Hang A Grid Of Picture Frames, step by step

2, 4, 6, 8, Who Do We Appreciate? Planning!

And why do we appreciate it? Because we get burned when we do not do it. At least we did on the frame arrangement we simply hung above our sectional.

Here is the story. We have consistently planned to take the big empty space above Karl and do a grid of large picture frames. We sort of envisioned it as a larger version of the frame grid that we hung above the couch in our old den…

… but instead of 8 x 10″ frames we’d use oversized 20.5 x 20.5″ Ribba frames from Ikea for more impact (since we already own and enjoy four of them – and they are simply $19 a pop).

After some rough math and holding up a couple of the Ribba frames that we already owned, Sherry and I determined that we hoped to do a grid of six frames (two rows of three) to fill the space in the middle of wall, allowing for some empty space on either side for two table lamps that would sit on the future console table that we will eventually build to go behind the sectional. Note: we moved the 5 x 8′ Pottery Barn rug into the guest room for my in-law’s stay, and it will eventually live there permanently, we simply brought it back into the living room until we upgrade to a bigger rug, since we are right now guest-less and Clara appreciates having a soft place to play.

Anyway, back to the frames. We went to Ikea, picked up six new Ribba frames (they sometimes vary slightly in color, so we figured it would be safest not to mix and match old frames with new ones, and we have a ton of other spots for the four that we already own) and headed home to begin the whole hang-it-up process. When we got home with our six new Ribba frames from Ikea, I suggested that we tape up some paper to figure out how high we want them to hang and how much space to leave between them. After all, we both know these things are worth planning out. And luckily the paper that comes in the frame is nearly perfectly sized to assist you figure this out. So we began with two sheets to see how high to hang them.

This is where things veered off course (thanks to me, I will admit). Sherry suggested that we tape up the other four sheets of paper to make sure we liked how all six looked together. Perhaps I was simply an eager beaver and hoped to get to drilling. Or perhaps I chose we should blow it off because we had already accidentally thrown away one sheet of paper to complete the all-six arrangement. Whatever it was, I reassured Sherry that it would look simply fine and we did not need to be all paranoid and hang the remaining three sheets to double-check everything. Famous last words.

She believed me (albeit hesitantly), so I began drilling. Insert glad testosterone filled sound effect here (there is nothing like a little afternoon drilling). It was not a fast process to measure, mark, and double check everything to make sure it was all lining up, so perhaps an hour or so later I had five out of six frames hanging on the wall.

That is when Sherry broke the news that the arrangement was not big sufficient. We needed eight frames. As much as I hated to admit it (for more than one reason), she was right – the five frames looked too small on the wall (and adding the sixth was not going to assist). They floated awkwardly and simply did not have the impact we hoped.

**I’d insert a picture here of giant Karl sitting awkwardly below those poorly placed frames but I was too pissed/disgruntled/ashamed to snap one.**

This was all my fault. Had I taken the time to tape up all of the sheets of paper we would’ve realized it before I put a single hole in the wall. I even would have taken a picture of the taped-up configuration to show you what a learning process taping them all up on the wall can be, and how grateful we were to have taken the time to complete that first to save a step. Duh, John. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

The next step was to take down the five already-hung frames with a big ol’ sour face and begin re-measuring everything so that eight frames would be centered above the sectional (and on that middle ceiling beam). Then came the not so lively process of not only removing the ten screws that were already in the wall (I was doing two per frame to be safe) but marking, drilling, and screwing in an additional sixteen. And since we already had two old Ribba frames that happened to match – at last, a lucky break – I was able to hang all eight frames in place without another four-hour-round-trip to Ikea, leaving us with this:

We certainly needed all eight frames. They should be simply right when we add table lamps on either side of the arrangement after I build an über long console table.

We are still debating exactly what to put in them (perhaps family photos? perhaps something more graphic?) but we are certainly glad to have the whole frame hanging part over with. Even if it involved a lesson learned the hard way. At least it was a mistake that only took time and energy (and a bit of humility) to fix. You know, as opposed to a big wad of cash. Oh and speaking of time and energy, there are still some holes and pencil marks from the first attempt that need patching. Sigh.

Wait, who am I kidding. That is Sherry’s department. Have lively with that babe.

What about you folks? Surely we cannot be the only ones who’ve made the mistake of not planning well. Or perhaps we are. But we’d enjoy to hear some of your stories if you’ve got ’em. Bad planners unite!

Psst- Speaking of frames, we found a truly cool one for displaying kid art (or any art that you like to rotate out without taking it off the wall and removing the back). Check it out over here on BabyCenter.