If you follow me on Instagram, I did a story a few weekends ago about hanging this thrifted find in our master. Our bedroom had picture rail in it when we moved in. I’ve never hung anything from picture rail, but have always loved the look and versatility that comes with it. I remembered Nicole from Making it Lovely doing a little tutorial on Snapchat about a year ago, but because that goes away I couldn’t go back to reference it. After looking around online for a while, I saw several examples using plain wire, but I knew I wanted something fancier. I reached out to Nicole, she told the the basic supplies I needed, and I got to ordering.
I often write off simple and easy projects as “not blog worthy.” But as was evident by my own experience, just because something is easy to do does not mean some direction isn’t helpful.
I found this little boy at a junk store about a month ago and was immediately drawn to the pop of red and the frame. I believe it’s a print, but the intricate, oval frame is incredibly beautiful and probably worth five times what I paid for it.
To hang art from a picture rail you need wire cording, wire cutters, and a picture hook. If the frame does not already have rings or eyelets on the back you will need two of those as well.
The frame already had eyelets but they were too small for the cording because DIY never goes smoothly. I could have replaced the eyelets with something bigger, but I opted to remove one of the strands on the cording. After pulling out one wire I simply twisted the other two tightly back together. I wouldn’t recommend doing this if you are hanging a heavy piece, but this art is pretty light. I placed the hook on the rail and then held the art up on the wall to get an idea of placement. I measured from the eyelet to the bottom of the hook and locked my tape measure. Then I put the art on our bed with the tape measure and eyeballed how much cord I would need, leaving extra for wrapping. Loop one end through an eyelet and tightly wrap the shorter piece around the longer side several times. Repeat on the other eyelet with the other end of cord and hang from the hook.
I can’t wait to add more art this way! I love the result and the fact that it can rather effortlessly be removed or changed. I have a great set of hunting prints I think I’ll try to hang together from one piece of cord. I’ll let you know how that goes. And how about these more ornamental hooks? So many pretty details! I really want to order a few to try. Our bed showed up yesterday and things are starting to slowly come together. More to come soon!
Do you have picture rail in your home? Do you use it?
In case you missed any of our Master Refresh, you can catch up here:
The Before | The Starting Point | Picture Rail | The Furniture | The Lighting | The After
Oksana | FOXYOXIE.com says
I have never heard of a picture rail before this post, but oh my, what a lovely little detail!
Your choice of art always intrigues me. As someone who is drawn to geometric shapes and straight lines, I often wonder what happens in the brains of people who aren’t OCD like me. 🙁
themakerista@gmail.com says
Ha, thank you!
Julia@Cuckoo4Design says
It looks so good. Love the picture rail idea Gwen.
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks, Julia!
John Donovan says
It can be challenging to hang pictures. This method of hanging it from a rail is a great alternative to the standard way of hanging pictures. The details in the frame are definitely eye catching and worth showcasing!
themakerista@gmail.com says
It is great, and so easy!
Kacey Wilson says
Can you show us a close up of your trim piece? I am going to do this on a wall that has water access points. I bought the cord and picture hanger, but not sure of the actual trim piece I should buy and install. THANKS!!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Here is what picture rail looks like: https://www.lowes.com/pd/1-75-in-x-8-ft-Pine-Pfj-Picture-Moulding/3042670. The hooks hang on that bigger hump. Hope that helps!