When you think of a vacation, you imagine yourself lying comfortably on a hammock, swinging between two coconut trees, as you look over the ocean and enjoy your favorite book with a cool drink in your hand.
What if you could bring some of those vacations feels to your apartment? How? By hanging a hammock in your apartment!
We’ll leave the rest of it up to you, but here’s how to hang a hammock in your apartment.
Things to Consider Before Hanging a Hammock
Before you actually get to hanging a hammock in your apartment and enjoying some vacation vibes at home, there are a few things to consider.
Get Permission from Your Landlord
If you happen to be renting your apartment, you might want to ask your landlord whether you are even allowed to hang a hammock in the apartment.
Hanging a hammock usually involves drilling anchors and studs into the walls and ceilings.
Some landlords might not be okay with such changes happening on their property, and so you won’t be able to hang a hammock from the walls or ceiling.
We do have a way around this, so keep reading to find out what it is.
Choose the Right Location
You should also spend some time picking the right location for the hammock.
Ideally, there should be a few feet on both sides of the hammock so that you can swing freely without crashing into other objects. Sometimes, finding enough space for a hammock can be a problem.
Therefore, you can consider the space-saving hammock chair we’ve mentioned below.
Alternatively, you can also replace your bed with a large hammock. Hammocks act as great beds, and they also have loads of other benefits, as you will read below.
Choose the Right Height
Along with the location, you also have to look at the height of the hammock. It shouldn’t be too low that when you sit in it, it starts touching the ground.
On the other hand, it shouldn’t be so high that you could sustain a serious injury if you happen to fall.
In fact, that’s actually a good way to determine a suitable height for the hammock. Choose a height that you would feel comfortable falling from and won’t run the risk of any serious injuries.
Ensure Safety of Hammock
The most important thing you have to consider is the safety of the hammock. We’ll say it again. You must ensure the safety of the hammock before you start using a hammock.
Before hanging it, make sure you have a good quality hammock. The fabric should be strong. If you’re using any ropes or rings, they should be strong enough to bear your weight.
Any anchors or studs you fix to the wall should be properly fixed with no chance of coming loose.
When you’re drilling this into the ceiling, make sure it’s concrete and not some sort of false ceiling that will come crashing down on the first swing.
Hanging a Hammock from the Walls
Once you have the green signal from your landlord, you can get to hang a hammock from the walls in your apartment.
Assuming you’ve picked the right location, now you have to make sure your walls can handle the weight of the hammock.
Most apartments usually have wooden studs or metal studs behind the walls. When hanging a hammock from the wall, you should aim for wooden studs as they offer much better support for your hammock.
Metal studs aren’t as safe, and if damaged, they are much more expensive and difficult to repair.
Use a stud finder, an electrical guide, or knock on the wall till you find the studs. Once you find the studs on opposite walls, mark where you will hang the hammock.
Drill a pilot hole at each of the marks and then fix an eye bolt in them. You can now attach a rope or chain to these bolts on which you will hang your hammock.
Ropes are trickier as you have to know the right knot tying technique to get a secure knot.
We’d recommend going for a chain. These can easily be adjusted and you can simply move the loops up and down using an S hook. Additionally, chains don’t wear down that quickly either.
Hanging a Hammock from the Ceiling
Hanging a hammock from the apartment ceiling is another option that looks quite stylish and is relaxing too. Again, after you’ve permission from your landlord, you’ll need to pick a location.
Similar to the wooden studs in the walls, you will have to find load-bearing ceiling beams on which to anchor the hammock.
These are the sturdiest pieces of wood in your apartment’s structure and can bear heavyweight, which makes them ideal for hanging hammocks on.
Find the points where you will want to hang the hammock and mark them. The distance between these two points can be anywhere between 10 to 15 feet. It all depends on how much sag you want in the hammock.
After you have these points marked, it’s the same procedure as mentioned previously. Drill the holes, add the eye bolts, and attach the chain or rope to hang the hammock.
Additionally, as mentioned before, make sure you check the safety of the hammock before using it. Add some heavy books or other weight in it to see if it can bear it or not. Pull-on the chain a few times to really make sure it’s fixed.
Hammocks with a Floor Stand
If your landlord doesn’t allow you to drill any holes in the walls or ceiling and you still want a hammock in your apartment, there is a way.
You can go for a hole-less hammock with a floor stand. Instead of being tethered at the walls or ceiling, these are attached to a floor stand.
There are several benefits to this. It has a much simpler installation. You don’t need to find the right points and drill and screw in bolts, etc. All you have to do is assemble the floor stand and hang the hammock on it.
Moreover, this floor stand hammock is also much easier to move around. You can simply pick it up and move it to where you want.
Other than that, one drawback of these hammocks is that they require a lot of space.
While they do come in smaller sizes as well, if you want the same effect as that of the wall hammock, you’ll have to clear up more space to fit in a floor stand hammock.
Space-Saving Hammock Chairs
Whether it’s the wall, ceiling or floor stand hammocks, they do take up a lot of space in your apartment.
If you are struggling to find adequate space in your small apartment or simply don’t want to give so much space to a hammock, then you need a space-saving hammock chair.
It’s much smaller and compact than your average hammock, so you can comfortably hang it in your apartment. Moreover, the swinging motion will still give you almost the same feeling as lying on a hammock.
These are usually hung by the ceiling, so you will have to follow pretty much the same procedure. More importantly, make sure you check the safety of the chair before sitting on it. Add at least a weight of 50 pounds in it to check if it holds.
Even when you go to sit in it for the first time, make sure you keep your feet on the ground and swing gently just to see if it holds. If it passes all these safety checks, you can snuggle up in the chair with your favorite book and a blanket.
Benefits of Hammocks
Besides the relaxing sensation, there are loads of benefits of using a hammock. Sleeping in a hammock can help you get deeper sleep, according to one study.
The rocking and swinging motion of the hammock encourages internal sleep rhythms that lead you into a deeper sleep.
As compared to a mattress, hammocks can also help relieve pressure on certain points of the body, such as the back, butt, and shoulders. Since the hammock material is more flexible, it is able to support these parts in such a way so as to distribute the pressure equally.
Furthermore, since the hammock usually hangs above the floor, it provides less exposure to bugs and insects.
Wrapping Up
As fun and beneficial as these are, make sure you don’t forget the things we’ve mentioned at the very beginning.
You don’t want to find yourself with some serious hammock-falling injuries or facing trouble with your landlord over a few holes in the wall.
Other than that, you can go ahead and hang the hammock in your apartment as you like and enjoy some relaxing time.
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