How to Secure A Leaning Picture Frame (Guide)

Decorating a home without pictures? That’s simply unheard of. You may be the type that would rather nail pictures to the walls and that’s fine, but if you’re the type that finds leaning picture frames instead you might be asking “can I keep them from sliding off?” 

You can secure a leaning picture frame by placing them on solid platforms, adding a rubber shelf liner, or simply using some sticky tacks.

Leaning your picture frames is not a lazy way to get done with indoor decorations, let’s put that mentality to sleep permanently. It is actually a valid decorating technique that makes your home look unique and very homely because it is less formal. So why not try them? 

Why Choose Leaning Picture Frames (or Art) 

While several people are used to hammering nails into the wall when they need to decorate their homes with pictures and artworks, some people are not fans of that and are not experienced in nailing and hammering so they end up making a mess.

This leaves leaning pictures and artworks as their best option and as easy and disadvantaged as it may sound, it does have its benefits:

  • It makes it easier to rearrange artwork or pictures anytime.
  • The risks of damaging walls are completely eliminated.
  • You do not need to go through the hassle of measuring, nailing, and hammering the walls.
  • You can hide unpleasant sights on your walls by covering them with leaning frames or artwork.
  • When you lean a picture frame, sometimes you get a better visual from that angle.
  • It gives your home a casual yet elegant appearance.
  • If you’re in a rented apartment, you don’t have to worry about repairing nail dents in the walls when moving out.

How to Secure A Leaning Picture Frame

After you must have settled on the decision to learn your picture frames instead of nailing them to the wall, you would need some tips to guide you on how to secure them in whichever corner of your house you choose to place them, no one wants their pictures looking out of place and sliding off and falling to the ground every day, so we’ve got just the right ways to tackle those problems.

1. Set them on solid platforms

If you have constantly run into problems where your leaning picture frames keep sliding off and you need to secure them, the problem might stem from the fact that you did not place them on a stable or solid platform, to begin with.

It is best to place your picture frames on straight and stable furniture in the home such as a mantel, tables rested against a wall, the surface of an upright piano, your window sills, a bookshelf, sofa tables, chair railings, or resting on the wall and floors.

As long as your picture frame is kept to lean properly on either of these solid platforms in the home, it is unlikely that they would slide off for no reason.

How to Secure A Leaning Picture Frame
Image: @creativebird via Twenty20.

2. Use sticky tack to secure them in one place

Where a solid platform is not the answer, you might need to resort to using sticky tacks which will keep them in place more securely.

If you have children running around the place or guests who won’t keep their hands off your picture frames, this is the best way to ensure that they do not get scattered and make you rearrange your frames daily.

Sticky tacks are adhesives that are strong enough to hold picture frames to a wall securely, that is why they are the ideal choice for keeping them from slipping off the walls.

3. Attach a rubber shelf liner to the frame strip

A cheaper and equally simple option is to add a rubber shelf liner to the strip of your picture frame to secure it. Shelf liners for this purpose are used to ensure that the pictures frames are kept from falling or slipping off the position they are left in.

Simply cut the strip of your picture frame open and attach the rubber shelf liner to it, just make sure that there is no rubber liner sticking out after you’ve done so. Your picture frames are sure to be sturdy and the frame, as well as the walls, will not come to any damage at any point.

Feel free to remove and replace the rubber shelf liner whenever the need arises. 

Why is my picture frame leaning forward?

If your picture frame is leaning forward it could be as a result of it being too heavy, a heavy picture frame will be harder to secure in one place especially if you’re not using an adhesive or providing it any extra support to stay in place.

They could also be caught leaning forward often because you positioned them too far from the surface they are meant to lean on, you need to ensure that they are leaning properly against the wall so that they do not fall forward from time to time.

Also, your picture might be leaning forward because you attacked them to the surface using a hanging wire that was not positioned properly, this makes them swing with it and keep leaning forward instead of backward and against the wall.

How do you fix a leaning picture frame?

It may not be an easy task to get a hang of leaning your picture frame properly, and we understand that.

This means that from time to time, your picture frames tilt forward or slide off and you need to get the leaning process right. To fix your leaning picture frame you simply need to get a mounting putty, roll it into a round shape, and put it behind your picture frame until it stabilizes. 

Summary 

When you decorate your home, pictures are always a great idea. Family pictures, baby pictures, wedding pictures, event pictures, and all of that need to go up, especially in your sitting room for it to feel like home. 

If you’re not very good with nails or you’re simply open to trying out a new decorative technique in your home, you should try leaning your picture frames instead of hanging them, it’s a real delight and you can not possibly go wrong with it.

You just need the right tips to ensure that your pictures stay in place despite being leaned against a surface in your home, you need to make sure that the pictures are leaned against solid furniture to avoid slipping, use a sticky tack for pictures that seem to keep sliding off or get some rubber shelf liner attached to your frame strips to keep them in place.