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Home Decorating

hanging heavy artwork

windycity_folks

15 years ago

Hi all,

We have a beautiful hand-carved wooden panel that depicts the Buddha, and we'd like to mount it on the wall in our hallway (as if it were a painting). This thing must weigh 50 lbs. On the back you can see that it's basically five or six vertical pieces of wood that have a couple of cross pieces, one at the top and one at the bottom. On the back it looks an awful lot like the top of a wooden crate, really.

How should we go about mounting this? I'm not even sure how we could run a wire horizontally across the back, since there's no frame on the side to which eye hooks could be screwed it. And even if we were to put eye hooks in it somehow, I'm not sure that picture hooks (even the heavy-duty kind) would do the trick.

A neighbor suggested mounting a picture rail on the wall, then just resting the panel in there. That's not a bad solution, but it's also not our favorite solution. We'd kind of like to have it completely flush with the wall, like a painting.

Any ideas?

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Comments (5)

mahatmacat1
15 years ago
A French cleat sounds perfect for this, but it couldn't rest flat against the wall (unless you recess the wall component). But strength-wise, it can't be beat.
mclarke
15 years ago
Put two screws into your wall, into the studs.

Two screws will divide the weight in half; a slightly longer picture wire attached to the back of the piece will evenly distribute the hanging weight.

If you can't use the studs, for whatever reason, then use two heavy duty molly screws in your wall.
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><md>Sounds like a smaller wall is the way to go, thanks for the suggestion! Thankfully people with asthma know about dusting frequently, HEPA filters, hardwood floors that are cleaned regularly, horrible fake flowers that are shaken out regularly, vacuuming furniture, mattress covers and pillow covers, as well as taking medications as prescribed, not smoking, not being around smokers, and other ways to take good care of themselves! Though I hope people who don’t have asthma clean too!
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Your wall paint is such a nice, deep color, and the mirrors are so interesting, I would most likely leave it plain. But it really depends on the entire room and balance you want to achieve, as well as the feel — calm and serene? More artsy and lively? Maximalist? Minimal? Will there be curtains? Amount of art on other walls? All factor in. Hard to say for sure and know context just seeing this wall. Elegant and serene: This is also a nice look: What feels best to you? ETA: If you’re really attached to that piece, I’d turn it: Ignore the art, just using to show scale and placement:
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I think an abstract landscape/water piece, with some color, would look fabulous there … and play into your wonderful views. It would also bring warmth in, while keeping with the very modern style of the room. I’d look on Etsy, on gallery sites, Ebay, and/or visit local places to find a piece that speaks to you. This is a prominent spot — I wouldn’t buy a big piece of generic wall filler. Art here could be the soul of the room. https://magazine.artland.com/top-10-landscape-artists-in-modern-and-contemporary-art/ I do like the idea of three b/w prints you posted — it brings to mind water movement.
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johnmari
15 years ago
Rockler offers an ultra-thin hanging bracket similar to a French cleat but it is only 1/8" thick, which would be tighter to the wall than even most picture hooks. I would use a couple or three - I always go overboard on heavy stuff, contact Rockler about weight limits - along the top cross-bracket and use a heavy-duty wall anchor if you don't have studs in the right locations. (Get your minds OUT of the gutter, ladies.) I prefer the self-tapping "Twist & Lock" anchors from Buildex EZ Ancor, which are sold at Home Depot.
bettycbowen
15 years ago
I agree with the two or more heavy duty screws in the wall. You don't actually have to have wire on the back at all, if you can hang it directly from the top bracket. This can actually make it more stable than wire. The gallery guy who hung my show last spring ignored all my wires and hung them this way.

I'd love to see the piece, I hope you post photos when it is hung.
ttodd
15 years ago
They have special hooks for hanging very pieces on walls. They look like regular picture hooks except there are three little nails that you use to hang each hook on the wall. I forget if each hook supports 50 or 100 lbs. I've used them numerous times to hang very large beveled mirrors (one weighing in at 100lbs) & although I was skeptical at 1st I've never lost a piece of art or mirror when using them.

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