6 Must-Have Picture Hangers for Art and Wall Decor

Is one of your biggest DIY fears putting a nail hole in the wall? It’s such a tiny thing, but it feels so permanent. If you want to move things around later, you have to patch any holes you made. I think this fear of nail holes is conditioned into us when we are renters. But it really isn’t something you should worry about. Nail holes are easy to patch and paint and there are some alternatives that won’t leave any nail holes behind.

I want to introduce you to my favorite tools for hanging wall decor and where they work best. Now, if you have brick, plaster, stone or other non-drywall surfaces, you can find similar hangers for your wall type. Always make sure you use the right tool for your wall surface. The examples I am showing here all work for drywall.

1. Ook Hook

1. Ook Hooks

If you must make holes in your wall, at least use quality picture hangers. My favorite are Ook Hooks. They come in a bunch of different sizes and some have two or three nails each designed to hold more weight. These are great for hanging large art or mirrors that weigh too much for the other hangers.

I love Ook hooks because they are durable and reusable. Standard picture hooks tend to bend when you install or remove them. With Ook hooks you simply “unscrew” the nails to remove the hook from the wall.

2. Command Picture Hanging Strips

3M Command Hooks and Command Picture Hanging Strips

are one of the greatest inventions of all time. They allow you to hang most art, picture frames, and lightweight wall decor without making nail holes. They come in a bunch of sizes to hold different weight decor. The picture hanging strips are designed specifically for hanging frames and artwork, but also work well of unusual objects, like monograms, plaques, and even party decor.

Command strips are a must-have for gallery walls. Not only do they limit nail holes, but they also make positioning and leveling everything a little bit easier.

If you have kids, Command Strips are also a great way to make sure wall decor stays put. You can use a strip to secure the bottom of a traditionally hung piece to the wall to keep it from moving side to side.

One more quick tip: If you have pictures with sawtooth hangers on the back, which require a nail to hang on, you can use a Command Strip Sawtooth Hanger. It also attaches to the wall without nail holes, but it has a fake nail head for the sawtooth hanger.

3. Anchor and Screw

If you are afraid of nail holes, then wall anchors with screws

just might make you cry. They will make a big hole in your wall, but they are necessary for hanging some things. Try to use them sparingly when required and when you don’t plan to move things around.

Anchors help you screw things into the wall where there isn’t a stud. The anchor expands on the other side of the drywall when you drive in the screw, preventing it from being pulled back out. I’ve used anchors and screws to hang shelves and large mirrors.

4. Plate Hangers

Plate hangers are especially made for hanging plates on the wall. Traditionally, plate hangers were a metal contraption that wrapped around the edge of the plate with a hook on the back. The hangers were visible from front of the plate. Now there is an “invisible” plate hangers which adheres to the back of the plate. No more clips poking around the front for a cleaner look and neater hanging close to the wall.

Pair this one with the Command Strip Sawtooth Hanger to mount plates on your wall without nail holes. Just make sure the plate weighs less than the recommendation for the hangers.

5. French Cleat

French cleats were traditionally made from wood and used to hang cupboard or headboards on the wall. One cleat attaches to the wall. The other cleat to the object. The cleat on the object rests in the groove created between the wall cleat and the wall.

Unless you have some woodworking tools, wooden french cleats are difficult to make. Thankfully the folks at Ook have come to the rescue. Ook metal french cleats do the same job and include a handy level. There are a couple sizes (OOK 60-Pound French Cleat

and OOK 200-Pound French Cleat

) to choose from depending on the weight of the piece you are hanging. French cleats must be screwed into studs or mounted in drywall using wall anchors with screws

.

I used a french cleat to hang the antique mirror in our dining room and a smaller one to hang the large canvas art over my son’s changing table (I secured the bottom of that canvas with a couple Command Picture Hanging Strips

).

6. Poster Putty

No more crooked wall decor. Poster Putty is typically used to hand posters, but I love using a small bit on the bottom corners of picture frames and art so they don’t move or bump against the wall. I also used it to mount the brass stencils on our playroom wall. This one is certainly a must-have if you have small children or you are hanging artwork in high-traffic areas.

If you have these 6 picture hanging must-haves in your toolbox, then there really is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to hanging wall decor.

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