Art, Decor

How to hang a rug on the wall as art

Use a rug as art on a big blank wall

I fell in love with this batik bird rug from Urban Outfitters. The $89 price tag was a winner. Other buyers confirmed how beautiful it is, but the consensus was that the color bleeds if it gets wet. One reviewer advised future buyers to only buy this rug if “you do not plan on it ever touching dirt.

That gave me an idea — I could hang it on the wall. The asymmetrical pattern and large print made it a perfect choice. So I ordered it and researched the best way to hang it. There are a lot of options: a curtain rod, staples, velcro, carpet tacking. I decided on upholstery nails.

Tools you need to hang a rug on the wall

Upholstery nails to hang a rug on the wall
I bought this box of 20 nickel-plated upholstery nails at Home Depot for an affordable $1.30.

Tools needed for hanging a rug

  • pretty rug
  • level
  • tape measure
  • pencil
  • hammer
  • upholstery nails
  • self-adhesive velcro

Time it took me

  • 1/2 hour

Directions

  1. Determine how high you want to hang the rug, measure, and mark accordingly. Don’t hang it too high. I hung the center of mine at eye level, about 5’5″.
  2. Hold the rug in place according to the pencil marks on the wall and hammer or push in the upholstery nails across the top of the rug. I started in the center and worked out.
  3. Be careful not to stretch as you put in the nails or the rug will not appear square  on the wall.
  4. You can use self-adhesive velcro to keep it lying flat at the bottom.

How to hang a rug on a wall as art

Use upholstery nails to hang a rug as art

Use self adhesive velcro at the bottom of a rug on the wall to keep it in place

Hang a pretty rug on the wall as art

6 thoughts on “How to hang a rug on the wall as art

  1. Amazingly I was thinking of hanging this lovely rug (exactly the same yours from UO) I got back in May. The full impact of the design is just not displayed when I use it in my living room and I was searching and searching for ideas on how to best hang it. Now that I’ve seen that it can be done with upholstery tacks I am definitely following your idea! Thank you!

  2. I just got my first apartment and I was thinking of a way to hang a beautiful rug. I’m going to try this today. Thank you!

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