How to Hang Art Damage-Free

How do you go about hanging wall art on plaster walls without chipping or cracking the plaster finish?   There's nothing worse than seeing a hairline crack form, and then race down the wall before your very eyes!  There are several products out there that are designed for hanging various weighted items on plaster walls. For light- and medium-weight pieces, I've found that absolutely nothing beats the 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips. 

Here in our living room, I have a blank wall above the sofa. (Can we pretend for a moment that the end table doesn't stick out 8 inches into the foyer entrance?  Thanks!) The wall has a sconce in an awkward spot (there's a matching one on the opposite side of the foyer entrance), and there's also a light switch there.   The ceilings in the room are gloriously high - but in this corner, they're devilishly high. The high ceiling creates this strange, vast space above the sofa, to the right of the sconce, to the left of the lamp.  Yes, a very awkward space, and I've been searching for something to hang there for almost a year.

I was at HomeGoods today, and found a painted canvas that called out to me.   I love the colors, and I thought it might be great above the sofa.   I brought it home, and put it near where it will go... and darn it, it's too small.  Too square.   It's not going to be the right thing for this spot.   Darn it.

But hey, I love it, and I want to put something up there, so for now, this is what it will be.

OK, so let's talk about hanging this artwork.   It's very light weight.  I didn't actually weigh it, but I'd guess it's easily less than 5 pounds, probably less than 3 pounds.   It came with these saw-tooth picture hangers on the back... but I dread putting nails in my plaster walls.  What if I don't put them in the right place and have to move them?  What if the plaster cracks or chips when I put the nail in, or if I have to move the nail?  No, I don't want that worry. 

So I pulled out my trusty 3M Command Picture Hanging strips.  The use the Command Strip adhesive to attach hook-and-loop fasteners to the wall and to your picture.  Once installed, the art is movable - if it's not level, or too far to one side, just pull the fasteners apart and re-install in the right position.  

Before I got started, I did check to make sure that the Command Strips would be deeper than the picture hanger... that way the adhesive on the wall and on the art piece owed be sure to be solid.  if the picture hanger were deeper, it would prevent good adhesion, and I'd have to remove it.  

The ones I used today for this piece were two size Medium and one size Small.  This is way over-kill for the weight of this art piece, but I wanted to have them somewhat evenly distributed around the large frame so that the art piece would hang evenly against the wall.  I put two Mediums at the top, and one Small at the bottom.

Then I used a small spirit level to make sure I was hanging the piece level, and I pressed the artwork against the wall, following the directions for holding it in place the correct length of time... and ta-da!

That was easy-peasy!   I've hung several things in the house using this method - picture frames, other art canvasses, even small mirrors.  Just be sure to use the package directions regarding the weight that the strips can support - and add one or two extra just in case.  

Have you used this product in your home?   Do you have other ways to protect your plaster walls from damage?   I'd love to hear about your projects... won't you leave a comment to say hello?

I've been working on getting the house furnished and decorated, but with all the yard work it's been slow going.  But here's what's happening in the Laundry Room - a strange place to start, maybe, but hey, what the heck?  Come check it out!

Want to see the rest of the house?   Come take a look at things before we moved in on our Empty House Tour.

Disclosure:  If you purchase the 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips through one of the links I've provided, I'll receive a small commission on the sale.  You might be interested to know, though, that I wrote this post BEFORE I signed up for the Amazon Affiliate program... that's how much I love the Command Strips!    I wouldn't recommend them to you if I didn't love them.  Thanks for considering this purchase! 

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Thoughts of Home - Poofing the Pillows
Home and Garden Thursday - A Delightsome Life
Monday Funday - That's What Che Said
That DIY Party - DIY Show Off