To make a house a home, I have to hang all the things on the wall. I really hate empty walls because it just feels unfinished. So we needed a plan for the large wall in Adleigh’s room. I really had been struggling with what to put on that wall. My original plan was to do oversized black and white prints hanging on the wall. After seeing the newly painted walls, I knew that those black and white prints needed something else! In the meantime, I made sure that we got the curtains hanging on the wall so I could get a better idea with what to do with her large wall. 

I am sharing how you can hang anything on your walls without damaging anything. Over the years, we have hung a lot of things, so we have learned a lot about what to do and what not to do!

A Beginner’s Guide To Hanging Things On Walls Without Damage

This post is sponsored by Wayfair. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Some links may contain affiliates.

Hanging The Wrong Way

I am going to tell you a funny story. One that we didn’t know was funny until we hung the curtains in Adleigh’s room. The last One Room Challenge I participated in, we hung bay window curtains on our oversized bay window. We did everything we thought was right. (Notice how I say thought).  

When we hung the bay window curtains, we drilled the curtain rods with the bracket going horizontal. And a few of the brackets kept getting loose. So we have to continue to tighten them frequently. But we never thought anything of it. 

Fast forward to hanging the exact same curtain rods in Adleigh’s room. We knew how to hang them, since we just hung them in the living room. But there was one problem…Adleigh’s window is basically where the corner of the wall is. So trying to hang the brackets horizontal wasn’t going to work. But when you hang them vertical, the brackets fit. 

And at that moment, we realized we hung the bay window curtain rod brackets the wrong way.

So when I tell you that we have lots of experience with what not to do, I mean it!!

Hanging Curtain Rods  Without Damaging The Walls

Now, I am sure you want to know how to hang things on walls without damage. And by damage I mean have to hang curtain rods again. So knowing the right height will help!

Measure 4-6 inches from the top of the window frame. That is where the curtain rod should sit. But if you have higher ceilings, you can hang the rod higher! Typically you want the curtains to either just touch the ground or be slightly drapey on the ground. 

For Adleigh’s room, we needed to hang the curtains just above the floor vents since they are semi on the wall. This wasn’t something I wanted to do, but I couldn’t cover them up! I mean, can you imagine how hot her room would be if the vents were covered up?? Oye!

So we measured about 6.5 inches above the window frame. Since the walls are black, we used a white colored pencil to mark where the middle bracket was going. Then we used a laser level to ensure a level curtain rod with each bracket on the left and right of the middle bracket. 

Then we drilled the brackets into the walls GOING VERTICAL!!! This is the key to not damaging your walls because you are actually installing the curtain rods the correct way. 

Watercolor Curtains

Once the curtain brackets are installed, you can add the rods with the curtains! For Adleigh’s room, we added curtain clips. This will help when she opens and closes her curtains. 

We put the curtain clips on the rod, then hung the rod on the brackets. Once the rod was tightened into the brackets, we added the watercolor curtains I got from Wayfair.

These curtains are absolutely stunning. The watercolor print is the perfect pop of color on her Black Satin walls. The material is really soft but does keep out sunlight. 

Hanging Pictures The Easy Way

Obviously I love hanging pictures everywhere. And I hate filling holes since I like to change things out. So I have a few tricks for how to hang things on wall without damage!

I usually use Command Brand 3M hooks to hang things on walls. The reason being is that they really don’t damage the walls if you remove them properly. There is a trick. Because I may or may not have removed chunks of walls a few too many times.

To remove the 3M hook, start by pulling the tab to remove. But, instead of pulling towards you, pull the tab as close to the wall as you can. And don’t just keep your fingers pulling the tab. Continue to pull the tape as close to the hook as you can. This helps eliminate any peeling of the wall. 

Another way to hang things is to use push pins! Push pins are great for hanging light things like baskets or paper flowers. There really isn’t any damage to the wall since the push pin is so small. 

The pictures we have hanging in Adleigh’s room are hanging by using small 3M hooks. Then I covered the hooks with flowers. The flowers are hanging on the hooks as well!

I printed off a few signs to hang and used magnetic hangers to hang the prints. I printed them off at our local Kinkos as engineer printers for only $6.00 total!

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Check Out More One Room Challenge Participants

All that we have left is to wait for Adleigh’s bed to arrive, along with blankets and pillows. Then I get to style her room and it will be completed!! I am so excited to see how it is all coming together.

And you can check out all the other guest participants in the One Room Challenge by going to this post. There is so much inspiration you can gain from looking at these other designers!