With summer coming up and school letting out, we’ve decided it’s a great time to address a common concern among our customers who happen to be parents: How do I keep my art safe from my children, and how do I keep my children safe from my art? Both questions are important considerations when hanging art in homes with children, since you’ll want to make sure the things you hang on your walls will stay intact and beautiful, and at the same time won’t pose a safety concern for your kids.
We tapped ILevel expert installer Chris Deo to offer his tips on how to childproof art and pictures in your home.
The first step when hanging art in homes with children is to determine where and why risk exists. The means taking into consideration everything from where the art is placed in the home, to whether there are fragile or sharp objects/works at risk of being tampered with by an active child. The weight of the piece should also be factored into your decisions. Pieces that seem very heavy or precarious should not be hung in areas that children may be, or should be placed higher up on walls where they are out of reach.
Second, make sure to hang pictures the right way. Besides general safety concerns, there’s also the matter of homes with children being more active, meaning there are a lot more chances for art to be knocked askew by a curious hand or a rogue light saber. So, we always recommend installing at least two hanging points for each picture, which will keep them level.
Third, install security hardware when necessary. While our recommendation is always “when in doubt, hang it elsewhere,” sometimes, especially in small city apartments, there aren’t always a ton of options for where to hang your favorite art. In this case, we suggest using special security hardware. This standard method is very effective at stabilizing and securing most frames to your walls, since it employs a minimum of three points of connection between the wall and the art/pictures.
Need more advice? ILevel offers custom consultations and solutions for hanging art in homes with children, so give us a call to make sure you keep both your art, and your kids, safe.