How to Pack Pictures and Mirrors for Moving

It is the small things that turn a residence into a home – charming details like house plants and artistic lighting, personal touches like decorations and pictures on the walls, etc.

There’s little doubt that you, too, have invested a lot of time, thought, and money in your interior décor to achieve that sense of warmth and coziness that transforms a generic house or apartment into your sweet home.

If you need to move house, however, things get a little complicated – you will most certainly want to take your décor with you so that you can make your new place feel like home.

Moving such delicate, oddly shaped, highly valuable, or extremely fragile items is a big challenge – it is very difficult to keep them safe and sound during the arduous relocation process.

This is especially true for artwork and glass items – paintings, pictures, and mirrors in particular – fragile glass can shatter, ornate frames can chip and crack, and fine paper or canvas can rip and tear.

To make sure that these delicate possessions of yours will arrive at your new home intact and unscathed, you need to provide them with maximum protection when packing them for the move.

This job is better left to the experts – professional movers and packers who have the specialized packing materials, rich experience, and technical know-how to pack framed pictures, canvas paintings, large mirrors, and any other valuable wall décor you may have in the safest way possible.

If, for one reason or another, you want to pack on your own, however, you need to be ready for great challenges:

How to pack picture frames for moving?

How to pack paintings for a move?

How to pack a mirror safely?

You can find all the answers you need in the comprehensive guide to picking pictures and mirrors for moving below:

What Materials Do You Need to Pack Pictures and Mirrors?

To be able to ensure the safety of your paintings, photos, and mirrors when moving them to your new home, you need to have adequate packing materials that will provide them with efficient protection at every stage of the relocation process. You’re going to need:

• Strong cardboard boxes of adequate sizes (or specialized picture boxes for moving);
• Cylindrical cardboard protectors (if you have canvas pictures without frames);
• Clean cardboard pieces;
• Soft packing paper;
• Plenty of bubble wrap;
• Cardboard (or foam) corner protectors;
• High-quality packing tape and painter’s tape;
• A few moving blankets;
• A permanent marker.

How to Use Bubble Wrap for Packing

What to Know Before Packing Pictures and Mirrors for Moving

Here’s what you should know before you begin to pack up your framed items for a move:

1. Alternative packing materials

You can easily find old moving boxes for free or replace professional wrapping materials with common household items, thus saving some money on packing supplies.

Tempting as it may be though, you’re strongly advised to avoid doing so and invest in brand new high-quality packing materials for your framed art and glass items (as well as for any other fragile or valuable possessions of yours). These articles are usually very delicate, quite expensive, and imbued with high sentimental value, so you’ll definitely want to keep them intact and unscathed during the relocation.

Old boxes and makeshift packing materials, however, won’t provide your prized belongings with good enough protection, so you risk having them damaged during transportation. Repairing or replacing your ruined items will cost you much more than buying appropriate packing supplies, not to mention that you may lose irreplaceable things.

2. Picture boxes

Picture boxes (also known as mirror boxes or art boxes) are your best bet for ensuring the safety of framed artwork and mirrors (especially larger ones) during a move.

They’re stronger, flatter, and larger than regular moving boxes and are made up of four separate pieces of cardboard that interlock together to create a highly customizable protective case, giving you the ability to adjust the size of the final piece snugly around your framed article.

Where to buy picture boxes for moving? You can find the specialty boxes at any moving supply store or truck rental agency, as well as at office supply stores and home improvement stores.

If you can’t find specialized picture boxes, though, you can make customizable cartons yourself: break apart several standard moving cartons, flatten them, and fit them around the frames of your paintings, photos, and mirrors.

3. Size does matter

The box you’re going to pack framed artwork inside has to be bigger than the picture itself – its collapsed size should be about 30% larger than its designated frame (the bubble wrap and other wrapping materials will take some extra space and you will still need enough room for cushioning materials).

If a painting or mirror is too large and won’t fit into any readily available packing boxes, you’re going to need a telescopic box – these are actually two boxes that fit inside each other so that they can accommodate very tall, very long, or very wide items.

Sturdy, medium-sized moving boxes will do when it comes to packing smaller pictures and frames.

When you have all the necessary packing supplies, you can get down to work.

Bonus tip: Your pictures should be among the first things to pack for moving – you won’t actually “need” them until moving day and it’s best to pack your delicate artwork while you still have plenty of time and energy left so that you can complete the task with utmost care and attention.

What to Pack When for Moving

How to Pack Pictures and Mirrors for Moving

So, what is the best way to pack pictures for moving?

To ensure optimal protection for your paintings and photos, you need to wrap them in protective materials first, then place them in sturdy boxes of appropriate sizes, provide sufficient cushioning, and tightly seal the cartons.

How to Wrap Pictures for Moving

To keep a mirror or a painting that is in a frame and under glass safe during your move, you’re advised to:

1. Clear a table or another flat, stable surface that is big enough to fit even the largest framed picture or mirror you have for packing. Throw down a thick blanket for added protection during the wrapping process;
2. Put a large piece of soft packing paper over the blanket. If you’re about to pack a large mirror or a big picture and frame, lay out several sheets of paper in such a way that their ends overlap to create a paper area that is twice the size of the frame;
3. Take your painting or mirror off the wall, place it on a soft surface (like a bed or a couch), tilt it towards you, and gently brush the surfaces with a soft paintbrush to remove any dust and dirt from the item (make sure that you brush continuously in the same direction);
4. Secure the glass with painter’s tape (masking tape) to protect the painting and keep the glass in place in case it breaks or cracks during transit – broken glass is the most likely damage that your framed art may sustain during a house move, but it’s also the easiest to repair, as long as the canvas is intact. So, make a giant X across the glass surface or create a square grid pattern on the glass with painter’s tape (it will be easier to remove than regular packing tape and won’t leave any sticky residue on the surface). Even if the glass cracks, it will be held in place and won’t damage the canvas;
5. Place a piece of cardboard on the glass front for added safety – it will provide stability and help reduce static cling that may develop between the bubble wrap and the glass;
6. Lay the framed picture or mirror (glass side down) right in the middle of the paper sheet(s) you’ve spread across your packing area;
7. Wrap the ends of the paper around the frame. Use a few extra sheets if necessary to completely cover the entire frame;
8. Tape around the edges of the wrapped frame with packing tape to secure the paper;
9. Use cardboard corner protectors or special Styrofoam wedges designed to fit over the corners of the frame to provide additional padding and stability;
10. Wrap the entire piece in a thick layer of bubble wrap;
11. Run packing tape around the wrapped article – all the way around the frame, both lengthwise and widthwise – to keep the bubble wrap in place;
12. Mark the glass side to make unpacking safer and easier.

Proper wrapping is of paramount importance when packing framed pictures for moving. When packing canvas paintings with no frames though, things are quite different – you cannot “wrap” the canvas as it is, you need to roll it up:

• Lay out a sheet of acid-free paper or a piece of unpainted canvas with a fine weave on a flat surface;
• Lay your canvas painting down flat against the paper (or clean canvas) with the painted side down;
• Roll the canvas and paper up together, starting on one of the short sides. Make sure you roll up the canvas with the painted surface on the outside and roll it rather loosely;
• Slide the rolled-up canvas into a sturdy cardboard tube with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of your canvas roll (this will help keep the roll loose and will allow it to breathe).

Good to remember:

1. Make sure your hands are clean when handling pictures and mirrors. If your canvas paintings have no frames and glass covers, it’s even recommendable to wear cotton gloves as the oils and chemicals in your skin can create smudges and ruin the canvases;
2. Always carry large framed pictures and mirrors with two hands by their sides, rather than by the top or bottom. This way, the weight of the item will be evenly distrusted over its entire surface which will reduce the risk of an entire side of the frame coming loose;
3. Be careful – although packing pictures with bubble wrap helps ensure their safety during a move, it only works for packing glass pictures. You should never wrap a painting in bubble wrap unless it is under glass – otherwise, the bubble wrap may imprint itself on the paint and ruin the picture.

How to Pack Fragile Items for Moving

How to Box Pictures for Moving

Once you’ve wrapped your pictures and mirrors for moving, it’s time to box them up for the trip to your new home:

Step 1. Prepare the box

• If you’re using a specialty box, slide two of the box sections into one other and cover their joined corners and sides with a thick layer of bubble wrap. Do the same with the other two pieces of the picture/mirror box – you should have two interconnected half pieces from the mirror packing box that can be easily telescoped into one another;
• If you’re using a regular moving box, flatten it out, and tape up one of the open ends closed using heavy-duty packing tape – tape it well so the box won’t open up when moved. You will have created a kind of “cardboard sleeve” that can fit your wrapped picture or mirror. Put some wadded-up packing paper on the bottom.

Step 2. Box it up

Put the wrapped-up framed picture or mirror into the box:

• Place it in the already cushioned first section of the picture box and adjust the sides so that they fit tightly around the frame. Add some wadded paper or bubble wrap along the sides and edges to ensure sufficient cushioning and prevent the picture or mirror from shifting during transportation. Then, place the second section of the specialty box over the frame and adjust it to fit well.
• Press firmly (but carefully) the two box parts together, so that the packed frame won’t have any space to move around. Run packing tape in full circles around the picture box to ensure that the two separate sections are kept together at all times; or
• Slide the picture inside the padded cardboard sleeve and tape up the open ends (seal the box tightly, so that it can’t open during transportation).

If there’s enough space, you can pack more than one framed picture, photo, painting, or mirror inside one box – just make sure the frames can’t come in contact with one another or move inside the carton. It is a good idea to use cardboard dividers between individual frames.

Step 3. Test the box

Lift the container carefully and shake it slightly to see if the article(s) inside can move:

• If something seems to be moving, open the box and add more padding materials – the item(s) in the box must be completely immobilized;
• If nothing is shifting inside, use some more tape to seal up all the edges and secure the package.

Step 4. Label the box

Use your red or black marker to label the box with its contents and destination room and write ART, GLASS, FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE, DO NOT LAY FLAT (or any other handling instructions that you find necessary) with big bold letters on at least three of its sides.

This is the best way to pack a mirror or framed picture for shipping. To make sure that your fragile item will survive the move intact and unscathed, however, you need to ensure its safety during transportation as well.

How to Move Pictures and Mirrors Safely

Proper packing will provide excellent protection to your paintings, photos, and mirrors during a house move.

Yet, now that you know how to pack pictures and frames for moving, you need to also know how to transport them the right way – without proper precautions, your artwork can be easily damaged during the trip in the back of a moving truck, especially during sudden and violent movements (such as when making a sharp turn or slamming on the brakes).

Therefore, you need to pack your pictures and mirrors in the moving van in such a way that they don’t move around or topple over even during an impact:

• Pack pictures and mirrors in a place where they won’t fall over – a stable area at the edge of the truck;
• Position your packed paintings and mirrors vertically (on their edges, not lying flat). This will allow pressure to distribute evenly on their entire surface and prevent breakage. Besides, if your pictures or mirrors are lying flat, other items may topple onto them and damage them;
• Pack your pictures in a rack formation, with pillows and blankets placed between individual pieces. This way, the fragile items will be well protected even if the vehicle comes to a sudden stop;
• Wedge your pictures and mirrors between heavy items that are well secured in place and won’t move around – this will prevent the boxes containing your artwork from falling horizontally during the transportation;
• Make sure no heavy items can topple over or slide into your pictures during transit;
• Request that your delicate paintings be transported in a climate-controlled moving truck if you’re moving long distance in the summer or winter. After all, your pictures will be on the road for several days and may be irreversibly damaged if exposed to extreme temperatures for such a long time.

Good to remember:

It’s a good idea to purchase additional moving insurance for your most delicate and most valuable items – including expensive, antique, and/or sentimentally valuable paintings and mirrors.

This may not be the easiest way to pack pictures (you can simply wrap your framed paintings and photos in bubble wrap and stack them on their edges inside a large moving box, of course), but it is the safest one – if you do a good job, your framed art will be as secure as if professionally packed.

Keep in mind, however, that movers won’t be responsible for damage to items you have packed yourself. Therefore, if you have exceptionally valuable artwork, you may want to consider having your movers pack these particular pieces – the pros will provide your treasured possessions with the best possible protection (they can even build wooden crates around your artwork for ultimate security) and will accept liability in case of an accident.

This is especially important if you’re moving long distance or if you have antique or very expensive paintings and/or mirrors to relocate.

Packing pictures, paintings, and mirrors is a risky task that requires skill and experience. Hiring professional movers and packers to take care of your delicate artwork will save you plenty of time, effort, and headaches and will ensure your peace of mind.

So, before you set your mind on packing on your own, make sure you get free, no-obligation quotes from top-rated moving companies to find out how much their packing services will cost you and decide if it’s worth it.

Have a safe and smooth relocation!