On Sunday, I was reminded of the best hardware for hanging wall art: OOK picture hangers. Maybe the company chose OOK, a name that sounds like a character on Sesame Street, because these picture hangers are so incredibly EASY to use. Seriously. I'm not even sure why there are other hooks on the market, because these work so well. You simply position the hook where you want it, and then tap the little OOK blue steel nails through the holes with a hammer. Done. Instantly you have a sturdy hook on your wall where you can hang a framed print or heavy mirror without needing a drill, anchors, or so much as a screwdriver. I used a few 30- and 50-pounders, and I'm saving this 100-pound OOK hook for a huge print we're hanging in our living room.
Hanging wall art has got to be on some top ten list for satisfying feelings of accomplishment. On Sunday, I hung up two mirrors and this frame, which now sits above the loo in our bathroom (inside the frame is an old Portland newspaper from 1863 that we found while on our honeymoon in Maine.) With OOKs, you can avoid the ever-discouraging crumbling, splintering, cracking, or peeling of the wall that stalls confidence and induces panic while you're in the process of filling a blank wall with beloved art. Those little OOK nails slide into the hook with a few taps of a hammer, and you're all set — no damage to the wall. And more motivation to move those prints from a pile on the floor to a home on the wall.
