How To Hang Art On Walls Without Nails

There's a good chance you live in a rented property, and along with myriad house rules in your rental agreement about what you can and can't do around the house, your landlord has a strict "No nails on walls" policy. Even if you're blessed with a good landlord or live in your own house and have all the 'nail freedom' you want, putting nails in the walls isn't really a cake in the walk. You can't exactly get the perfect nail into a wall using just a hammer, most strong nail jobs require professional tools like a power drill.

But all those beautiful paintings, macrame, art, and those hideous calendars (more on them in another post) won't hang themselves, will they?

So in this post, I'll tell you and show you how you can go to town on your walls without using a single nail.

Somewhere around last year, I discovered something that changed my life. Or my house for good.

Enter adhesive backed steel hooks, and suction technology.

Now I wasn't expecting a flimsy looking hook with a double-sided tape on the back to substitute a nail. Hanging a heavy painting was beyond question.

And oh boy was I in for a surprise?

These hooks work and how!

Let me show you how multi-purpose and easy to use they have been around my house.

Here's an art gallery wall completely supported by adhesive nail hooks. Each of those frames weighs around a kilo on average, and guess what, they have been holding on for about a year now.

Here's another miniature gallery wall at my study wall.

Here's the nail hook humbly holding my chopping board. (This reminds me I need to replace my now very-grimy looking chopping board)

And here's a toilet paper holder just sucking up to the wall to do its job.

Here even the gas lighter is held up by a hook that came with it and I just stuck it on the wall with a good quality 3M tape.

To get the most out of our adhesive hooks and suction cups here's the most important tips to keep in mind before you use the adhesive hooks on your walls.

1) They work best when used on tile, wood, glass and non-cement surfaces. Even though my hooks have worked just fine on my walls, I've had instances when they've fallen off at times and I've re-taped and stuck them but they've worked the best on tiled walls.

2) Before sticking a hook, make sure the area is clean and free of dust.

3) After sticking the hook in the desired place, give it at least 15 hours until you hang the object. This gives the nail enough time to create a good grip on the wall.

4) Ideally use the nails to hang only light weight items and avoid anything over a kilo. This weight limit is perfect for hanging small paintings, glass-less frames, small objects, fabrics, empty bags, etc.

Where to buy adhesive hooks?

While, the adhesive hooks are not as rare as they were at the time of originally writing this article, they're available at most home improvement and decor stores. To buy adhesive hooks online, this pack of 12 wall hooks on Amazon is a good option. And here's the links for the toilet paper holder and the toothbrush holder

No nails, no fails. Welcome to the nail free life!

About the author: I (Monica) am a lifelong traveler, (40 countries), sustainability and veganism advocate, and a marketer by profession.

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