In this blog post, we will walk you through the step-by-step process of how to hang a chair from the ceiling.
But first, a little backstory.
A few months ago, we bought one of these hanging egg chairs to put on our screened-in porch. The only problem? Adults didn’t want to sit in it! 😂
I guess the chair we bought is more for kids. Looks cool, just not practical for anyone over the age of 21 (in my opinion).
This article contains affiliate links to products we love. Please see our policy page for details.
We ended up taking it down. It sat in our garage as I contemplated selling it. But my daughter Hannah really wanted it for her room. A great idea, only there was no room for it!
I spent the better part of yesterday rearranging her bedroom so we could somehow fit this hanging egg chair in it. And actually, I love the way her room is laid out now. It feels much more grown-up. She’s almost a tween, after all.
Anyways, I thought it would be helpful to show you guys how to hang one of these hanging chairs. It’s not hard, but you do need a few things to make sure you are hanging it safely.
What do you need to hang a chair from the ceiling?
- Drill
- Step ladder or ladder
- Stud Finder
- Measuring tape
- Level
- Safety glasses
- Heavy-duty Rope
- Hanging kit (this will come with the screws you need, but you might need to purchase a rope separately) – MAKE SURE THE HARDWARE WILL HOLD THE PROPER WEIGHT – it should state the weight capacity.
- Hanging Chair
Note: Our hanging chair came with a heavy, ugly chain. We hated the look of it so we swapped it with this rope. I recommend you first attach the rope to the ceiling hook/screw plate with a triple knot before hanging. We opted not to use the included carabiner and tied the rope directly to the ceiling hook.
How to Hang a chair from the ceiling
a step-by-step guide for hanging a chair from the ceiling.
Total time: 1 hour
-
Find the ceiling stud
The first thing you need to do is find a stud, or ceiling joist, in the ceiling. You will want to use a stud because it will provide more support for the chair. This is important. How do studs run in a ceiling?
Most homes have what’s called “stick-built” construction. This means the walls are made of vertical studs that are usually placed 16 or 24 inches apart. The studs run from the bottom plate of the wall to the top plate. The ceiling joists are also attached to the studs.
So how do you find a stud in the ceiling?
There are a few ways, but the easiest is to use a stud finder. If you don’t have one, you can also lightly tap on the ceiling until you hear a solid sound. This usually means you’ve found the stud. Here are some other ideas. For this project, I highly recommend a stud finder so there is no second guessing – we want to make sure our swing is super safe!
Once you have found a stud, mark it with a pencil. Make sure it’s far enough away from the wall to accommodate the chair. I put my chair X inches from the wall.
-
Mark the screw holes
Now it’s time to mark where the screws will go into the ceiling. To do this, hold the ceiling hook/screw plate against the ceiling and mark the screw holes. Afterward, I used my stud finder again to make sure all the screws were on the stud line.
-
attach ceiling hook
Now that you have your marks, it’s time to drill the screw plate to the ceiling. But before you do, make sure to put on safety glasses. Lots of debris can drop into your eyes from the ceiling (trust me on this).
Give your rope a quick tug to make sure it’s very, very sturdy.
-
attach chair to rope
Since my rope was already attached to the screw plate, I just needed to tie on the chair at the end. I used a tall basket to hold up the chair while I attached the rope to it with a sturdy knot. I estimated how high I wanted the chair, and then played around with the knot until I got the hanging height just right.
Then, let go! And say a little prayer. LOL. Just kidding – if you used a proper hanging kit that has a proper weight capacity and you drilled it into the studs – you should be good to go.
That’s all there is to it.
How to keep a hanging chair from spinning?
If you’re like me, you might be wondering how to keep the chair from spinning. Here are a few ideas.
If your chair is in a corner, you can anchor the chair to the back of the wall. Use a zip tie to create a loop in the back of the chair and an eye hook in the wall. Then, tie some leftover rope from the zip tie to the eye hook to keep it in place (this also avoids the issue of your kids going bananas on this thing and ruining your walls).
You can also put something next to the chair to keep it in place. It will have to be heavy enough to hold the chair from spinning. That’s what I’m doing right now. I have a laundry basket next to it.
If you want it to sway freely, or you are not near a wall, you could attach another rope to your chair to a second ceiling hook. This will stabilize the chair. They also sell swivel hooks which might help counteract the spinning, but I’m not a physics professor and therefore not entirely sure that would work.
Shop the room
I hope this helps you guys!
xo Karen
