Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How To Hang Pictures Over The Bed

Do you remember these puppies that we picked up at a yard sale last year for $10 a pop? They’re old professionally framed prints of the berries and wildflowers of Alaska, which we thought were sweet since we honeymooned there.

Berries Yard Sale Find

So we spray-painted the frames (and mats!) and hung them on either side of our bed. If that doesn’t jog your memory, perhaps this old pic from that post shall will.

Berries After Full

Well, recently they’ve – say it with me now – come together.

Botans After Square2

Here’s how it all went down. Actually, speaking of going down – it kinda started when a certain ram went down during our book shoots.

Broken Ram

Since neither all the king’s horses nor all the king’s men could put Ramsey back together again, the space above our bed has been a devoid of anything for a couple of months. We’ve contemplated tracking down a similar animal head (an idea Sherry practically salivated over) but you know we like to use what we have, so we decided we should just try rehanging the prints we already had there. Before making any unnecessary holes, we took them down and just propped them up like this to try to visualize them there.

Botans 1 Propped On Bed

We originally thought the chandelier might block too much of them, but it looked promising so we decided to just got for it. But this was no easy task because those heavy suckers need two anchored screws to keep ’em in place. Plus we had to be careful to get them centered within the bed and level with one another, all while not putting too many holes in the wall.

Thus began our not-so-scientific, but no-less-intricate system of rehanging them. It started by connecting my existing holes (which I had meticulously measured the first time) with a piece of sewing thread taped to the wall to create a nice level guide.

Botans 2 Taped Thread

Just to be sure, I checked that it was level before basing all of my marks on it. Phew. Level it was!

Botans 3 Check Level

Now that we had the height marked, we had to figure out where the holes needed to go side-to-side so that the frames were roughly equidistant from each other and the bed posts. So I drew a sketch and unleashed my inner math geek. Yep, I think that what I did qualifies as Algebra. Well, except for the part where I solved “X” to equal “7-ish.” Sorry Mrs. Montgomery.

Botans 4 Algebra

Knowing how far apart everything should be allowed me to start marking. The hole that the ram hung from was my center guide, so I measured out 13.5″ (half of 7 + half of 20) on either side to mark the center of each frame (#1 in the pic below). And since we hang these guys by two screws (it not only supports the weight more, but keeps it from hanging crooked) I made marks a couple of inches out on either side (#2). Sherry wanted the frames to hang slightly lower than they did before (since we no longer had to clear the table lamps and didn’t want them to be blocked too much by the chandelier) so I also marked down a bit using a taped guide on my level (#3).

Botans 5 Marks

Confused yet? Me too. So let’s just skip ahead to the after pictures. Okay? Okay. We ended up tweaking things a bit so the frames were a smidge closer to each other, so the space between them is about 5″ and the space on either side is almost 8″.

Botans 7 After Closer

We’re digging the change so far. We feel like they fill up the space nicely – much more so than the ram ever did (not to speak ill of the dead or anything).

Botans 8 After Closer Vert

Although the chandelier does overlap them when you face the bed at normal height (these pics were taken with our tripod, which is only about four feet tall) it’s a nice layered look. Nothing too crazy or cramped looking.

Botans 9 After Angle

Wish we had thought to snap a pic at our height for ya from head-on. We did get this guy from the side though. And there’s always next time.

Botans 11 After Detail

But yeah, this room is so not done. Look at it wide. Um… we have a lot to do before it makes any sense. Seriously, I know you guys are staring at this bed in a sea of emptiness and wondering what the heck we’re doing. But in the words of $herdog: we got planz for dayz.

Botans 6 After Full

In fact, we have a few other things planned this weekend- and you know we’ll keep you posted! What do you guys have going on this weekend? Any house stuff on the agenda? Have you ever had to do math to hang pictures? Or tried using string to keep a level line on the wall? It actually worked surprisingly well.

Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner, click here to see if it’s you.

Comments

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s from Ikea! And in over a year I have yet to dust it once! Haha. It swings gently when we open the windows or walk by briskly, so I can only guess that little dust particles can’t really glom on for very long, haha.

      xo,
      s

  5. Kelly says

    LOVE the way those look over the bed! We have no art (or a headboard for that matter at the moment. This has given me a few ideas though.

    Reply

  6. Allyn says

    Man, ceramic animals are not safe in your house! Which means they would probably not be safe with clumsy me either. Sigh.
    We honeymooned in Scotland and brought back a sweet little painting of one of the castles we got to visit. It makes me happy every time I see it.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Seriously! I like to think that this house is haunted. Haha. We never broke a single one in our first house in 4.5 years, but in 14 months here we broke two!

      xo,
      s

  7. Suzy says

    I’m sorry about poor, broken Ram, but the pictures look AWESOME hanging over your bed. I prefer them, actually.

    I look at your bedroom and I have such square foot envy! Can’t wait to see what you do next!

    Reply

    • Kathy says

      Me too! I love the prints there instead–and I also envy your square footage. Our bedroom is only large enough for our queen size bed and two small end tables. The room IS the bed, basically!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw, that was like our first bedroom! The funny thing is we felt a lot more cozy/settled in that small room and we sort of scratch our heads and wonder what the heck we’ll do with this bigger room. Haha. But finally having a bigger closet is much nicer!

      xo,
      s

  9. Jimmy says

    I like the way that gets framed inside the four post bed. Pulls it together, like you said. And that measuring trick is really helpful. I’ll be employing that soon.

    Our bedroom build-out is under way. Actually working on it right now. We live in a tiny one-bedroom apartment, but we’re converting the room so that it has two extra “rooms” inside it for our toddler and expected second baby (July!). http://www.thebookofjimmy.com/bedroom-build-out-framing-lorens-room-2/ We aren’t going anywhere, so we figured we might as well try to make it work as comfortable as possible.

    Reply

  10. Kim says

    I think they look 100 times better there. Great use of using what you have :) We just switched bedrooms due to our new furniture not fitting in the room we originally used, so I have a blank canvas. I’m excited to decorate again!

    Reply

  12. Shannon says

    Oh my gosh, it was beautiful before but this is such a major improvement! And the striped pillows are even more beautiful than the last pillows! Amazing how small changes make such a big difference.

    Reply

  13. Kate says

    I like the prints there much better… they are more of a focal point. And i love that they aren’t matchy-matchy. This weekend: tons of house stuff! window cleaning, deck sprucing up, prepping for a holiday wknd camping trip, putting in 2nd raised bed, planting 20+ veggie plants for the kitchen garden, and de-cluttering our back room. Our back room is craft room, yarn * fabric storage, golf club landing space, printer location, CD collection, 2 random chairs and a book case. I need to be ruthless. :)

    Reply

  14. Serena says

    Omigawd… I’m insanely intrigued as to what the “planz for days” are, because a big part of me really like how it looked BEFORE you moved the pictures inward…

    But then the OTHER part of me knows you guys have a habit of making everything look amazing in the end, and you probably wouldn’t have left so much wall space with intentions of just LEAVING it like that (permenantly)…

    I think…?!

    Reply

  15. Ashleigh says

    They look great, I have to admit when i saw what they looked like originally I wasn’t convinced but once they were up they look lovely, together or apart.

    This weekend we will hopefully give our front door it’s second coat of paint, it has been without any of the hardwear for 3 weeks now since we gave it it’s first coat….oops!! xox

    Reply

  18. Lauren@FilingJointly says

    I really like the pictures over your bed!

    My weekend plans actually involve hanging wedding prints that we FINALLY got framed at our new place.

    And maybe finishing unpacking. Maybe.

    Probably not.

    Reply

  19. Alise Hagan says

    It amazes me how much more vibrant the prints look in their new home — crisp white really does make everything pop! And serious high-fives to John for the Beatles reference. Well done, friends. Well done.

    Reply

  20. HollyN says

    The photos look great pulled together like this! My husband and I picked up a few framed photos from garage sales that have special meaning to us and they’ve made great inexpensive additions to our bedroom as well. Just a suggestion, you need a picture hanging level :) We received one as a house warming gift and what a life saver! We were able to hang a collage of 12 photos in our hallway in no time.

    Reply

  21. Ariane says

    I like the frames together too. For me, on this side of the ocean, I’ve plenty to do on my agenda. We’re in the middle of a long weekend here in France (yesterday was a religious holiday) and I was able to take the day off from work to have 4 days to spend working around the house. My hubby was off yesterday and will be tomorrow. He tackled the garden (practicing his new lawnmower) and I’ve been busy finishing painting the armoire for the bathroom (along with some misc. garden stuff while paint is drying – you know what I’m talking about !). The weather is not on our side though and we might have to find inside stuff to do for the next 2 days. That’s it ! Have a good weekend !

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s so funny to hear “I’m in the middle of a long weekend” – I love that you guys are all across the globe! Say hi to France for us!

      xo,
      s

    • Shauna says

      Hey Ariane, I’m in France too and I did not get ANYthing like that accomplished. Good work. But didn’t it rain on you?
      I agree whole-heartedly that the framed pictures fill the space beautifully and tie things together. Giving me ideas for my house-in-the-summer-not-in-France.

  22. Suni says

    Looks awesome, and I love that they are meaningful to you both since you honeymooned in Alaska.
    We will be working inside and outside our house…. outside working in the garden, planing veggies and the like, as well as ripping plants out of a different flower bed. Inside we will be painting and nailing new trim/floor boards to the walls in the basement we are refinishing!
    Busy weekend needless to say. Enjoy yours!

    Reply

  23. Sarah H. says

    Looks great!

    This weekend, we are getting things ready to sell our house! Eeek! Do you guys have any tips for selling your house? I would love to hear them and I think it would make a great post. We are nervous about selling in this market, but my husband got a new job and we have to move by the end of July. Did I mention we also have an 8 week old baby? Craziness…

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oooh good luck! We did a post a while back about selling ours (there are links to a lot of other posts about how we cleaned / decluttered and generally got it ready for open houses, etc). Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  25. Sloane says

    Love them together! I liked the ram a lot, but now seeing this I love this so much more! Job well done, as usual!

    P.S. You’ve probably mentioned this before, but are a lot of the white ceramics ya’ll have Jonathan Adler ceramics? I just went to the grand opening event for his new store in Dallas and was thinking hmm…these look like something Sherry would love…

    Reply

  26. Cheltz says

    I’m always surprised at how meticulous you guy are! I always just eyeball it. (I guess that’s why you’re the pro bloggers, and I’m not :).

    Reply

  28. heyruthie says

    love the change. i was always one of the “ram haters” out there. LOL! the frames look much more “intentional” over the bed, instead of flanking it. great zero dollar change.

    i like it when you post changes like this, because there are those of us who feel “married” to our first-attempts. in the past, if i hated a picture where i put it, it would never occur to me that i might love it just 1 foot away. instead, i’d go to the store and look for another picture. STUPID! thank you for freeing me from that. you guys are right on track with making your stuff work–and using creativity until it does. thanks for inspiring people like me to work with what i have until i love it.

    Reply

  29. Stefanie says

    I still haven’t mastered the art of hanging things (unless they have just one hook, those I can manage). I recently hung a set of 3 picture frames above my couch. Took me 2 days and you don’t even want to know how many holes are behind the frames. And I still think they slant down to the right a little bit, but I’m honestly scared to attempt to fix them at this point haha.

    Reply

  30. Angie says

    My husband and I honeymooned in Alaska too (also got married around the same time, have a daughter just about Clara’s age)! Quick question:

    Does hanging heavy stuff near/over your bed ever make you uneasy, or is it just me and the earthquakiness of California?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      These guys are up there with two anchors each on a very strong wire (hanging a wire over one screw with an anchor is pretty steady, but using two distributes the weight even more and make them really strong). Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  31. Olivia K says

    I love the way your room looks so bright and airy! As much as I loved the ram, I like the pictures 100 times better this way!

    Reply

  32. Steph says

    I really loved the ram (RIP!) so I’m surprised that I actually like this better!
    I wish I had my own house related plans this week (because that would mean i actually owned a house!) but I’m helping my friend paint her new house, and helping tackle their over grown backyard. So dull when I write it out, haha.

    Reply

  33. Robin says

    7’ish … yep, that’s the way I do picture hangin’ math too :)

    I know there had to be tears over another broken white ceramic animal, but I think the pair of pictures centered on the bed provides better balance to the bed wall and I know you have some creative plans for the wall space flanking the beds, so looking forward to that! Enjoy the weekend, we’re going to have lovely weather here in Richmond.

    Reply

  36. Amanda C says

    Those print are GORGEOUS! I’m officially jealous…wish we had something like that to rep our Alaska honeymoon! (Not that we don’t have plenty of pictures and ulu’s to prove we were there!) What an awesome yard sale find!!!

    Reply

  37. Ericka says

    I don’t want to be hatin’ on the ram, but this looks so much better to me! Nice work, guys!

    As far as what I’m doing this weekend – I’m hoping my 3 year old little girl gets better so we can all actually enjoy the weekend! She has been puking since 12:30 am. Poor baby. I HATE, HATE, HATE the stomach flu:(

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh no! I hope it’s just a 24 hour thing! Clara, John and I all had that during one of our last days of book shooting and it was the worst day ever!

      xo,
      s

  39. Debbie says

    I love this way better than when the small ram head was there. Is there a hole in the wall between the two frames? I see a black dot between them in every photo

    Reply

    • Pamela says

      Oh, Sherry, I had such a super stressful/bad day, and reading about y’alls black dot as being the old ram hole totally tickled me so much. Plus, rest in “piece”…please tell me that was on purpose – if not, humor me and say it was because that made the black dot/’ol ram hole confirmation complete. :)

  40. steph says

    That’s so funny. I read the title, starting singing the song in my head and about time I got to “over me” I looked back at the screen and realized your post was doing the same thing! Awesome. Thanks for the chuckle…I’m going to go read the rest of the post now. :)

    Reply

    • steph says

      Okay, back from reading. I’d like to say I’ve finished singing the song, but that would be a lie.

      I really like this new arrangement. I was a fan of how it looked before, but this has an extra little something. I think it’s because, since the frames have always been the tallest thing on the wall (other then the bed corners) it draws your eye up instead of out. I think that helps the empty corners look natural and balanced instead of empty.

      I’ve done the same thing with string, except I used yarn and 3 frames instead of two. If only I would have written down some simple math; that would’ve helped. I think I used my hand width instead of a ruler. Thankfully it all worked out without too many extra holes!

      More O-R-G for this gal this weekend!

  42. Bob says

    “Although the chandelier does overlap them when you face the bed at normal height”

    But the lamps in front of the pictures were OK?

    I feel like you guys need to look up my past suggestions, admit to yourself I’m right, and just make the changes now instead of waiting 6 months.

    Lastly, to anyone looking at the post for tips on how to hang pictures, please don’t be discouraged. This guy over-complicates EVERYTHING.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The lamps used to overlap the writing on the bottom of the prints, not the berries/flowers – so we didn’t mind covering the words at all. I’m certain you’d decorate your home very differently than we choose to decorate ours (since you’ve sent over 100 comments about what you’d do differently over the past year or so) but whatever makes ya happy, Bob! Have a great weekend!

      xo,
      s

    • Bob says

      Love it! Blocking some of the form (whether it be frame, word, etc) is OK as long as it’s not the berries. NOT THE BERRIES!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!! Who will think of the berries?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

      I didn’t realize the “them” in your quote above referenced the berries instead of the framed pictures. I should have made that obvious realization.

      I eagerly await you changing the light fixtures in the kitchen next. I give it 3 more months.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh dear Bob, you might be waiting a few decades. Unfortunately for you, those glass pendants are one of our favorite kitchen choices. Right up there with the penny tile you don’t like! But have fun waiting, just promise me you won’t hold your breath!

      xo,
      s

  44. Sue says

    I think I’d be creeped out by an animal hanging over my head – the prints over the bed look wonderful! Great visual balance, fills the space nicely, and now gives you options for either side of the bed.

    Reply

  45. Nichole says

    Love the new frame placement. I always thought they were too hidden behind the lamps and they’re so pretty they shouldn’t be! I have something similar planned for above our bed, but I’m no where near being ready to put holes in the wall yet. (New house + new drywall = new hole anxiety!)

    Reply

  46. Hope says

    Personally I think it’s a much better fit. But I also would find it off putting to look up after waking up from a lovely dream to see a ram head staring down at me. Sorry for your loss though ;)

    Reply

  47. Megan E. says

    What did you do with the the old wall anchors that used to hang the pictures (above the nightstands)? I’ve always wondered what the best way was to get them out of the wall so you can patch and repaint the hole.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      They’re still just hanging out in the wall, but the way we like to deal with them is to hammer them into the wall a bit, spackle over them, sand, and paint. We did that in our bathroom when we hung the art, if that helps!

      xo,
      s

  48. Ally says

    Those pictures are so pretty, and the sentimentality of them is touching. X = AWESOME HANGING JOB, J-Boom :)

    In Canada, we have a long-weekend coming up (Thank you Queen Victoria! :) Project: painting an accent wall, with paint from YOLO Colorhouse (I thought of you guys as I buying the can :)

    xox

    Reply

  49. Kim says

    I wonder if ram-sey jumped off the wall in sacrifice so you would realize how these pictures were meant to be in his place!

    Reply

  50. tracy says

    Hi! I love the change, it looks great! I have a question for you, how did you decide what color to spray the frames on those pictures? just curious!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We just thought we’d try something different (since almost every frame we have is white) so we went ORB with them to tie into things like the curtain rods in our room. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

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