I want ready-made hardware that makes my picture look like it's floating off the wall

November 13, 2009 4:32 PM

I want to hang this picture on the wall, but in a way that makes it look like it's an inch away from the wall. I know how to make that happen with a piece of wood wood and a sawtooth hanger, but are there any ready-made hardware or system that will achieve that?

The picture is not framed, it's actually printed on a sheet of metal - think one of those old fashioned tin signs. I want it on the wall, but in a way that, when you're in front of it, it looks like it's floating off the wall, detached from it by about an inch.

Here's how I've done this before: I take a wood block, cut smaller than the object I want to hang, and attach it (usually with glue) to the back of it. Then I take a simple sawtooth hanger and nail/screw it to the wood and voila. So I'm actually hanging the wood block on the wall, and the picture is attached to the wood block. The final distance from my picture to the wall is the thickness of the wood block. This is how it looks.

Tell me someone came up with a picture hanging system that does exactly that and I can buy at Ace Hardware and not have to deal with cutting and painting and gluing wood blocks?

As for some of the existing solutions out there, this won't work because I need to sell each object individually and ready to hang; and this won't work because, even if I didn't mind the edges showing in front, they're too flat and the picture doesn't hang far enough from the wall.

So, what's ready-made and cheap and will solve my problem?

posted by Opal to home & garden (5 answers total)

Set the hanging wire into the tin picture about halfway up, use plenty of wire so that the top of the picture just covers the hook on the wall and no more when hung up. The picture should lean outwards to a significant degree when hung. Now, attach cork, felt or substance of your choice in two blocks to the bottom two corners of the work on the reverse to level it up and make the work parallel to the wall. May take some adjustment.
posted by fire&wings at 4:50 PM on November 13, 2009

Thanks, I definitely see that working. What I was wondering, though, is if there's any commercial hanging system out there, simmilar to the ones I linked, that would get that far off the wall result I want. I'm keeping your suggestion in mind, though!
posted by Opal at 6:26 PM on November 13, 2009

Instead of a wooden block you could use a thrift store wooden picture frame that is smaller than the metal picture. 25 cents.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:48 PM on November 13, 2009

Two part epoxy would be the best glue for this.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:49 PM on November 13, 2009

Pottery Barn sells something like this, but it's 4" deep, which I think is more than you want.

Can't tell the dimensions of these from the picture, but it seems like they would work, and be way cheaper.
posted by lakeroon at 9:05 PM on November 13, 2009