How to Hang a Cheval Mirror on Your Wall

Lay the mirror on a flat surface. Remove the mirror from the stand by unscrewing the pivoting pins or screws from the arms of the stand. Set the stand aside. Turn the mirror right side down. Use a pencil and a yardstick to mark four points on the mirror frame for installing eye screws, with two points on each vertical portion of the frame. The top set of marks should be in a horizontal line, about one-fifth of the length of the frame, from the top of the mirror. The bottom set of marks should be in a horizontal line, about one-fifth of the length of the frame from the bottom of the mirror.

Drill a pilot hole through each mark, using a drill bit with a smaller diameter than the threaded shanks of the eye screws. Be careful to avoid drilling completely through the frame. Install one eye screw in each pilot hole. Turn the eye screws clockwise until their curved portions meet the back of the frame.

Thread the end of the picture wire through the bottom left eye screw, leaving a 4-inch tail end. Draw the wire diagonally across the frame, then thread it through the upper right eye screw. Draw the wire horizontally across the frame, then through the upper left eye screw. Thread the end of the wire through the lower right eye screw so the wire forms an X on the back of the frame. Tape the tail ends of the wire to the frame.

Grasp the horizontal wire near the top of the frame with your thumbs, spaced about 4 inches apart. Gently draw the wire toward the pop of the frame so your thumbs are about 3 inches from the top of the frame and the wire is taut. Trim the working part of the wire so both ends have a 4-inch tail. Wrap the ends of the wire four or five times through their corresponding eye screws, then around the working parts of the wire to secure.

Grasp the top center of the wire in two places, 4 inches apart. Note the distance from the wire to the top of the mirror frame. Mark the wall where you plan to position the top of the mirror frame. Make a second mark on the wall below the first, the same distance as that from the top of the wire to the top of the mirror frame. Mark the positions of two pilot holes on the wall, each 2 inches on either side of the lower mark.

Drill pilot holes through each pilot-hole mark in the wall. If you feel the drill bit enter a framing stud, stop drilling. You will not need to use a wall anchor in that hole. Once you have drilled pilot holes in the wall, switch to a drill bit to make a hole large enough to fit the winged wall anchor. Drill the larger pilot hole into the hollow wall. Insert the wall anchors into the holes. Push or tap the anchors with a mallet so their openings are flush with the wall.

Install a wood screw in each pilot hole or anchor. Advance the screws until their heads protrude 1/4 inch from the wall surface. Hang the picture wire, installed on the back of the mirror, on the installed screws.