DigsMagazine.com | lounge: HANGING BY A WIRE

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a home + living guide for the post-college, pre-parenthood, quasi-adult generation

03.05.2001

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big decorating dreams. tiny little budget. don't be a wallflower! jump on over to the discussion boards and get decorating help.

other recent LOUNGE articles:
o open house: desert digs
o travel decorating on the cheap
o what goes where?
furniture arranging 101
o Easy Corner Shelves
o Stain Rx
o Hang-up Help
o Cluttered place/ Spartan Space
o Make a Duvet Cover
o Roommates from Hell
o Build a Bookcase
o Fix-up a $1 Lamp
o Style & Stylishness
o The Great Roommate Search
o the Dining Chair Slipcover Debacle
o Post-Posters

hanging
by a wire
by Tasha Moss | 1 2 3 4 5

In any living situation, small or large, there’s always one wall that stumps you. It’s too narrow for your favorite painting. Its asymmetric shape leaves you baffled. It’s too big and daunting to inspire much of anything. Whatever the reason, you end up leaving that one wall bare, cursing its existence every time you walk into the room.

Though it would make for a better story, the perfect solution didn’t awaken me from a deep sleep in a cold sweat, screaming, "Yes, I have it!" It came to me on a mundane visit to the window treatment section of IKEA, where I noticed that they were selling kits for window dressings. Pick up several yards of fabric, a pack of clips, and a pack of cable wire and hardware, and you’d be well on your way to nearly fool-proof curtains. Well, I didn’t need any curtains, but in one flash I suddenly had the perfect solution for that one ever-present leftover wall: hang your favorite collectibles from a length of wire stretched across the wall. Not only would this work for any size and shape of wall, but it would also take care of all those mementos taking up your precious surface area. As an added bonus, should you ever get tired of looking at your curios, you can easily rotate your display any time you’re inspired.

materials |
• A length of wire long enough to span your wall. You can use just about any variety of wire, but make sure it isn’t too thick and can be bent easily. Sixteen or fourteen gauge is about right. Check the electrical department of the hardware store.
• A handful of S-hooks. These small hooks are shaped exactly how they sound.
• 2 turnbuckles. These can usually be found by the hooks in the hardware store. [photo 1]
• 2 plastic anchors
• 2 eye screws. You'll need to determine what size eye screw works with what size anchor. Your best bet is to take an anchor and try and twist the eye screw into it. If it fits snuggly, you're set. If not, keep trying until you find one that does. I recommend a 3/16 anchor, so try and find a screw eye that will fit that.
• Several small and lightweight collectibles. Decide what you want to hang. Cards, photos, ornaments, plastic toys, you name it.
• Thin ribbon. One color or more, if you’re so inclined. You’ll hang your collectibles from it.

but wait, there's more!

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