I’m not one to be afraid of hanging things on my walls, but I know that’s a real fear of homeowners! Hanging decor, in my mind, is far from permanent and is typically one of the easier decisions to make when it comes to home renovation. But I’m not a perfectionist! I’m known for eyeballing the center of a wall, holding my finger to mark the nail hole, grabbing a hammer and nail, and just going for it. Sure, it’s maybe not the most accurate or precise way, but it’s kind of liberating not to care so much! After all, the only way to get over the fear of decision paralysis is actually to make a decision! Worst case scenario, you live with it for a while, decide you don’t like it, and take it down. Repairing drywall is easier than you think, but even if you live with some holes in the wall for a few months, that’s not so bad. The moral of the story: stop deciding and start doing so you can actually enjoy your home! Keep reading to learn how to hang anything!

How to Hang Art

Shop Faye’s Room

In Faye’s room, we used my very favorite picture hanging hooks. These won’t work through a stud, so you’ll want to use a stud finder to locate and avoid any studs if you can. But before we made any holes in the wall, we located the center of the wall. As I said earlier, I usually eyeball it, but if you care about precision, you can use a measuring tape! In this case, where we hung a grid of frames, I would recommend using a laser level and a tripod. Start with the top center frame and work your way out and down. If any of your holes need to be made into a stud, you can just use screws and a cordless driver.

How to Hang Large Art

Chandelier | Picture Light | Artwork (custom) | Slipcover Bed | Bedding | Velvet Bench | Polly Rug

If your art is larger and heavier, and you’re hanging on drywall, you’ll want to use anchors that can handle the weight and not ruin your drywall. And typically, large art has more than one nail hole, so we like using this picture hanging level measurer as a guide to get the hole placement correct and level. Highly recommend adding this device to your picture-hanging toolkit!

How to Hang a Mirror

Mirror | Bench | Sconce

Hanging a mirror isn’t much different than hanging large art, but depending on the size of your mirror, you might need to upgrade your anchors to these Snaptoggles, which can hold 265 lbs! Regardless of that number, it’s always best to drill your holds directly into studs. This is what we did with the front entry mirror because it weighed around 150 lbs, and regardless of what those anchors say, we would like this mirror to stay securely on the wall for a very long time. If you don’t get lucky with stud placement, then a heavy-duty French cleat is going to be your best friend. One bracket gets installed into the back of the mirror, and the other adjoining piece gets hung on the wall, securing directly into the studs. Then simply hang the mirror, interlocking the two cleats together. This set will hold up to 500 lbs!

How to Hang Cutting Boards

Shop Our Cutting Boards

For our cutting board collection, I grabbed a hammer and some nails and just eyeballed the placement! For some of the heavier ones, it would be a good idea to use an anchor, though.

How to Hang String Lights

Outdoor String Lights | Chaise Lounges | Umbrellas | Umbrella Stands | Adirondack Chairs

Lastly, if you find yourself wanting to hang anything on brick or stone, you’ll need a masonry drillbit attachment for your impact driver. An impact driver is basically a drill but more forceful and strong, which is perfect for touch surfaces like brick. This is what we did when we installed the string lights on the outside of our house.

For easy reference, we’ve gathered up some of the essentials to have on hand for all of your hanging needs! Did we miss anything?

Hanging Essentials Toolkit

1. Cross Line Laser Distance Device $57
2. Standard Tape Measure $16
3. Concrete Anchors and Screws Kit $16
4. Stud Finder Wall Scanner $27
5. Level $8
6. Snaptoggle Anchor Set $19
7. Hammer $9
8. DEWALT Cordless Impact Driver Kit $159
9. Picture Hanging Hooks $8
10. DEWALT Titanium Nitride Coated Drill Bit Set $26
11. Picture Hanging Level Measure $17
12. Drywall Anchors & Screws $6