No home is complete without wall decor. For renters, that’s a problem because not many landlords like having holes drilled in their fresh plaster. The problem is heightened if you are renting and like to move things around. Save yourself the trouble and get creative with leaning art displays.
What is Leaning Art?
Leaning art is simply displaying picture frames leaning against the wall, rather than being affixed to it. That being said, there are alternatives that can hold frames to the wall without requiring any drilling.
The Advantages of Leaning Art for Renters
1. Flexibility
As there is no drilling required, you can change your display anytime. If you were to be hanging art, every time you moved the piece, you would need to repair the plasterwork, and probably apply a lick of paint to cover up the repair job. With no holes required, you can display whatever you like, and move it however many times you like.
2. Layering Becomes Possible
The one thing you can’t do with wall displays is layer your art, one behind another. By leaning your art, you can have smaller frames to the front, larger behind, and perhaps even bigger behind that for a 3-tier art display. The closest you can get to layering art on a wall is framing everything in a collage frame.
The bigger benefit of layering is you can include more than photos and paper art in your displays. You could have photo frames, candlesticks, ornaments, plants, statues, and trophies etc. Anything you want to stand out in a display can be done within a layered art display.
3. It Can be Done on Shelves Too
When leaning art is talked about, it’s often in the context of floor standing frames leaning against a wall. That, it can be, however, the only thing that usually stops people leaning picture frames at a height is the risk of the frame falling off a bookshelf, a side table, or a floating shelf.
Slipping can be prevented with nothing more than an anti-slip drawer liner. It can be applied to wood furnishings such as tables, shelves, and bookcases without the risk of damage. You only need enough to line the bottom of the picture frame to prevent it from sliding.
If you have multiple photos you want to display but need to minimise the holes you would be putting in the walls, install a shelf and lean multiple frames on it. The only thing to be careful with is the weight you are putting on shelves as some of the larger wood picture frames are quite heavy. Perhaps too heavy for a shelf that isn’t secured to studs on the wall.
How to Keep Leaning Art from Falling
The thing with leaning art is nothing is holding it in place. If you have it on a shelf near a door or window, the slightest of drafts can cause them to move, and a strong crosswind could cause it to topple.
Two things can be done to hold picture frames upright without permanently anchoring them to the wall.
1. Using Velcro
Velcro can be attached to the wall and to the back of the frame. Simply stick the two pieces together to secure it in place.
2. Make the frames bottom-heavy
Wind circulation will cause your frames to fall over. Steel rods are thin enough to attach to the back of frames, yet heavy enough to add sufficient weight to the bottom of frames to make them bottom-heavy which helps make them sturdier when leaning against a wall.
As the old saying goes, “when there’s a will, there’s a way”. Leaning art is a way to display more art with fewer holes in the walls of rented properties.