How to Hang a Hammock

A hammock only asks for two things: two anchor points and a little patience. Get those right, and the rest of the day slows down on its own. This guide walks through the three most common ways to hang a LAGOM hammock — between trees, from posts, and indoors — with the distances, heights and hardware we use ourselves.

The numbers that matter

• Distance between anchors: 3.5 – 4.5 m for a standard 3.2 m hammock. Closer means a deeper curve; further means a shallower, flatter lie.
• Height of each anchor: 1.5 – 1.8 m from the ground.
• Hang angle: ~30° from horizontal. The strap should look like a gentle slope, not a straight tightrope.
• Seat height: the lowest point of the fabric should sit around 45 cm off the ground — high enough to swing, low enough to step off.

Between trees

The classic Nordic setup. Look for two healthy trees at least 20 cm in diameter — birch, pine, oak or maple all work. Use wide tree straps (never rope or wire) so the bark stays intact. Wrap the strap around the trunk, thread the tail through the sewn loop, and clip a climbing-rated carabiner into the nearest strap loop that gives you the right height and 30° angle.

If the ground slopes, hang the downhill end a little higher — the hammock will settle level once you climb in.

From posts, pergolas or a porch

For fixed posts or a pergola, use screw-in eye bolts rated for at least 250 kg of static load, driven straight into solid wood — not plaster, not lath. Pre-drill a pilot hole, then thread the eye bolt in by hand until the shoulder sits flush.

Clip a carabiner into each eye bolt and one into each end of the hammock. Keep the same 3.5 – 4.5 m span; on a narrower porch, add a short chain to close the gap without over-tensioning the fabric.

Indoors

Indoor hanging is the same idea, with more caution about the wall. Fix each eye bolt into a load-bearing wood stud or through a solid masonry wall using a chemical anchor rated for 200+ kg. Skip drywall alone: it will not hold a swinging load.

No suitable wall? A freestanding wooden hammock stand — Nordic spruce or oak — turns any room or balcony into a reading corner without a single hole in the wall.

Lie diagonally

Once you're up, shift your body across the weave at a slight diagonal. The fabric flattens out, your spine straightens, and what felt like a curved sling becomes something closer to a bed suspended in air. That, quietly, is the whole point.