Some rugs are just too beautiful to walk on! Before you decide to hang your rug, here are a few things to take into consideration:

How heavy is the rug? Heavy rugs will need to be hung in a way to distribute their weight evenly. For example, if you hang a heavy rug by each corner, the corners will eventually tear. Some rugs may be too heavy to hang.

Knowing the weight of the rug will help when making decisions about purchasing hangers or screws. Check the package for how much weight the hangers and screws can hold and follow manufacturer’s guidelines. Heavy items will need strong hangers and multiple screws drilled directly into the wall studs to prevent your rug from falling down or damaging your walls.

Ideally, rugs should be hung in an area away from direct sunlight. If you really must hang it where the sun is shining directly on the rug – placing it in a shadow box with ultraviolet protective glass will help prevent damage.

Rugs, just like any other item you place on the wall, will need regular cleaning and dusting.

Expensive and heirloom rugs need extra special care. These rugs should never be nailed or hung in a manner that may damage them.

Now it’s time to get creative!

Frame It
Purchase or make a frame to hold your rug or make a rug to fit a frame you already have. The rug will need to be a little bigger than the picture opening in order to hold it tightly in the frame.

Shadow Box
Rugs fade in direct sunlight, placing a rug in a shadow box with ultraviolet protective glass will help prevent fading. You can get really creative with a shadow box, adding other items to the box. Maybe the rug is a family heirloom? Add a picture and a few items that remind you of the person who gave it to you.

Velcro
A hot trend for hanging rugs is Velcro. Cut a strong cotton strip of fabric, 1” longer than the width of your rug and about 1 ¼” wider than the width of your Velcro. Using heavy cotton thread, sew a ½” hem on all four sides of the fabric strip, sew the soft Velcro to the fabric strip, than slipstitch the fabric strip straight across the top of the back of the rug. The amount and width of the Velcro will be determined by the weight of your rug. A one inch wide strip will work for light weight rugs, wider strip(s) of Velcro will be needed for heavier rugs. Stain and Polyurethane or paint both sides of a strip of wood. The wood should be just long enough to hold the Velcro and strong enough to hold the weight of your rug. Attach hangers or drill screws through the wood directly into the wall, making sure to hit the studs if the rug is heavy. Attach the Velcro to the wood using staples that are resistant to rust. Attach the two pieces of Velcro together and you’ve got a wall hanging.

Hang it like a curtain
Purchase a decorative curtain rod and brackets or a dowel rod (about 3” longer than the width of your rug) and cup hooks with wall anchors. The cup hooks should be large enough to hold the dowel rod. Make a sleeve to hold the rod to the back of the rug. Cut a strong cotton strip of fabric, 1” longer than the width of your rug and about 1 ¼” wider than needed to wrap around the curtain or dowel rod. Using heavy cotton thread, make a ½” hem on all four sides of the fabric strip, than slipstitch the fabric strip straight across the top of the back of the rug. The dowel rod should be painted or stained and polyurethaned. Place the rod through the fabric strip. Hang decorative curtain brackets following manufacturer’s instructions or screw cup hooks into wall anchors placed about 1” from either end of the dowel rod and your rug is ready to hang.

Hang it using a Victorian Picture Hanger
If you have a picture rail in your home, you could hang a rug using one or two Victorian picture rail hook(s). Before hanging heavy rugs, make sure the picture rail and the rail hook are strong enough to hold the weight of your rug. If you don’t have a picture rail, you could purchase one or two Victorian picture hooks that hang from screws which would give you much the same look. Using the Velcro method above, follow the manufacture’s instructions to attach O rings or the hardware that comes with the picture rail hook into the back of the wood.

Artist Canvas
Pin or stitch it to an artist canvas. The canvas can be painted or covered with fabric to show off your work of art.

Light weight rug?
Sew a few loops made from cotton material or heavy yarn across the top of the back and hang from nails.

Latch Hook
Try using picture hooks, slipped through the holes in the back of the rug canvas.

Purchase a hanger made for hanging quilts and rugs – there are a lot of options out there. Methods range from using magnets, Velcro and squeezing the rug between two pieces of wood.

Enjoy your work of art!