How To Hang An Indoor Hammock

You don't have to do without the luxury of a hammock just because you have no front yard—just learn how to hang an indoor hammock! Hanging an indoor hammock is quick and easy and since there's shade everywhere, you've got your pick of any location in the house.

You'll need:

  • A hammock
  • A hammock stand (for freestanding option)
  • Hammock hanging kit (for hooked-to-wall option; this kit should come with hanging hooks, hanging chains and S-hooks to attach the hammock to the hooks)

There are several options for how to hang an indoor hammock. The quickest, easiest and least destructive way is to use a hammock stand—a long piece of metal or wood with braces on the bottom in at least two spots and points that tilt upward on either end. Hammock stands can be moved around your house and if you use one you don't have to drill holes in walls. The only downside to a hammock stand is that they're expensive—the cheapest ones are about $50.

If you don't want to or can't afford to use a hammock stand, you can still hang a hammock by drilling holes in your walls and putting hanging hooks there. When choosing where to hang an indoor hammock by hooks, pay very close attention to whether the spots you choose are on struts—the boards inside the walls that frame the building. Always be sure that a hook is in something that can hold a person's full body weight.

Hanging the hammock itself is the same whether you use a hammock stand or hooks.

  1. Examine your hammock. Check if it has spreader bars—wide wood, metal or plastic bars at the top and bottom of the area you would lie on—and get an idea of how long it is in feet and inches.
  2. If it's the kind with spreader bars at the top and bottom to keep it flat, space the hooks as far apart as your hammock is long from end-to-end. It should end up stretched out completely flat when attached to the hooks. Position the hooks four to five feet above the floor.
  3. If your hammock has no spreader bars, space the hooks two-thirds of the hammock's length apart. This style of hammock is meant to hang with a droop in the middle whether a person's in it or not. Hang it one to two feet higher than the spreader bar type of hammock so you don't “bottom out” when you climb into it.
  4. Attach one of the hammock's straps to the first hanging hook by slipping an S-hook into first the hammock's end loop and then the hook. If you are using a hammock stand, the S-hooks may already be attached to it. Make sure the side of the S-hook that goes into the stand or hanging hook ends with the tip pointing down.
  5. Slip an S-hook into the other end loop of the hammock. You can let go of the end that's been attached and let it hang from the wall or ceiling.
  6. If you have a spreader-bar hammock, stretch it taunt and attach the S-hook to the other hanging hook or other end of the stand.
  7. If you are using a hammock with no spreader bars, you will not need to pull the hammock taunt. Simply attach the S-hook to the other hanging hook or other end of the stand. The hammock should have a bit of slack in the middle.

That's it—you've hung an indoor hammock!

If the hammock hangs too low when you get into it, you may need to tighten up the ends. If you pulled it as far as it would go and the hammock still has slack, your hooks may be too close together or too low on the wall. Pay attention to hammock size when buying a hammock stand—some hammocks are longer than others and require a larger stand. If you have a large stand and a short hammock, you can still make it work by using the hanging chains included in the hammock hanging kit to add space at either end of the hammock. If you have a short stand and a long hammock, though, they just won't work together.

show comments

What Others Are Reading Right Now.

Read on Mademan