It’s nice to be back in the swing of things. Lisa and I are adjusting nicely to life with two kids. So far so good. The real challenge will be when they both can walk or climb. That will be an adventure.. an exhausting adventure. This weekend we started catching up on some projects that got shifted to the back burner when we started making preparations for baby #2. One of those projects is a large wooden key Lisa bought at Hobby Lobby. It’s an odd shape and doesn’t have any straight edges for a level to rest on. Plus, it needed some modifications to mount. Here’s how to hang and level odd shaped decor…
This key came with a small bracket on one end. I guess it was designed to be hung vertically. That’d be cool, but we thought it would look better if we hung it horizontally.
To modify the key to hang horizontally, I needed to add two additional brackets. I couldn’t find the exact same one that was already one there, so I just bought something similar from Lowes. I started by drawing a center line down the back of the key using a straight edge. The center line will help me align the two brackets to each other and will serve as the line which the piece will be leveled to. I then traced the outline of the bracket and the screw holes.
Since the bracket needs space for a fastener, I needed to drill out the space where the center hole is located. I also pre-drilled the holes for the two screws that keep the bracket onto the key. Then I just repeat those steps for the bracket on the other end.
To mount the key onto the wall so it’s level, I transferred the locations of the brackets to the actual level using a pencil. I also marked the center point of the level.
With the level marked up, I place it against the wall and line up the center mark of the wall with the center mark of the level. Now all you have to do is transfer the lines on the level to the wall to indicate where the brackets will be located. Don’t forget to level the actual level first (awkward sentence ay?). The wall marks for the bracket locations should be a plus sign and not just a horizontal or vertical line.
Now I just use my favorite drywall anchors and mount the key onto the wall. The key doesn’t have a straight surface on it, so I can’t really check to see if it’s level once it’s on the wall. However, the marks we made were level, so that’s good enough for me.
Cool piece. We really like it. Lisa bought it on sale too, which makes me like it all the more. So, what to take away from this post? Using a level to transfer marks from art work or decor to the wall. It’s a guaranteed way to get it level every time regardless of the shape.
Anyone else adding any new decor?
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