3 nails and they can support between 5 and 15 kg for the larger hooks. Here's what our expert DIYer thinks:

The Swedish hook: perfect for solid walls

✅ ADVANTAGE: supports up to 30kg; can be used on almost all types of walls

❌ DISADVANTAGE: difficult to remove

🆗 EFFECTIVE FOR: concrete; plasterboard; wood; wallpaper; paint; etc.

You surely know the Swedish hook; you probably even have some in your "miscellaneous drawer." It looks like this:

This type of hook is specifically designed to hang heavy paintings on concrete walls... you can't go wrong by buying Swedish hooks.

Are there nails specifically for paintings?

You know that a good old nail can help you hang a painting, especially if it has a string system... But is there a type of nail specifically for stringed paintings? The answer is:

YES

They look like this and have a sort of groove on the head to hold the string:

If your DIY store only has "generic" nails, go for the ones with a large head... this prevents the painting from sliding and falling!

Wall plugs: perfect for hanging large paintings

✅ ADVANTAGE: available for all types of walls
❌ DISADVANTAGE: requires a drill; can be expensive
🆗 EFFECTIVE FOR: all types of walls; very heavy paintings (over 15kg)

The great thing about wall plugs is that they are available for all types of walls:

However, because they are more complicated to install, I recommend using them only if you need to hang very heavy and large paintings, like those over 10kg.

OK, but which type of wall plug should you choose for your painting?

There are 2 types:

1. expansion plugs for solid walls
2. toggle plugs for hollow walls

If you don't understand what I just wrote, it's best to ask an advisor at your favourite DIY store which type of wall plug to choose. You just need to know the type of wall you have, and the advisor will help you!

The crocodile hook: perfect for hanging a painting canvas

✅ ADVANTAGE: Specially designed for framed paintings

❌ DISADVANTAGE: Requires more effort compared to other techniques

🆗 EFFECTIVE FOR: really all types of walls

Also called a "sawtooth hanger," crocodile hooks work a bit differently from the techniques we've discussed earlier. Here's what it looks like:

As you can see, you need to screw the crocodile hook onto the frame of the painting, which you can then place on a nail. The notches will allow you to adjust the frame to make it perfectly straight!

Here's a tip from our Handyman John:

Conclusion : it's not that hard but a bit long

You now know all the techniques for hanging frames and paintings without any problems, so it's time to take action!

And there's nothing better to understand a DIY task than a good explanatory video. Here we present 3 ways to hang 3 different types of paintings.