You may have noticed in the glossy home magazines that they have all the photos neatly displayed, evenly spaced, and angled perfectly. Yet, you’d likely think it’s been pieced together by a pro interior designer.
Do you want to know a simple approach you can use to get a perfect display every time?
It’s simple really and the only reason you’ve not planned your display this way before is out of the fear of ruining your walls.
It involves using sticky tape - a special sticky tape. A type they use in the painting and decorating sector. Well, if you use a pro contractor anyway and not someone who turns up with a roll of cheap and nasty masking tape. That’s the stuff that will damage your wall. It will rip chunks of the paintwork off as you peel it back.
No… stay back from that.
What you want to be using on your walls is called multipurpose masking tapes, and there’s only a couple of brands stand out to those in the painting and decorating trade…
- ScotchBlue TM
- FrogTape
FrogTape is the brand that’s most widely available. You can order rolls of it from Amazon, eBay, or Screwfix.com. You can also check online at Asda, Tesco and B&Q to see if they have it in stock down your local store and if so, nip in and pick a roll up. It’ll set you back around £5, although there are some places have prices as high as £7.99. That’s pretty expensive for a roll of sticky tape that you only need a few strips of. If you have a local trade supplier near you, that’s where you’ll find the best prices.
Piecing Together Your Picture Display
- Mark your layout on paper
Pencil and paper is the first place to start. Begin with a note of your measurements. Plan your layout, and experiment on paper first to see what type of layout would best fit your picture frames. They might be the same size, or they may be an assortment of sizes. There’s nothing to stop you grouping the photos together. That’s the entire point of planning your layout. So that you can get whatever photo frames you want hung in the available space you have.
- Measure for spacing
Spacing is important when you’re hanging groups of photos. Put it too far apart and it’ll look as though you’re just trying to cover the wall. Too close together and it’ll look clustered.
The ideal space will be determined by the look you’re going for on the wall you’re placing the pictures. Generally, it’ll be between two and five inches. Whatever measurement you use for any size of photo frames, keep the spacing consistent.
That’s the tricky part that people often struggle with. Getting the spacing aligned right so that no picture looks out of place.
That’s where the tape comes in.
- Hang the first in the centre and work outwards from there
Whatever display you have in mind, take the picture that’ll be the centre of it and hang that up first. All the others will be hung around, under or over it using the spacing distance you want.
Only one small strip of tape is needed!
The tape is definitely not for hanging your frame. Its sole purpose is to help you get the spacing right. Whatever size of space you want, e.g. two-inch spacing all around the photo, then you’d cut a piece of the tape that size. With the centre of the display hung, use the tape to mark the distance to your next frame. That’s the simplest way to get the same distance consistently.
To be absolutely certain you’re sticking to the layout exactly, you may want to use the tape to outline where the frame is going, however, for spacing only, stick the one measured and cut to the wall so you know exactly where you’re hanging each frame with consistent spacing between them all. No matter how many frames you’re hanging. Keep the distance between them equal. It makes for a far better visual appeal.
In a nutshell…
Once you’ve the short strip of tape, all you’re doing with that is placing it beside, beneath or over the centred frame. With the tape, which it helps if it’s coloured, you’ll be able to stick that to the wall and know exactly where your next picture will hang.
The real difference to creating a stunning wall piece with multiple pictures is getting the distance spot on.
Play with the numbers (measurements) more than you do the layout and you’ll be able to put together an epic picture display without marking the walls. The best part is that you’re only going to be putting nails in where it’s required and it’ll be right the first time. No more accidents, so no plaster repair work needing done the next time you decorate.