When most of us want to hang a picture on a wall, it's not a particularly sophisticated process: a pin, a hook, a hammer, and we're done – perhaps the judicious insertion of a rawl plug if it's a really large piece. But there is another way, and the more we see it in various types of houses on our pages, the more widespread we think it ought to become. Picture rails, which can be either a kind of moulding that runs around the room, or a slender metal pole affixed to the wall, have multiple advantages: they are aesthetically pleasing, they make it easier to hang several pictures in vertical lines, and they also allow for flexibility in the arrangement of your artworks, as none of the pictures are directly fixed to the wall.
Picture rails have been around for centuries, starting out life in the 1600s as a way to hang tapestries and other textiles on the wall. The Georgians and Victorians used mouldings as picture rails extensively, and if you're lucky you will find them still intact in many houses of those periods. In Philip Hooper's Georgian house in Somerset (below), you can see a typical picture rail moulding, painted in the same colour as the walls for a more streamlined look. The versions we've been seeing more and more of, however, are the systems which involve metal rails and chains.
“Traditionally used in grander surroundings, picture rails are an efficient and flexible way of hanging art,” says designer Carlos Garcia, who often uses them in his projects. “They add texture and warmth to walls, while the chains and verticality give a sense of order." If you have a lot of pictures to arrange, then hanging them in vertical lines is a good way to bring coherence to them: a large picture in the middle of a wall might have ‘columns’ on either side made up of smaller pictures, and rails and chains make it very easy to centre everything and keep it all in straight lines.
Brandon Schubert has also taken to using them in the houses he designs, and enjoys how the rail itself adds structure and balance to the room. “There is a certain balancing effect that results from putting a dark strip of metal at the top of the wall,” he says. In the room below, he points out how “the dark metal balances out the dark purple sofa, and brackets the paler yellow of the wall. It’s somewhat similar to the effect you’d achieve if you painted your cornice and skirtings darker than the wall. There’s something appealing about that bracketing balance to me. It looks a bit tailored, sort of like a contrast piping might on a sofa.”
There are other more practical reasons why you might choose a picture rail rather than hanging every piece individually. Part of Brandon's rationale for the house above was ‘future-proofing' the room for the owner's evolving art collection by making it easier to rearrange pieces on the wall. “My clients love buying things at auction, and I liked the idea that they could adjust the hanging to suit future artworks. I know in my own house that I tend to fall in and out of love with certain pieces over time. So pictures that once felt fresh and interesting eventually don’t, and it is so nice to start over sometimes and re-hang art to reinvent the room.” The other excellent reason for using a system like this is for when you don't want to make endless holes in the wall, for instance when they're lined with fabric. “With paint, you can always fill a hole and touch it up,” explains Brandon, “but when using something like fabric, there’s no way to hide the holes if you change your mind about your artworks down the line.” With a picture rail, the holes are at least limited to a permanent line at the top of the room, and then pictures can come and go within that framework without doing any further damage.
Although picture rails might tend to be associated with large and distinguished houses, this seems to be changing. The hardware brand Collier Webb makes a picture rail system that many designers consider the best on the market, which comes with a range of different styles and finishes. Design Director David Arratoon says that “while picture rails are often associated with classic interiors, they are increasingly being integrated into modern spaces." Much depends on both the metal finish of the rail and chain, and the finials, which sit on the ends of the rails. "We have traditional finials, for example the Pine Cone finial, which would sit comfortably in a stately home in an ‘antique gilt’ finish, enhancing the period charm. On the other hand you can have more minimal plain or stepped end caps, which have a completely different look, and in the ‘dark bronze’ finish offer a clean contemporary aesthetic." David notes that more and more clients are requesting the ‘dark bronze’ finish, which reads as black from a distance.
The picture rail system should by no means be limited to rooms with soaring proportions, either. Carlos has used them successfully in smaller spaces with relatively low ceilings. “It is their impact on small rooms that I like more," he says, noting that "of course it’s important to reduce the size of the rail to adjust to the proportions of the room.” In the south London flat above, he has used them in a space which has no existing mouldings, which we rather like – the rail then becomes a replacement architectural feature, one which works well with the compact proportions of the room.
There are a few things to consider before going ahead with a picture rail system. “The weight of the artwork is a key consideration,” says David from Collier Webb. “Wall condition and construction must be assessed to ensure correct installation with suitable fixings, and the placement of the brackets is important for adequate rail support.” Once the rail is in place, then it's important to choose the right chains and hooks depending on the size of your artwork, mirror or wall hanging. The Collier Webb system also includes picture lights which can be wired in and mounted on the rail.
As Brandon concludes, “using a picture rail can add a feeling of luxury and quality to a room. I think they often look quite polished and smart, so it’s a bit like cufflinks or a subtle piece of jewellery.” It's these finishing touches that help a room feel considered and designed – so maybe it's time to incorporate a picture rail into your own interior, whatever style it is.
