It’s wind chime season -- the perfect time to make sure you’re getting the most from your Wind River chimes. Whether you’re hanging your chimes from a tree limb, pergola, shepherd’s hook or something else, here are a few tips to get the best chime resonance and maximum chime enjoyment:
1) Enough Space
Make sure your chimes have plenty of room around them, from the top piece to the bottom of the windsail. Hang them well away from a building or other obstacles. Wind River chimes are beautifully designed to harmonize with nature, making melody from even the most subtle breeze. While our chimes are durable enough to bump into things, they certainly aren’t designed for that. Only specific parts of the wind chime (the tubes and striker) are meant to come in contact with each other, so if the windsail doesn’t have enough space to flow freely, you’ll miss the magical resonance of our chimes.
2) Strong Hanging Device
Wind River carries chimes in just about every size, from small to large. While it’s easier to hang our small chimes from simple porch hooks, if you’re planning to hang larger chimes from a porch or balcony surface, you must use reinforcements, like a toggle bolt or anchor on areas with no studs. You can also use heavy-duty plant or shelf brackets, as long as they allow the chimes to move freely.
If you don’t want to deal with drills, sturdy trees or shepherd’s hooks work very well and give you more options for chime placement in a backyard or garden. Please note that shepherd’s hooks may not give you the clearing or strength you need for bigger chimes, but are usually perfect for small to medium sized chimes. You can find a variety of sizes at your local garden shop or home improvement store.
For trees, consider using one of our tree hooks. We carry four sizes (12", 18", 24", and 36") to best suit your space and needs, and the two larger sizes are equipped with an even wider top hook to fit around larger branches. These hooks come in multiple sizes to offer more choices for length and width of tree branch; however, all four of the hooks are equally sturdy, and even the smallest size will securely hold our largest chime.
On our website, you can find weight and height information for every chime – helpful when considering where/how to hang your chime!
Consider where you spend your time and how you want to experience your chimes. Do you want them to be more foreground or background music? If you live in a particularly windy area, you may want to position your chimes deeper into your backyard space. It all depends on how present you want the sound to be. If you don’t spend much time outdoors, then consider hanging your chimes on your porch or deck so you can easily hear them while washing the dishes or reading by a window.
In the past, we’ve seen some very creative chime placements. One Wind River fan created an entire symphony on their porch with all kinds of chimes, including seven sets of Corinthian Bells. Another fan placed her chimes along her driveway and created “Chimes Row, so that Wind River chimes serenaded her every time she entered and exited her property. The sky (or the wind) really is the limit!
4) Wind Direction
The Feng Shui tradition purports that hanging chimes in specific places offers specific benefits. For example, certain wind directions are believed to be luckier than others.
We think any direction is lucky, as long as the chime isn’t shielded from the wind. While the wind direction does change when the weather changes, you can easily test the usual direction of the wind in your area. Knowing that may help you pick the most ideal spot!
If you have any questions or concerns about where or how to hang your chimes, our customer service team is ready to help! Send them a message here.
