Common dilemna.

House Beautiful

BHG

I recently had someone ask how to deal with wall moldings/panels and artwork. Most of us love the look of wainscoting, crown moldings, etc... But it can prove to be a challenge when it comes to hanging pictures. Obviously you can use the top of a piece of molding as a shelf for plates or artwork. But what do you do when the molding hits at an uncommonly high part of the wall? Or covers the entire wall? Well, I have found in my two decades of design work (more if you count my childhood bedrooms) that people are scared of putting holes in walls. Add to that a beautiful piece of wood work and you have a stand still! Let me assure you...you CAN put holes in moldings! They will recover. If you change your mind there is putty and paint. In the meantime, there are lots of different hangers you can use to combine your art with your wall treatment.

Pottery Barn

You can hang a rail higher than your paneling and let the artwork hang lower. No holes in the woodwork!

Pottery Barn used to sell these brackets that make the art work hang about 4-5 inches from the wall. It makes the art jut out so that you can cluster art together---kind of over each other. You could probably hunt for those brackets or you could fasten a piece of hardware to your wall and art work to get the same effect. Essentially floating it out over your moldings. Like an "L" bracket.

As long as you anchor it properly, something like this could be fastened to artwork. It could be painted to blend into your wall. You can get very creative perusing the aisles of your local hardware store.

I love your questions! Keep em coming!