Quick… try to guess what had us drilling into our bedroom wall late last night.
Well, remember the lurrrvely ZGallerie sconces that I got for my bday back in March? You know, the ones that looked good in every room. Here they are in the guest bedroom to refresh your memory:
We ultimately decided to hang them in the master bedroom so we could enjoy them a bit more regularly- and as luck would have it, they also look fab with our blue and white duvet- who knew those babies would be so versatile?!
Here they are all purrrty on the wall. I love the staggered placement (John’s idea- he’s quite the decorator) and the way the mirrors bounce around the candlelight so liberally.
So what had us whipping out the drill again last night? A belated birthday gift from none other than the fabulous folks at ZGallerie! We COULD NOT EVEN BELIEVE IT when a package arrived with a third sconce and a sweet note saying “We love your site. We thought you needed one more sconce for your bedroom. Happy birthday!”
How cool is that?!
They certainly didn’t have to send us a sconce to make us love them (they had me at ceramic rhinoceros– and of course I’m equally obsessed with their faux clam shell that we use as a fruit bowl). But now we love ZGallerie even more. Thanks so much Gordon and the gang! Here’s our third sconce hanging out with his friends looking all smug and gorgeous:
And in the interest of paying it forward, we thought we’d take the opportunity to toss out some simple hanging tips when it comes to heavier items (especially heavier items that will hold flaming objects).
1. Have someone else (around here it’s John) hold things in place so you can take a step back and look at their relationship with other things in the room. This can save a lot of redrilling (and cursing) when you realize all too late that you’ve hung everything too high or too far to the left.
2. We like to use plastic anchors and screws to ensure that heavier pieces are super secure for the long haul. Just use a power drill to create a hole that’s slightly smaller than the anchor and use a hammer to knock the anchor into place (flush with the wall). Then go a little more than halfway into the anchor with a screw (not too far, you have to leave a bit of the screw out so you can hook things over it).
3. When you’re hanging items directly above each other, and want to ensure that they’re on the same vertical line, use the string trick. Hammer or screw in your top nail or screw, then tie something semi-heavy to a piece of string or twine (we like to use a nice weighty ballpoint pen) and hold the string from the top nail or screw so it hangs down and creates a foolproof vertical line that you can follow to mark the lower spot for the item that you want to hang directly below the top one (using a ruler or yardstick isn’t as accurate because you could inadvertently hold it at a slight diagonal and not realize it until your objects are hanging all askew on the wall).
Hope it helps! Happy hanging…
And thanks again to the lovely folks at ZGallerie for having such amazingly fabulous things and sending such a sweet b-day gift my way!
Wanna know what else we’re sweating from ZGallerie these days? Check out this purple faux coral, this turquoise plate and bowl, and this gorgeous glammy pillow. Oh and don’t forget to enter C20 at checkout to get 20% off all regularly priced accessories. Happy shopping…
You luck outs!!
Wow, that was soooooooooo sweet and kind of them!! The third sconce really makes it look picture perfect! Fabulous! =)
How sweet of ZGallerie! I had to get one of those sconces for my master bathroom after your first post and I love it! Those tips for hanging objects is helpful considering the bamboo blinds I ordered for my family room windows just arrived yesterday and I’ll hopefully be installing them tonight!! Can you tell I love your blog!
Wow! How great is that?? Love ZGallerie and even though two sconces looked great, I do have to say that 3 works reallllllly well with the line of that chair. Happy belated!
Yep, that third one really does make the wall! I loved it before, but now I REALLY like it! Great job and lucky you!
what a nice bday present!! three is always better than two, right? z gallerie has such great finds – i hadn’t seen these, but i love ’em!
That’s really cool – another reason to love Z-Gallerie. I was concerned to hear recently of some financial troubles and some store closures (yeah I know, not surprising in these times…)
When I browse many of the other home decor retailers, I notice they all seem to follow each other with the same vanilla trends…But Z-Gallerie has always carved out their own bold and dramatic style. I just hope the best for them in struggling through this recession.
Shut the front door!! That is AWESOME! Congrats on the new addition–I definitely think in this case three’s company!
You guys reached a new level of cool. It’s just like Armani trying to get Angelina to wear his new line.
Lucky!! I think it looks beautiful…as always. Happy Belated Bday too btw!! :)
I do everything in three’s or odd numbers, so I am loving this!!!
S-
Where is the brown comforter from in the guest bedroom?
THANKS~
Nicole
Hey Nicole,
Sadly it’s from the now defunct Linens N’ Things. For a room by room source list to find out where everything in our whole house is from, just visit our “house tour” page and click the “room by room source list link.” Happy hunting!
xo,
Sherry
Well I thought it was an emergency. I think it was my train of thought since moving to Germany, though. It’s illegal to use power tools after 5:00.
The addition looks beautiful!
Katie
Katie,
That is so funny! You learn something new every day. At least I do thanks to you guys and your sweet comments!
xo,
s
The third sconce really looks great and balances the whole display out, I think. What a nice surprise!
Who knew what a huge difference a third sconce would make! Looks great. Good things come to good people. Enjoy!
wow, it looks SO NICE with 3 sconces.
Who would have known?
Okay, you got me! When you said “Quick… try to guess what had us drilling into our bedroom wall late last night” I instantly thought maybe you had a flying squirrel in your wall… my Mom and Dad used to get them all the time when I was growing up and they’ll drive you crazy if you don’t drill in that wall and get them out!! Glad it’s another scone instead of a squirrel! :-)
Hey Holly,
I am sooooo glad we didn’t have a flying squirrel in the wall. That would’ve been crazy! Whew.
xo,
s
Hey Sherry and John,
Here’s another way to avoid the “oops” factor when hanging things on the wall. This one’s especially useful when you don’t have that other person available to help out or you’re hanging multiple items:
– Cut a piece of paper in the exact shape of your picture, sconce, whatever. This is best done by laying the object flat on the paper and tracing it.
– After cutting out, mark on the paper the exact location where your hook or nail needs to go. Don’t forget to pull the wire taught as if the picture is hanging.
– Attach the paper to the wall with tape. Rearrange until you’re happy with the location. This approach helps a lot when you’re hanging multiple items since you can see them all at once.
– Leaving the paper taped to the wall, hammer in the nail through the mark you made earlier.
– Remove paper and recycle or save it for the next hanging event.
– Hang your picture. Voila!
BTW, avoid using newspaper since you can get ink on the wall. Grocery bags work well, so every once in a while, forego the reusable bags and get a paper one. Your walls will thank you.
Enjoying your blog!
Claire
Great tip Claire! Thanks so much!
xo,
s
I love the internet. That’s super awesome.
It looks great! I think I might need those sconces.
Hi! I am a new follower to your site and love the light fixture/chandelier that is in a couple of the pics. I’m sorry if you’ve covered this before, but where is it from?? Thanks!
Hey Alicia,
It’s actually an old capiz pendant from West Elm (they no longer sell it but we’ve seen tons of them on ebay and amazon- just search “capiz chandelier” or “capiz pendant”). We also compiled a handy dandy list of sources that will reveal where almost everything in our entire house is from, so to check it out just visit our “house tour” page and click the “room by room source list link.” Happy hunting!
xo,
Sherry
Personally, I like the EZ anchors. They actually screw into the wall – very easy to use – and they make them for a variety of weights and different uses.
http://www.itwbuildex.com/ezprod.htm
Lovely indeed, but you do need to hang your trio a smidgen higher (about 3 inches). The look will be more balanced. Sorry couldn’t help it – my interior design day job has no punch clock!
Thanks Francis! We actually used other pieces of art (and a floor mirror) as a guide when we hung the sconces so when you take the other hanging things in the bedroom into account they look great. We had the same instinct to go higher with them but when John held them up there and I stepped back to look they were flying a lot higher than everything else in the room… so we lowered ’em a bit. Perfecto! Hope that explains it!
xoxo,
Sherry
Your bedroom looks just like a fairytale with all that soft light – I love it! Things really do look more special in three’s.
Wow, the third sconce really gives it a nice balance. Looks fantastic.
Sherry,
Thank you for your response!! I am so glad to find your website as my husband and I are in the process of buying our first house and you two have AMAZING style! Thanks again!
I love the pillow swap. Were we meant to not notice that? lol We’re a very observant audience. I think the sconces look one notch better in the master bedroom.
Beautiful! I always have items in my “shopping cart” at Z-Gallery … so many favorite things there! Your room is so relaxing!
that is SO nice of them and it looks FAB!
Lovely, lovely, lovely!! (Did you notice “lovely” was written 3 times? ; ) Your room is like a masterpiece now!! Totally amazing!! And how sweet of ZGallerie to send you a third sconce as a gift. Happy Belated Birthday, by the way! Blessings to you all! (Including Burger! ; )
WOw- the third sconce really makes a difference. it really jazzes it up and makes it really pop. How wonderfully nice of them to send it.
That third one looks great! The grouping feels so balanced, and I like how the third one added underneath the other two makes the whole grouping feel more connected to the chair. Lovely!
Wow you must have been super excited! The third one looks great!
Oooh, that’s so savy of them. I love business that keep current.
Okay, so THANK YOU for this post! I immediately forwarded it and a link to ZGallerie to my husband as a tongue-in-cheek “here’s what I’d love for Mother’s Day” suggestion. He’s currently living across the country looking for work so the kids and I can move out and join him, and I really didn’t expect a thing. Today, I received a ZGallerie gift card in the mail for Mother’s Day. Now the only question is…can I wait until we move and set up house before spending it!?
Hi Youngsters! I was wondering if you had any advice on photo placement on the wall. I have always heard that you should hang things at eye level, but where is that exactly since people are different heights.
Thanks,
Katie
Hey Katie,
Stay tuned for a big framing 101 lesson coming soon, but until then we’ll tide you over with this: lower eye level is always better. You want art on the wall to relate to the things around it, so if you’re hanging something above your sofa, console table or your mantel you want it to be close to those things so it has a visual relationship with them (and doesn’t look like it’s flying high). I’m 5’2″ and my eye level is what we used to hang almost everything in the house (so it feels inviting and the ceilings look even higher)- feel free to use that as a guide! Hope it helps…
xo,
s
Good Morning Youngsters! I was wondering how many inches from the table a chandelier should hang?
Thanks so much!
You’ll definitely want to eye it and see if the standard height works for you (it worked great for our pendant light in the dining area) but they say a chandelier or pendant should hang about 34″ above a dining table. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hi there! I love your sconces, but they’ve been discontinued by Z Gallerie. Since I doubt you’ll part with them any time soon, do you know of anything similar?
Thanks!
Hmm, nothing comes to mind off the bat, but maybe you can search jcpenney.com, cb2.com, and westelm.com. They all usually carry sconces (which is the term you can search) so they might have something similar. Otherwise there’s always ebay…
Hope it helps!
xo,
s