Nikkis' Nacs: The Photo Wall(s)

Monday, May 17, 2010

The Photo Wall(s)

I had a stack of unused frames in my closet that were begging me to hang them on the wall.

I am a fan of family photos. I know that some people think hanging pictures of your family in the "public" spaces of your home is a big no no, but I like to look at my beautiful children. Pictures of them make me happy, and I think that you should put whatever you want to on your walls.

Ok, so I knew that I wanted a family photo gallery, but what kind? A grid that was perfectly spaced, or a pattern that was more random? Maybe both?

After evaluating my pictures and frames, I chose to do two separate photo walls. One above my couch in the living room and one in the hallway that is visible from the living room. One using all black frames and one using dark stained wood frames.

For the wall over my couch I chose to do a somewhat of a grid. 4 small frames and 1 large frame. I traced the shape of the frames onto wrapping paper, cut them out, and taped them on the wall. This allowed me to "see" the frames on the wall and get the spacing just right before I started making holes.

For the wall in the hallway I took a very different approach. First, I arranged and rearranged all of the frames on the floor. Once I liked the layout I measured to make sure that it would fit where I wanted it to go. Then, I just eyeballed the placement and started making holes and hanging the frames. I changed a few along the way, and left some room for this collection of photos to grow.

My home is very small, so these photo gallery walls really stand out. Some people may find it a bit overwhelming, but I smile every time I look at all of the sweet photos.

What about you? Do you have tried and true method for hanging a photo gallery, or do you just wing it?