The "Hang and Level"

Every once in a great while I get sucked in to buying products displayed on the end caps of stores.  I really try to ignore these displays, but recently I got sucked in to a table at Home Depot for the Hang and Level, a bright yellow plastic gadget for hanging pictures that I was previously pondering about inventing for myself, but someone beat me to it.

Anyone that hangs a lot of pictures knows how challenging it is to align several frames at once.  One way is to hang pictures with a measuring tape and a pencil, measuring the hanging point on the wire from the top of the frame, and how that lines up on the wall.  Lots of little pencil marks are made and some head scratching too as the math can get complicated when considering hanging at 57" from the center point (the average height from the floor for optimal viewing of pictures).  Apartment Therapy has a post on that subject. Sometimes I have had to make several little holes in a line to finally get the picture hanging in the right place.  The "hang and level" (h & l) doesn't eliminate all of that, but makes hanging frames so much easier.  On the bottom is one or two hooks to hang the picture from depending on the weight of the frame.  

Hold the "h & l" with one hand against the wall with the picture hanging on the hooks.  When it is in place, remove the frame and set it aside (a helper can be good for this, but not necessary)  keeping the "h & l" on the wall.  The hook, which has a point on the back of it, is pushed down to make a slight indentation in the wall where the nail should be placed.  Put the frame down, and nail in to the spot marked on the wall.

The point on the back to indicate the nail hole

After the frame is hung, the "h & l" also has a level on it to level out your picture.  When I moved into my new studio, I used this gadget to hang several frames.  It went very quickly, with little or no measuring, and the frames were lined up perfectly. I think I will be using the hang and level from now on to hang my work in my studio and in exhibitions. (BTW- this is a completely unsolicited endorsement of this product)