OK – I can’t take credit for this. I first read about this idea over at Kelby’s blog – who was passing along a suggestion from one of his readers – Ed Loziuk. As the story goes – Loziuk contacted Kelby after Kelby described his own system to display frameless photos here. So, this is really Ed’s idea – but I thought it was cool – and decided to try it.
Did all of that make sense?
And you can find photos of Ed’s system here.
Bottom line: I dig it. It’s a quick and easy method for hanging photos around the office – and there’s no need to find frames or mats.
First – a few details. The IKEA Asker system is actually not designed to hang photographs – it’s actually a kitchen organization tool. So – don’t look for the parts near the photo frames (which I did). In the Portland, OR store – the parts are actually near the cabinet handles – upstairs. Your store may be different.
Second – there are a couple of different clips for the system – I’m using the ones that look like metal clothes pins – the same as Loziuk describes in his system.
Third – I used a Stanley FatMax laser level to shoot across three walls to make sure they were all the same height. This worked very well. The laser level has a quarter-twenty attach point (think tripod). As my Gitzo didn’t quite go high enough – I turned to my Manfrotto lighting stands.
It’s a fairly inexpensive system. I purchased four 47” bars and one 24” bar – and picked up eight packs of clips – and if I recall correctly – it was all under $100.
As for the photo – it might as well be an IKEA advertisement: the Asker system, Poang chair and ottoman, and Barometer floor lamp.
