How to Hang Pictures in a Group

I know I've been showing y'all Connie's home in Vermont.....

but today we're going to jump back to my bidness partner, Kris's home in Massachusetts.

Don't worry....

there's still a #$% load ton of stuff to see in Connie's house, but some things have been happening at Kris's that I want to show the class!!!!!

We've been working on her entry hall.

I had gone over how I hung the pictures and plates on the staircase here.

But we still had the walls around the hall bench to cover.

Kris and I thought at one time that we would do a collection of antique tole trays, and had started by just hanging one.

But all that black on the walls 

(from the trays) 

seemed to make the hall darker.

Soooooo.....

as we are wont to do.....

we did nothing!!!!!!

Then!!!!

Kris was out antiquing with someone else.....

(not me....jeesh.....some friend she is.....)

when she came across 12 framed herbiers.

Herbiers are dried flowers taped to paper and framed.

At least

that's what I think they are.....

Here's a close up of one of them.

Sooooo.....,

even though I didn't have the fun of finding them.....

I was recruited to hang them for her.

First I laid them out on the floor, to figure out how I was going to accomplish this feat.

Then I started rearranging them to see what was going to go where....

Kris and I had some serious discussions, and then I started putting holes in the walls!!!!!

First I had to take down the tray.

When I hang a group like this, I start in the middle with the one that will set the height for the whole dealio.

So I hung the first picture, and we stood back to see how we liked it.

I pointed out to Kris that with so much pattern on her wallpaper, my booboos would be hidden!!!!!

She's such a trooper.....she agreed with this assessment!

One down, eleven to go.....

Betsy's tip #384

When hanging pictures over a piece of upholstery.....

It is very important to take off one's shoes!!!!!

After the first piece is hung, then I go for the one that is going to be over or under it, next.

Then I start working out to the sides.

Because the top of the bench was curved, I staggered the pictures to follow the bench's outline.

At this point, I was measuring off the floor, to get the pictures to line up level.

I hadn't brought my laser level, so I was using a tape measure.

Please note.....

when working in a house that's over 100 years old, 

THE FLOORS SLANT!!!!!

DON'T MEASURE OFF THE FLOORS!!!!

IT DOESN'T WORK!!!!!

When I hung the fourth frame, even though it was the same distance from the floor as the one I was trying to match.....

It was wayyyyy off.

Luckily, the walls were wallpapered in a small pattern, so I was able to get the frames level by working from the wallpaper repeats.

If you have a good wallpaper hanger, 

he (or she) will make sure the paper is installed level to the earth, 

not to the house's floors.

Then I hung the next two, spacing them the same as the middle ones.

Then I hung the next two, matching the way I had staggered the middle ones.

Hung the 9th....

ALMOST DONE!!!!!

Then the last one.

The last two of the twelve, I hung on the adjacent wall.

I love the way these herbiers work with the hand painted prints that Kris and I snagged at one of our last auctions!!!

This hall is finally almost done.

We've only been working on it for the past 12 years. 

Now Kris wants me to make toss pillows for the bench.

My work is never done.....

but it gives me lots to blog about!!!!!

And it's all about the blog!!!!!

Here's a before and after.....,

When one fills one's home with lots of #$%, it takes time to find it all, and pay for it all, and hang it all.....

and then you have to dust it all!!!!!

One that note,

Latah, Gatah