Picture Rail Redux

As a small diversion from my ongoing mural project, I've always wanted to fix something in the house that I've never been completely happy with. When I first hung all of our artwork on the picture rails, I used the simplest way, a single cord and single hook for each. I always new I wanted to update this with a two cord system but never got around to it until now. 

The reason I wanted to use a two-cord system is twofold. First, I've never been happy with the aesthetics of the simpler system. Second, the simpler system leaves the artwork failry loose and uneven on the wall so pictures are not exactly even and some even move when the forced-air heating or air-conditioning is on.

Setting up the two-cord system is pretty simple: you run a single cord (in my case, since I am re-using old cord, I am running two cords, tied together, through eyelets in the back of the frame and then at each ends of the cord, you form a loop ad insert a hook. Keeping the cord loose in the eyelets allows you to easily level the pictures on the wall. 

Forming the loops is probably the most work-intensive part of the project. For mine, I created a loop in the cord.  

I then wrapped the loop shut tight with some brass wire.  

I crimped the brass wire tight against the cord to insure it wouldn't fall off.  

Then I repeated this step on the other end of the cord.  

I use decorative hooks that I purchased online from House of Antique Hardware. They aren't specifically Arts & Crafts style but that seems fine with me since the house has enough elements that aren't specifically that style anyway. I also wanted something with a bit of interest.  

The wire and loop system creates a neat attachment at the rail.  

I am happy with the final look because it maintains a rectilinear form on the wall and holds all of the artwork in a stead position. 

This process has allowed me to take an inventory of what we have hanging at the Tiny Bungalow and I am going to hang a few new pieces as well. I'll follow up with a bit about some of the art that we have hanging at the house and where it came from.  

Picture frame completed

I finished the frame and I am happy with it. It is big and makes the old one look a little anemic but it looks just right for the wall. I am glad I didn't go larger with this thing (my first instinct). Now I have to get my ass in gear and finish stripping the closet door. Unfortunately, it looks like winter is coming back to Chicagoland this week - hopefully it doesn't get too cold.

I should also probably add a couple pointers about hanging large artwork on picture rails. Generally, the hooks on the back of your artwork that you use to hold cable or chord should be attached to the side rails. This is always stronger than the top rail where joints can brake and the entire picture (and mat and glass) can end up on the floor. I am using 1/4" loop hooks that are about a 1/2" long (into the wood).

People have also asked about how you minimize the hanging angle. You can't eliminate it totally but the higher up that you mount the chord or wire hooks on your frame, the lesser the angle will be on the wall. I am using hooks at about 3" from the top of the picture for this one and due to the weight and size, the angle is minimal. On smaller pictures, you can get as close as an inch from the top rail.

Picture rail

The remainder of the picture rail hardware that I ordered arrived the other day. I am a big fan of picture rail. The idea that you don't put any holes in your plaster walls makes a lot of sense to me. Since I just put several months into patching and repairing plaster on the bedroom walls, it was only logical that I install a picture rail to keep them safe. It also gives the room a nice sense of scale.I guess I sort of understand folks that have drywall and no picture rail. These are mostly non-historic homes and drywall seems somewhat of an irreverent material anyway. Is there a real reason to protect it? I am also sure that folks with drywall would prefer to get excited by products like the Hercules Hook anyway. I know that my affinity for imperfect plaster and exposed hangers is not shared by everyone but for folks with older homes, I just don't get it.

I have been in and out of hundreds of old and historic homes in the Chicago area - most with this feature. Unfortunately, people either don't know what the rail is for or they seem to prefer to bang a nail, damaging 100 year old plaster to hang stuff. Is there a sadistic tendency that people have towards plaster that I am not getting? Is there something "magical" about a concealed nail and hook? We know there's something behind the frame holding that picture up so why not show it off a bit?

In each of the places we have lived in Chicago, we have utilized the rail to hang our artwork and people have always commented, saying how interesting it was. I am not sure if they were actually admiring it or if they were thinking to themselves: "That's the weirdest shit I've ever seen, I can't believe they would hang their pictures that way". I would like to think it's the former but you never really know. Either way, I like it and will stick to my guns.

The hardware I got is pretty nice and unlike the "plain" hooks and wire I was getting at Home Depot. It came from an online store, House of Antiques. Along with a wide array of hooks, I got copper-colored fabric wire for all of the rooms except my daughter's. For hers, I got an ivory color.

I have pretty much re-hung all of the art in our house. In the midst of working on a year-long project like the bedroom, it's nice to have a few small victories to keep me going. The pictures, mostly artwork created by friends, all look great. Now I just need to finish work on all the walls behind them.

Picture rail complete

I think that the picture rail came out nice. I didn't get to hung up on the corners but after the second one, the coping became easier (they still kind of suck though). It's nice to see the woodwork pretty much done in this room (please ignore the stark white door leaning up against the wall).Hopefully the brass screws begin to patina soon - I may need to do something to accelerate the process. I like the rhythm of the exposed fasteners but they are just a little too "bright" at the moment. I also may get a bit more anal about their position - it would be nice to have the cross mark of the Phillips-heads to be all orthogonal to the rail itself. Frankly, I don't have the patience for this right now.I am excited to get to the painting part but since I've come this far, I am going to take a little more time with the plaster to get it looking better before we paint. We have decided on the room colors too:The Prairie Green (how appropriate, right?) will go on the main walls below the picture rail, and the Silver Wing will go on the ceiling and above the picture rail. There is still a chance I might do Touch of Gray on the ceiling as another accent but I am not sure. There was also some talk of stenciling the dado a while back but I'm not so sure of that either. The real bonus to choosing the paint colors is that I can now take down the 100 or so odd paint swatches that are hanging around the room.

Maybe they were right

After painting one of my rain barrels (we’ll be installing it this coming weekend), I continued work on the bedroom.An odd thing about the line of the old picture rail is that it was located at an odd height. Where the picture rail in all of the other rooms aligns with the door or window head molding, this picture rail is above the door molding and then ‘crashes” at an odd place against the crown above the head.Being the architectural genius that I am, I figured that I would “correct” this by shifting it down. This would make the picture rail align with the head and molding just like all the other rooms. WRONG MOVE! After spending several hours attaching the picture rail, I realized that it looks stupid at that height and would probably (I don’t know exactly how to explain it) look better at the higher height. I guess they knew what they were doing back when they built this place.I also screwed (pun intended) myself by installing the picture rail with a “cool” detail that I’ve seen on other older homes. I used exposed screws and washers drilled directly into the studs. This not only made it more difficult to hang but also to take down and re-hang because it looked like crap the first time. In case it becomes important in the future, my studs are located at alternating intervals of 16”, 18”, and 24”. I think I may have to take back the thought that the guys that built this place knew what they were doing.

When you take a 2 and a 1/2 year old to Lowe's

I had to pick up some more supplies for my ongoing work on the bedroom. I decided to get my daughter, Sophie, out of my wife’s hair for a little while so I brought her with me to Lowe’s. We browsed through the aisles, looking at picture rail, stains; I had to pick up some more rags and gloves. While rounding the corner of the paint aisle, something caught my daughter’s eye: the children’s room decorating section. She screamed, “Dora, Dora”.

Against my better judgment, I decided to guide the cart over to that area of the store and figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at some of the things they had. My daughter went absolutely crazy, as if she had found some magical world where all of her favorite cartoon characters existed at once, together. I gave in to her please and we picked out some stickers of Dora for her to put up in her room she also wanted wallpaper, border, a nightlight, and a million other things that I did not want to be party to.

The stickers supposedly come off the wall without leaving any marks. We had a fun time putting them up (though I think if Sophie had her way, she would have put them in one tight cluster above the door).

In addition to this small excursion, I took down the crown molding/picture rail. Instead of trying to salvage it, I bought new and my friend, Pete helped me stain it to be put up in its proper location. Taking down the molding did not cause too much damage though I will have a little work to do in the plaster repair department. The wood is coming along nicely but the process is very slow.

Growing tired of the bedroom, I decided to re-visit the basement and to try and actually finish that room. I replaced the curved soffit with a straight one and finished up the trim work in that room. All I have left is to finish the lattice on the soffit and the basement is officially done. Kind of scary – since this was the first project I started when we moved in. The lanterns in the basement are additions by Sophie; celebrating Chinese New Year a month and a half too late.