5 Cool Wall Clock Ideas for Your House

Having a wall clock is a staple as part of interior decor, but knowing how to decorate with it can be a challenge. Picking a clock can set the tone of your style and what you’ll be able to do to make it truly stand out. We’re going to look at a few fun ideas to try with a wall clock in your home.

Choosing a Wall Clock

Image source: @mo.and.the.jungle.shelf

Before even deciding what clock you want, it’s helpful to look at the room that you’ll be placing it in. Sometimes an incredible clock will catch your eye, only for you to bring it home and it doesn’t go with anything in the room, or worse, doesn’t actually fit on the wall you want to put it on.

Think about your personal style and whether function or fashion is more important to you, and decide if you’re going with an analog or digital clock. Analog is often more charming and works better as decor, but digital can be quite functional and depending on the model, also a good decoration. Digital clocks will also be quiet, but there are analog clocks made to tick softly or not at all, and ways to muffled those that have louder mechanisms. Don’t forget about pendulum clocks as well, with their history and whimsy.

The size of the wall clock will be partly determined by your wall size and partly by the decor. If you’ve got a lot of wall space to fill, you’ll likely want to go bigger or if you have limited real estate to work with, smaller might be a better choice. Similarly, if your clock is going to be a main focal point, it should be large enough to demand the attention of a viewer. If the clock is only part of the decor, something smaller that complements the current wall will fit well.

The last thing to keep in mind is its readability from the average distance you’ll be viewing from. Make sure that you can see the face and read the time without effort.

How to Hang a Wall Clock

One of the first steps is to choose where you’re going to hang your clock. If you bought your clock with the idea of where to place it in mind, you might know exactly where you’re going to hang it. If you got your clock because it was simply an amazing piece of decor, then you might want to play around with the positioning of it. 

Regardless, you should test the position of your clock on your wall by holding it up to the space where you’ll place it and seeing how well it fits in. If you’ve got someone else nearby, you might want to use them to hold it up and take a step back in order to view the whole picture. Choose a spot where it doesn’t feel crowded and there’s no glare on the glass of the clock’s face. If it’s a main piece of decor, try to center it or have it be the biggest item on your wall.

Recommended Reading: How to Hang a Wall Clock Without Nails

Once you’ve decided where you’re going to hang it, make a temporary mark with a pencil or tape to ensure that you don’t accidentally hang it askew. For lightweight clocks, a nail, screw or adhesive hook with appropriate weight rating should be fine. 

Heavier clocks may need some reinforcing, so consider a picture hook which goes in on an angle to better anchor to the wall or an industrial nail or screw with a wall plug (either built-in or opened when inserted) that will be able to support the clock. 

The material of your wall can affect what type of hanger you use, so be sure to pick an appropriate device. For special walls like brick or concrete, there are specific nails and clamps that will work so look at options online or at your local hardware store.

Decorating Around a Wall Clock

Whether you’re adding a wall clock to existing decor, or starting fresh with a blank wall, knowing how to decorate the space around the clock can be tricky.

You’ll want your style to be cohesive, so that nothing is visually jarring to a viewer. If your clock has found a home among existing decor, you may want to take a look at the style of each to be sure that they go together. Matching shapes, colours or style can be the theme that links each piece to each other. One of the best ways is matching the time period of your decor; and not mixing styles like minimalist modern with baroque antiques. 

Recommended Reading: How to Decorate Around a Wall Clock

However, if your clock stands out from the rest of your decor, you might be able to help it fit in a little better with some other decor that can bridge the gap. If you’ve bought a minimalist clock and have a more boho style, try decorating around it with similar coloured items, like mirrors or minimalist picture frames that use the main colours of your wall or room.

If your clock is the main focus, then your wall decor should use that as your main point in order to have balance on the wall. You don’t need to make your decor symmetrical on either side of your clock, but each side should be relatively equal. That often looks like a variety of sizes of items and frames on the left and right sides. Be sure not to weigh down one side with big pieces and the other side with smaller, or have your right side bare and the left side with a few decor.

If your clock is just a part of your overall decor, consider using a few different mediums of decor for dimension. You may want to hang a tapestry or put up pictures as well, so pick some frames that are different from the shape and size of your clock. 

You could consider putting up a meaningful phrase with vinyl stickering. Vinyl lettering can seem overdone sometimes, and you may be wondering what saying to put up without it being too cliche. You can get individual letters as a package and create a phrase that actually resonates with you--just be sure to pencil lines on the wall you can erase so your lettering is straight.

Cool Clocks to Use

Mirror Clock

A mirror clock can be handy in the bathroom or just near your front door because it’ll help you stay on time but also serves as a place to glance to make sure that your appearance is great before you head out. Though you can find clocks with mirrors in stores, you can also make your own. You’ll need to get the clock mechanisms and numbers, which can be found online or at a craft store, and a mirror. This is a chance to get creative with your mirror and shop at thrift or antique stores for a one-of-a-kind find.

This is an especially good trick if you’re low on wall space in the room that you want to hang your clock, since you can minimize the real estate you’re using by having a clock that also doubles as another essential.

Weather Clock

Image source: @grahamandgreen

There aren’t many weather clocks on the market, so if you’re interested in getting one, take a look at the selection by Bramwell Brown. These chic clocks feature an easy-to-read face with a window cut-out at the bottom to display a graphic of the current weather. The clock goes well in a living room, kitchen or even hallway in order to keep you on time and well-dressed for the outdoors.

For a stunning effect, consider getting the Large Weather Clock that they offer to make as your wall’s centerpiece. It’s 53 centimeters in diameter, and is head-turning in any room. 

Maybe you have an anniversary coming up, and would like something special. You can personalize a Bramwell Brown clock with your and your partner’s name, and the date of your anniversary.

Do-It-Yourself Clock of Memories

One trend that seems to be very sentimental and doubles up on wall use is the picture frame clock. You take 12 framed pictures of moments or people that you love and use them as your numerical markers. You arrange it in a circle, with each picture representing an hour mark and then use a clock mechanism that you can install on the wall with hands pointing out the time through your pictures. 

This is an incredible design because you can use pictures that you were going to hang on your wall for a second purpose. The hands and clock mechanism can be bought at a craft store and easily put up. You can add decals or lettering in the center, or leave it bare to highlight the function of your clock. 

It is also a chance to get fun frames for pictures, but be sure to keep them relatively the same size so that you still have an accurate timekeeper.

Bicycle Wheel

Image source: Etsy.com

For the outdoor or biking enthusiast, consider a bicycle wheel clock. You can find these for sale by artisans or try making your own. This is an especially neat idea if you have an old bike that you don’t necessarily want to fix up or you just haven’t ridden in a while and want something interesting on your wall.

Like the picture frame clock, you can install a clock mechanism with hands on the center of the bike, and add the numbers you want. You can use numbers all the way around the wheel, or only mark off the 3, 6, 9 and 12. This is a wonderful project for you to get creative with as there are so many choices of what you can do with it. 

If you’ve got a more rustic style, consider leaving the gears on as well. For more modern styles, consider painting the spokes; you can do it all in one colour with spray paint or paint each spoke a different colour. Think about the colours you currently have in your home and if you’d like the clock to blend in or be more of an accent. One of the great things about this type of clock is that it allows you to make it a statement piece if you want, as you can use a big wheel with bold colours or go more modest with a small wheel (perhaps from a kids’ bike that they’ve outgrown) and leave it neutral.

Salvador Dali’s Melting Clock

Image source: Etsy.com

For art lovers and those who appreciate the strange, Salvador Dali’s clock might be a great addition to your home. Made after Dali’s famous work, “The Persistence of Memory,” which features a barren landscape of melted clocks, drooping as if they were heated and cooked by the sun.

Though you won’t be able to hang it from a wall, it can rest on a shelf and that might be good news if you’re running out of wall space. It is more art than function, but it will still tell the time accurately. The Roman numerals are elongated through the stretched face and read easily. Its weight will keep it firmly on your shelf without any extra hardware or nails needed to hang.

It is a smaller clock, so keep in mind that it won’t be a centerpiece, but with its unique shape and design, it will still be very eye-catching.

Part of what will make a cool wall clock is the thought behind the design and how well it fits into your decor. Have fun picking out or creating a new wall clock, and use your style to make it a cohesive accent to any room.

A clock is usually equal parts function and fashion, so it’s okay to err on one side more than the other based on your wants. It’s hard to go wrong with a wall clock since it’s often such an essential part of decor, so don’t get too stressed when searching for the perfect find and enjoy making your home a reflection of yourself.

A fantastic addition to any room: take a look at our Weather Clocks