Sometimes it’s best to leave The King in chargeSeptember 27th, 2007 @ 5:01 am
I’ve worked as a janitor. I’ve made sodas for people through the window at a convenient store. I’ve waitressed at a truck stop. I’ve answered phones and done research at a small town newspaper. Heck, I’ve even worked for a essential oil company.
While I’ve had some random jobs in my younger years, The King has had even more random jobs. Not more jobs, just jobs that are more random. Like the time he hung art for a living.
That’s right, people would pay a lot of money to have The King come to their house and hang things, correctly, on their walls.
Apparently there is more to this then you might think. There are correct levels and correct vantage points and correct accessories. Gone are the days of using a simple nail and hammer to hang up your wedding pictures or the expensive painting you just bought.
This may not come as a surprise to most of you, but this whole industry did surprise me. While it makes sense that a bazillionaire wouldn’t hang their new Monet on the wall, I’d never thought about who was doing the actual hanging.
Enter The King and his mad skillz.
Of course The King no longer does this for a living. He’s upgraded to bigger and better way to fully utilize his skillz. Now he just builds houses from scratch. But that doesn’t mean he has forgotten the ways of professional art hanging. Oh no, we take it very seriously at our house apartment.
Marci, my best friend from high school, is living in a rental until their new house is completed. Hey, just like me. Only she’s living in an awesome house with bedrooms and bathrooms and not a one bedroom apartment. I’m jealous happy for her. Marci and I were recently discussing how we weren’t motivated to hang anything on the walls of our rentals. What’s the point, you know? I mean, eventually we’re moving out of this rental so why bother hanging anything on the walls.
(Sidenote to The King: I know you’re working as hard as you can on the new house. And I thank you.)
After discussing this with Marci I looked around our apartment and realized that The King had hung some of our stuff up on the walls. He’d hung up the map of the Berlin subway that May and I put together for him last Christmas.
You can tell by where the camera flash hit that The King is hung it perfectly. Just the right level so that you can totally see the map and try to navigate your next trip to Berlin. (Which might be taking place sooner rather then later.)
Then there is the painting The King acquired while in college. While it’s massive, he was still able to hang it securely to our apartment wall. No earthquake could bring this baby down. Again, it’s at perfect eye level.
Good job King.
Last, but not least, we have the newest addition to our art collection; a Seattle themed painting that May gave me the night they moved to Reno. We were all very excited to have this awesome new painting and we couldn’t wait to get it out of our car and hung in the perfect place in our apartment.
Since he’s a professional at hanging art, you’d expect nothing but the best from The King.
But since he was too busy building the new house, I was left in charge of hanging this specific piece. I thought to myself, I know where it will look perfect! There’s a lot of empty white space above the TV. That’s where I’ll hang it! Yes, above the TV.
And so I did.
Apartment Living · I Rock · The King
Anna
said,
September 27, 2007 at 1:11 pm
That is exactly what I would have done.
We could really use the King’s hanging services at our abode. With a husband that is 6′6″ and a wife that is 5′4″ on a good day we are never able to agree on where things should go.
And that map is fantastic! I gave the husband an antique map of our state for our first anniversary (paper! I’m so thoughtful!) and he loved it.
It’s one of the few things in our home that was hung to an agreeable height.
super des
said,
September 27, 2007 at 2:24 pm
My bf used to work at a custom framing place, so now nothing can be hung on the walls unless it’s properly framed with a matching mat and everything. And yes, he does the “proper” hanging too. But sometimes I just wanna tack a poster up, dammit.
Loralee
said,
September 27, 2007 at 2:26 pm
I do NOT have mad hanging skills. It seems like no matter what I do, the darn things are off kilter. :S
P.S. I love the frame and mat job on that map.
Laurel
said,
September 27, 2007 at 2:29 pm
I love your hanging skills!
Until I met AS, I didn’t even know to use a level while hanging things. My walls were a mess!
Rachel
said,
September 27, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Ha ha ha ha!! Funny. I would have “hung” it the same way, except maybe more crooked.
Keri
said,
September 27, 2007 at 4:49 pm
HA HA HA.
Can the King (in his spare time) give is a lesson on proper hanging techniques (how high, etc)?
janet
said,
September 27, 2007 at 5:21 pm
hahahah. brilliant.
Can the King come over and help me hang stuff on my walls? I have dreams of doing something like Holly (nothing but bonfires) has in her living room. A nice photo/frame collage.
Audrey
said,
September 27, 2007 at 7:56 pm
That’s awesome.
I never knew such a profession existed, but it definitely makes sense!
katie
said,
September 27, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Great
(wipes a little trail of snot from nose that was expelled during the healthy snort this post ellicited)
Eris
said,
September 28, 2007 at 2:56 am
How is your friend in Reno fairing?
I’ve missed your blog. You kid is cuter than ever AND I now know how to make spam burgers, paint my nails and do my hair. I don’t know how I was living before.
Fairly Odd Mother
said,
September 28, 2007 at 11:52 am
So, does he turn around and ask ‘How’s it hung?’ every time he finishes?
BTW, I love, love, love that scissors painting.
Christar
said,
September 28, 2007 at 6:14 pm
That seems like a pretty neat job! A little random, but definitely neat!
Since Shaun is a photographer, he’s been saying for the longest time how he wants to get his pictures (as in the ones he’s taken) printed in B&W, framed, and hung in his house. Now that he just bought a condo, he’s going to be able to do this. Although I have to note that Shaun can get really lazy when it comes to stuff like this, so I know he probably won’t have it done before Christmas, and I might have to get some of his pictures framed for him.
Lisa B
said,
September 28, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Hehehee. The King would scream and run from our house if he saw how some of our stuff is hung.
Happy Friday.
Operation Pink Herring
said,
September 28, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I love all your art. It’s like… real art! Imagine that. I have some sweet framed postcards posing as art on my walls. And they’re all hung crooked.
Ashlie
said,
September 29, 2007 at 3:30 am
Looks like you have some mad skillz as well. Never to be underestimated again!
Nap Queen
said,
September 30, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Oh I LOVE hanging stuff on the walls, and I’m pretty darn good at it unless it’s super heavy. Then I panic about it falling and hitting someone. I HEART that painting with the dog. It’s precious.
angela
said,
September 30, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Wow, and you said the King was the one with the mad hanging skillz.
slackermommy
said,
October 1, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Works for me! That’s a very cool painting.
jeanie
said,
October 2, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Okay - free accomodation in Paradise (in our pokey spare room - sorry) to try and put some decency into our decor.
Mind you - how well does he work with 70’s lighting techniques?
Mine would have been a bit lower behind the TV!
dcrmom
said,
October 4, 2007 at 12:13 am
Hahahaha!!! Love it. That sounds like about the way things go around here.