help! how should i display my typewriters?
Here at Shelterrific we’ve fielded questions about how to display collections before, and now reader Meg has one of her own regarding placement of her four antique typewriters.
Meg writes:
I have a question about how and where to hang four antique typewriters. My living room has a large square arch into the dining room, so I’m thinking of hanging them over that, but I’m not sure about two things:
1. Whether that would be too high to see detail (one of the machines is a pre-WW2 Mercedes; another is a Blick 8 )
2. How, exactly, to affix the machines to the wall. I know I’ll have to hang them from the studs, and was thinking of fitting a piece of 1/2″ hardwood ply to the studs, then screwing the machines (somehow) on that, or wiring them, or something. I don’t want a thirty-pound Mercedes coming down on the cats, of course.
The walls in question are a combination of wallboard and fiberboard panelling with studs that are 24″ on center. There’s a large square doorway between the living and dining rooms in my house; I’d like to hang the machines either over or to one side of the doorway. (Over would give me better access to studs; beside would allow people to actually look at the things and see the details).
Considering the weight of the steel typewriters, this seems to be an engineering question. Anyone have advice for Meg?
I for one would like to be able to walk up to and examine such a cool collection. I would also not like to feel nervous walking under them.
If there is enough room to the right of the doorway in the LR, I’d like to see them sitting in a vertical line on top of very simple shelves screwed into the stud. like :
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If there is not available stud space, can you not maybe find a free standing cabinet/long console ? Something open or with glass doors on tall legs would be great.
I think the visual interest in a typewriter collection lies in the keys and the carriage, not the undersides. Hanging the typewriters over the doorway prevents anyone from enjoying looking at them.
Also, I own an old-fashioned typewriter myself, and those things are HEAVY. I wouldn’t go about attaching them to walls regardless of whether I found the studs or not. Of course, if you have need for doorstops….
Might you have luck interspersing them with books on a bookshelf? Or perhaps find a console table and display the typewriters on the table along a wall? Maybe even split them up, and display a typewriter in the living room, one in the bedroom, and so on? That way you could give each a place of honor and put them at a level where people can admire them. And you could always rotate your collection.
Good luck!
If you could find four cool pedestals, you could place one on either side of the doorway, both coming and going. Or just place two in the dining room or two in the living room and swap out your collection. It’d be great if they worked and you left a piece of paper in them for guests to “sign.”
I’m seconding the bookshelf suggestion and/or the “display each typewriter in a different room” (I’m paraphrasing) from Daffodil. I love my one vintage typewriter, and have it proudly displayed in our office, on top of an old filing cabinet.
Sarah’s idea is kinda great, too. And you *must* leave paper in one of them. My husband and I send little love notes to each other on ours….
I agree, they would *best* be displayed at/below eye level. But if you’re dead set on hanging them above the doorway (and I’m assuming you would attach the bottom of the typewriter to the wall so the keys are pointing out into the room, not with the back of the typewriter against the wall as in Daffodil’s mental image?), I would….
Get a piece of shelving cut so you can sit the 4 typewriters on it with a couple inches between each machine and a couple inches around all the edges. Paint/finish the wood in a way to complement the room and the typewriters and really make the machines pop. Figure out a way to attach the machines directly to the wood THEN put the whole ensemble up, being sure to make use of your studs. I think this would be the easiest and prettiest way for a number of reasons. It would create some cohesion to the collection, essentially framing and adding a unifying color to the four typewriters. It also allows you to space the machines however you like on the “frame” without having to worry about lining up each typewriter with a stud. If they’re securely attached to a single piece of wood, then the wood is securely attached to 2 or 3 studs, you’re good to go.
[smacks forehead]
Laura/Ellobie, you are so right, I hadn’t even thought about hanging the typewriters keys out. Either way, though, what makes having cool old typewriters interesting will be lost if they are hung on the wall. I loooooove Megan B.’s love note typewriter idea. Makes me want to thread some paper in mine and see if it actually still works!