What originally started as a necessity quickly became my favorite part of this hallway makeover and now something I want to add throughout the house. A picture rail adds classic character and can take any space back in time.

The idea of adding a picture rail came because our walls are lath and plaster. If you have even dealt with plaster, you know how fragile it can be and that you can’t simply hammer in a nail. After doing research, I decided that a picture rail was the perfection solution.

Tools & Materials

This is truly the easiest DIY project to add timeless character to your home and it can be completed in a day. Plus it is perfect if you are a beginner DIY’er. Here’s how I added a simple picture rail for the final touch to our color drenched hallway.

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Installation

From experience, I know how simple adding trim and molding can be {with the exception of crown molding, I’m still learning that one}; but the one thing I was not expecting was how much character and beauty the picture rail adds once all the pictures and art are up.

There’s really not much to the adding the picture rail. The first step is to use a laser level or a simple level to determine where you want the picture rail to be. The rule of thumb is 10-16” below the ceiling height, but that all depends on the height of your ceiling and the look you want. You at least want to make sure there is enough space to be able to hang the hook over. I decided that 12” below the ceiling would be perfect for our space.

Apply liquid nails to the back of the trim piece and attach to the wall using brad nails. *Note, if you want to hang something heavy, you will need to attach with screws.

Because of the design of the molding, you will need to miter the edges at 45 degrees for the corners. For this, I moved my miter saw to 45 degrees and stood the picture rail straight up to cut.

Once it is all up, the final step is to caulk the bottom of the picture rail and paint. Now the fun part, adding the art!

The rail molding hook sits on top of the the picture rail. Then dangle the chain over and cut at the height you want.

A few of the frames have two hanger thingamajigs, which makes it easy to attach the S hook to the chain and picture. In the case where there is only one, simply add in a screw on each side of the frame and the S hook hangs on there and to the chain.

And that’s it, instant timeless character added to any space. You can get fun and creative with how you hang the art, adding more than one on the chain.

Every time I walk down this hallway, I can’t get help but get giddy. The tongue and groove ceiling the moody color, the chair rail, and now the picture rail. I love that I can hang pictures without having to worry about damaging the plaster! Where would you add a DIY picture rail in your home?