The great painter Pablo Picasso once wrote, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” The restorative potential of art is one of its most treasured qualities.
That’s one reason people love filling the walls of their homes with art. If art speaks to you, there’s no better time than the present to bring it home!
Recently, the popularity of metal wall art is on the rise. But, hanging metal wall art can be complicated.
Fortunately, the art of hanging, well, art, can be mastered. Read on to discover key practices, tips, and tricks for hanging metal wall art.
Metal Wall Art: Overview
Metal wall art is a category that encompasses a vast array of pieces. These include:
- Metal prints (reproductions of drawings or paintings)
- Embossed or engraved metal artwork
- Low-relief or high-relief sculptures (typically original, sometimes mass-produced)
Choosing Metal Wall Art
Choose metal wall art that speaks to your unique tastes. When decorating, it’s good to have a variety of shapes and sizes of art, to break up the monotony. At the same time, a wall should seem balanced.
Speaking of weight, the lighter the art you choose, the easier it is to hang. Aluminum is one of the lightest metals, while silver is four times as heavy.
Consider color pallets. Which colors go together, and which tend to clash? You can even use a free color designer to develop your triad, tetrad, or analogic color scheme.
Metal contrasts nicely with most wallpaper textures. If your walls are metal themselves, consider focusing on colors that contrast.
Hanging Metal Wall Art
You may want to attach your art directly and permanently to your wall. Or, you may want to display it more temporarily, and intend to rotate it.
Or, you may even want to display metal wall art by supporting the piece’s top or bottom—the former through hanging displays and ceiling hooks, and the latter with floating shelves.
Deciding your method of display changes how best to hang your metal wall art.
How to Hang Metal Wall Art
Weight is critical. Whether you use hooks, shelves, or command strips, make sure to choose tools that can handle the weight of your metal art.
1. Consider Wall Composition
When arranging metal wall art, plan out the composition of the art on each wall. Try out different compositions by outlining potential options with painter’s tape. Use a level to keep your lines straight.
Don’t be afraid to alter your composition—in tape form—after stepping back. That’s why you make a tape draft in the first place! Compositionally, keep these metal wall art hanging tips in mind:
- Pieces should be eye-level (center of image 57″ from the floor)
- Fill the space
- Gaps between art should be similar (balanced)
- Choose your favorite piece for the focal point
- Balance “heavy” art (spread it across the room, don’t cluster)
2. Install Hanging Materials
The easiest hanging material, by far, is command strips. For lightweight art—under 16 pounds—you can stick command strips directly on the back of the art, then stick the art right on the wall.
To install hooks or shelves in the wall or ceiling, find the stud behind the wall. If there are no studs available, you’ll need to install a hollow-wall anchor, like a toggle bolt or spiral anchor, before you install your hooks.
After you find the stud, gather the materials you’ll need. Typically, this includes:
- A level
- Nails or screws
- Hammer or screwdriver
- Anchor (if no stud is available)
Certain picture-hanging hooks incorporate a small-diameter nail. Install the anchor using the instructions with the anchor.
Then, hammer or screw the picture-hanging hooks into the anchor—or, directly into the stud. Note: defer to instructions that come with the anchor if they differ.
For large-diameter screws and nails, consider pre-drilling a hole.
Use a level to keep the hooks even.
3. Set Art
If your art has a wire on the back, simply hang it on the hooks. If it doesn’t, you can either attach a wire to the back of your metal artwork, or place it in a frame with a wire or hooks.
If you’ve installed shelves, the art can sit on the shelves and lean against the wall. You can also attach your art to a wall or ceiling hook with art hanging clips. Note the weight limit before you choose clips.
Art, Fashion, and Style
Hanging metal wall art is just one way to express your style in your home. For more inspiration, check out more from our content library!
