How to hang Artwork Without Frames

Do you have a bunch of artwork lying around? Maybe too much artwork? Perhaps it’s so much artwork that it’s too expensive to buy frames for all of it, or they’re weird sizes or shapes that wouldn’t make sense to put in a frame. While we would normally suggest putting things in frames for consistency on a wall, there are methods you can use to get away with hanging unframed artwork. Let’s look at a few of them.

1. Using a shelf or ledge

Art by Yuri Shwedoff and Aimee Cozza

Installing a shelf or ledge is a great way that you can easily put up unframed artwork that is sturdy enough to not bow or bend when leaned up against the ledge and the wall. This is great for matted prints, but also works great for framed artwork if you’re constantly changing the decor and artwork on your walls. You can put artwork on a ledge uniformally, or you can go mosaic-style and just pile it on. The ledge keeps everything straight and sturdy, which can help bring organization to your artwork chaos.

2. Tape it up

No one wants to have their room look like it did when they were a teen tacking things to the wall. However, you can bring a bit of class to taping up your artwork and prints by using specific colors of Washi Tape. Just make sure you evenly cut all the ends rather than going for a jagged, sloppy ripped tape look. The small details are what will really help this look succeed.

3. Hang them up

Wooden frame hangers (like the ones you use to hang pants and skirts) can also double as a great way to hold a print steady and put it up on the wall. All this requires is a few nails or hooks on the wall, but swapping out your artwork for something new is super simple. Just take the hanger off the wall and swap out the art!

You can also use clothes pins on hemp, a cord, or a wire to hang artwork or photos. This usually looks cute at a wedding, but might not be suited for at home purposes. However, the different variations of styling on this same theme you might just love, such as going gallery wire style with it by drilling through wood, passing the cord through the wood, and hanging the clothes pins off of that.

You can also use binder clips in lieu of clothes pins, and nail or tack those to the wall as well.

4. Tack it up

Lastly, you can always tack up your artwork… But maybe not with the traditional thumbtacks. Some clever ways are using darts to hang art, map tacks, and other slightly more elevated means of hanging your unframed artwork.

Do you have unframed artwork up on your walls? How did you do it and how did it come out? Let us know in the comments below!