Isn’t it strange how you can start a project (in this case the gallery of frames that we wanted to “wallpaper” our hallway walls with) and then just leave the other half of it undone for a month. Not weeks. Literally a month. What’s wrong with us? And it’s not like we weren’t obsessed with the results of the first half of the project (recounted here):
We just ran out of frame gas or something, so we switched over to console building and chair painting and closet organizing and ceramic dog gluing and tree trimming and sectional leg spray-painting and all the other odd things that we’ve tackled since our little wall-hole-making spree. It’s so weird. What possesses DIY folks to work in fits and starts like that? Oh well, who cares, we’re back on the frame-hanging bandwagon now. All is right with the world.
Yup, after a month of staring at taped up newspaper templates and a big ol’ stack of frames on the floor we finally mustered up the motivation to hang them up, thereby completing the big hallway o’ frames. Booyah. Here’s the whole shebang:
It’s everything we imagined and then some. And it only took a few hours of hammering and hammering and hammering and framing random sentimental objects (and my birthday prints) that I lurve. As for where the frames came from, we already owned around 10 (originally from Ikea and Target on clearance) and we also picked up 14 new ones from Ikea (thanks to a sweet b-day gift card from the fam). Although all of the frames aren’t the exact same shade of white, it’s a soft layered look with some creams and other more crisp white tones that just seem to work even though they don’t match perfectly. We even embraced the whole “layered and different” theme and picked new Ikea frames in varying styles (some more modern and some more decorative or traditional).
We already explained the template-making process of creating a frame wall here, but John thought we should throw in a tip about where to put the nail (with pics, because that’s how my brain “eats” info). First John measures down from the top of the frame to see how many inches below the top the nail will actually sit.
Then he finds the center of the newspaper template and measures down the same amount (4″ in this instance).
He marks the template with an x, and then just hammers right into that x and through the template.
Once the nail’s in the wall in the right place, he rips the paper template from the wall and slips the frame onto the nail. Bam, a frame in the exact spot that we had the template. Yay math. Or yay rulers. Or more accurately, yay smart hubby.
Oh and you’ll notice that we started with the big frame in the middle of the arrangement (which we intentionally planned for that spot to sort of balance and ground things) so that’s another tip. If you start from the center and work out from there all the frames won’t migrate left or right or up or down as much since you’re starting in the center. And choosing a big frame for the middle should help things feel kind of balanced and well-planned (even if the edges of the smaller frames around it don’t line up and it’s more of an asymmetrical layout from that big frame on).
Here we have all of the frames hung without any art. Except for that backwards canvas on the left. Yup I hung it with the wood on the back exposed instead of the front canvas side (I taped a pic of J & I into it a while back and liked the raw kind of rustic look). You’ll also notice a few black and white photos that we used to have hanging behind the sofa in our old den in 8 x 10 frames (some of them were now hanging sideways though, so there was still some work to be done on those).
Here’s another angle, just because I like to pretend I’m fancy with the camera.
And yet another art-less frame POV of the whole hallway:
Oh and when it comes to babyproofing, we do plan to add heavy duty Command velcro to the lower frames that may be within Clara’s reach when she starts toddling around. She’s a pretty docile girl who definitely seems to listen when we ask her to be gentle (when petting her big brother Burger for example) so our plan is to sweetly request that she be nice to the frames and “look with her eyes.” But of course if we think those few low frames ever start to pose a safety hazard (or even just become too high maintenance for the way we live) we’ll definitely just get rid of them until the bean is a little older.
Anyway, back to the after pics. Here are those frames full of stuff that we already had (from these sweet birthday prints that I got last month to a ton of sentimental keepsakes, photos, and even some pretty non-traditional items that we’ll get to in a minute).
Here’s a closer look at the little gallery on the left side:
It’s full of everything from craft paper with two fortune cookies taped to it (top left) to a black & white wedding pic and even a sweet artsy photo of a water droplet in front of some patterned fabric (top right) that was snapped by my friend Laura.
The bottom half of the arrangement has an old craft store peacock feather (I didn’t even put that on paper, the tan color is just the naturally-toned-frame-back showing through the glass), my sweet Etsy bee-day print from John, and even a book cover (remember he also got me a book called Love Life for my b-day? I just took off the paper dust jacket to reveal the pretty cloth cover beneath it, and then decided to repurpose the paper cover as art).
And see that light pink rectangle with Clara’s name on it? That makes me melt. It’s a cute vintage hankie that happened to be embroidered with her moniker. A good friend of ours (thanks Terri!) couldn’t help grabbing it when she realized it was such a coincidence to find something with her name on it. It’s actually really rare to see Clara on anything (they never sell Clara magnets or keychains in stores). I love it so much, and framing it is perfect since the bean doesn’t exactly grasp the whole nose blowing concept yet.
Now we’ll move over to the little gallery on the right side.
The picture below makes me realize that if I’m ever bored I want to move every frame about an inch and a half to the right. Never noticed it “in person” but it seems to hug the doorway on the left a bit more closely. Isn’t it funny how photos make you see things you can’t ever see right in front of you? Anyway, on this side we have our card stock place-holder key that used to be taped up on the other side of the wall, which we have big plans for (someday I want to DIY a white-ceramic-looking key with clay from the craft store). We also framed everything from an old fabric swatch, a quote that I wrote out by hand, more black & white family photos, and even a silhouette of our bald girl.
Here’s a closer shot of the handwritten quote. I love how soft it looks while other things on the wall jump out. It makes you want to lean in and read it (kind of like how you lean in and pay close attention when someone whispers a secret to you).
It’s a quote by Tad Carpenter that I found on Pinterest (where I’ve been living lately, haha) that’s originally from here. I loved the idea of penning something that meaningful in my own chicken scratch handwriting and glorifying it behind glass for all to see (although I spaced it out a bit differently – in 7 lines instead of 8 – to better fit my frame). And yes, that’s a Burger foot (and somebody needs to get his nails cut). He likes to sneaking in photos any way he can. I can’t tell you how many dog-butt-in-the-background shots don’t make the blog.
Oh and here’s the back of the Love Life paper book jacket that I also decided to frame. Waste not, want not, right? Only the tiny spine of the book cover was tossed into the trash since I used “all other parts” of it for the frame wall. Haha. It’s a quote by Arthur Rubenstein that says “I have found that if you love life, life will love you right back.” It’s true I think.
Here’s another quick little making-art-from-something-else adventure. We had these charming little desk calendar pages around for each month of the year (from here) but we always deferred to our day planner and my iPhone instead of using/enjoying them. So I took the one for July and drew a thin red frame around the outside of it with a red Sharpie. Remember when you used to color the edges of paper like that to make straight lines on other pages beneath it in grade school? I did that all the time. When I wasn’t doodling Steven’s name (my elementary crush, oh how I longed to hold his hand with my marker stained fingers).
Then with a thin red pen I drew a heart around the 7th. Because we were married on July 7th, so it feels like a sweet way to honor that special day with something beautiful that we already had on hand (which was shoved into a drawer instead of being enjoyed).
And here’s a funny story about that fabric in the middle. It was actually used as “wrapping paper” from a friend (she didn’t have conventional stuff around but she had that fabric sample so she made it into a little gift pouch). How chic is she? I liked it so much I put a ring frame on it.
One of the fun things about the frame wall is that it’s visible from the hallway that leads to Clara’s room, the hall bath, the playroom, and the guest room. Makes me smile every time I walk back out towards the kitchen. Even when I’m carrying a bunch of laundry or happened to have just stubbed my toe on something. Seriously, the frame wall is like Prozac to me.
So there it is. One project finished.
Except we’ve only just begun because I’m sure we’ll end up switching everything out a million times. But that’s kind of the fun of it. I can’t wait for Clara to make me some scribbly art for me to proudly display.
Have you guys framed anything unusual lately? Do you have special memories stuffed into a box or a drawer that you’re dying to get behind some glass? Did you have an elementary school crush on a boy named Steven? Are you Steven, my long lost love? Haha, just kidding. We’re friends on Facebook now. It’s all very PG and he knows I no longer want to hold his hand.
Katie says
Love it! It looks great! The hankie with Clara’s name on it is adorable :)
Cait @ Hernando House says
That looks great!
I’ve kind of been wanting to attack our hallway with a bunch of frames. So far it just has two large prints and a mirror, but maybe I’ll get bold and do a gallery wall or several!
Alisa says
I heart it, too! Absolutely awesome!
Future Mama says
Totally agree! Looks fabulous!!
Much love,
Future Mama
http://expectingablessing.blogspot.com/
Chris says
love it!
Amanda says
Kind of off topic, but do you guys find that having Clara slows down the home improvement processes, or do you accomplish just as much now as you did pre-baby?
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that’s a good question! I think we generally have a certain pace that works for us (nothing too crazy so we don’t quit blogging/get divorced) and nothing too slow (because we’re really bad at sitting on our hands and being idle) so I’d guess that we go at the same general pace as before (with lulls and sprints in there, which seems to be par for the course when you’re a DIYer) – except now we have to be more efficient with our time and seize the moment if she’s napping or sleeping for the night. There’s a lot more after 7:30 stuff that goes on until around midnight that we used to start around 6 when John got home from work. But now there’s dinner and family time with Clara so we wait until she’s sleeping to get started.
xo,
s
Becca C. says
Gorgeous! Congrats on finishing it… you’ve inspired me to do something similar :)
Katie says
I heart it too!
Jenn L says
haha prozac frames are the best medicine! =) It looks wonderful!
xoXOxo
Jenn @ Peas & Crayons
Emily says
It’s stunning. Love the incorporation of the personal mementos, and I especially adore the Clara kerchief – what a beautiful, one of a kind item. Are they all the original IKEA mats or did you end up DIY’ing any to custom-fit your framable items?
Tara Geissinger says
Love it! Especially how you’ve managed to use something meaningful in each frame. My favorites have to be the book cover/back that you framed. The colors just pop off the wall and really look stunning!
annabelvita says
Love it. I’m really into framing random things – I framed my favourite cloth tote in a big ribba frame the other day – it looks awesome – keep forgetting to blog about it though…
Laurie says
That looks fantastic! Where do you find the time though? This would take me years to do…. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Our advice: take a month-long break in the middle. Haha. Apparently it can help you get your momentum back.
xo,
s
reFresh reStyle says
Another great idea! I want to copy!
Thanks,
Debbie
Liz B. says
Looks wonderful! So inspired!
P.S. There’s a typo when you talk about the second part of the hall wall “if you are board to move everything 1/2 in to the right”. Maybe bored instead. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks! That was a weird one! All fixed.
xo,
s
Amy says
Your wall looks absolutely amazing!
As for framing up interesting things, my husband was recently in Maine for business and I decided to go along with our dogs in tow. Our younger boy, Leopold (he’s a Weimaraner) LOVED the ocean (we’re from Toronto, Canada), and just couldn’t get enough of the shells. He’d pick one up each morning on our walk and proudly prance around with it in his mouth. It was so cute to watch an 80 pound pup perform so enthusiastically! Anyway, as a memento I brought one of the shells home, and would like to put it in a shadow box with a handwritten note that says ‘Leo’s shell – Old Orchard Beach Maine, 2010’.
Your wall has inspired me to hurry up and get it done! Thanks for all you do!
Krysta @ Domestic for Dummies says
Now that I am a proud member of Pinterest I have a TON of quotes and ideas I want to frame. Love the calendar idea with your anniversary. So cute!
nk says
Same! Now I just need a wall large enough for all those awesome quotes and ideas and inspiration I’ve gotten from here and from Pinterest.
karen @ our slo house says
You don’t need me to say it, but once again it looks awesome! I love that this project keeps growing and growning and…
p.s. I know how you feel about finding *something* with Clara’s name on it. My daughter has a unique name, and I doubt we will ever find something with her name (unless we go visit Scotland, the origin of her name.) ;)
Autumn says
My boyfriend and I spent one of our first dates playing Scrabble in a coffee shop until 1 in the morning! Ever since, Scrabble has become a great past time. After our first game, he happened to snap a photo of the board. For his birthday today, I purchased a scrabble board game, hot glued all the pieces on it like our first game and framed it in a shadow box. I also had the score sheet from the game (on the back of a coffee shop receipt) and a drink menu that got framed separately :)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so cute!
xo,
s
lisa says
That is a beautiful idea. I love it.
bryn alexandra interiors says
I really think this is my favorite things you guys have ever done! I just love it!
Brooke says
Love the completed gallery walls! They look great!
I just noticed in these pics that you all also have a hodge-podge of flooring (so do we!), so I was wondering if your plans are to just ignore them and decorate around them or to actually change them to be more uniform?
YoungHouseLove says
You know we love nice cohesive flooring! So we don’t plan to remove any of the varying types of hardwood (from wide plank to skinny plank to parquet) but we do have dreams of refinishing them all to match someday down the line.
xo,
s
Micha says
I’m -really- digging your gallery walls! They are so fabulicious, I’m tempted to try something similar in our house once we get past the restoration to the decorating stage. I have collected various items we unearthed during the restoration of our 95 year old house (vintage wallpaper, hand cut iron nails, a stove cover, an empty pack of 1910s cigarettes, etc.) that I want to frame in a shadowbox along with a photo of our house.
Rachael says
Aww, I know exactly what you mean about finding things that say “Clara” on them. My daughter’s name is Lena, and I get the same thrill whenever I find something with her name on it. :)
Ames says
It looks amazing! I bet I will see this all over pinterest today :) Does it ever weird you out to see your rooms on there?
Another great project, you guys! Love YHL :)
YoungHouseLove says
It always makes me think “wait a minute, a glitch, it’s somehow showing the blog” and then I realize that other people are pinning those pics and I blush. It’s amazing and kind of crazy at the same time.
xo,
s
Jordan@the2seasons says
Love it congrats on the finished project. I have been on vacation and just now getting back and getting my YHL fix. You all have been busy, like always.
Kelly says
Looks amazing! I’d love to do this on the wall of our stairs! :)
mydesignchic says
Love the picture gallery…so great!!
Irene says
I love it! You are lucky to have so much empty wall space. I only wish!
Melissa@Julia's Bookbag says
LOVE the gallery wall! Love love love it!! I have one in my home too, and I just started hanging (from the middle) and hammering! Yikes. I’m lucky it’s not a total mess b/c I didn’t measure anything!! I wish I had been a wee bit more precise like y’all were. It looks BEAUTIFUL, I’m so pleased for you!!
Rebecca @ the lil house that could says
Ah I have so many things to say!
1. I stalk Pinterest (still accountless though!) and I saw that Tad Carpenter quote a few weeks ago and frantically googled to find a print! Apparently it’s only in his own house? I love that you made your own though, I may have to snatch that idea :)
2. Thank you for the comment on the multiple shades of white frames. I’ve been collecting frames whenever I can catch them at a good price and was concerned about the differing shades of white frames/mats. Good to know they all blend nicely!
3. I jump around projects constantly! I like to say I have design ADHD. Mike likes it better that way, he thinks it keeps us constantly motivated and loving what we’re currently working on :)
4. Um, I love the way this project turned out!
The end!
anu says
it’s actually from the recent tour of his home on design sponge
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2011/02/sneak-peek-tad-jessica-carpenter.html
it’s a new feature they added, where the featured home residents fill in the blank (what i love most about my home is _____)
YoungHouseLove says
It’s such a great post/idea. I love it so much.
xo,
s
Meg says
When I first read the hand written note, before the close up shot, I thought it said “what I love most about my homies is who I shake it with.” It made me laugh for a long time so I thought I would share… :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahahahahha, hilarious! Shaking it with people is also very important.
xo,
s
Kathy C. says
That hallway looks amazing!
Amber says
lovely!! just lovely!
Sara says
This looks fantastic!
Roo {NiceGirlNotes} says
Looks awesome! Go ahead with your fancy photog skills! :D
I bought a page from someone’s (a farmer’s?) old desk calendar. It’s our wedding date, but 70 years prior. There’s even some old farming notes on it. :) Framed that.
Carrie says
Love it!!!!!!! Makes me want to flesh out our mini version of this project…
http://ow.ly/4Ct16
And I love that you used a book cover =) I know I’m not supposed to, but I judge books by their covers all the time – The one you have is really unique!
YoungHouseLove says
I’m obsessed with those amazing white owl sculptures in your arrangement! So cool!
xo,
s
Carrie says
Thanks!!! Glad you like them =) I was actually searching around Etsy the other day and was astounded to find an EXACT copy of the one that I bought at a thrift shop!
http://ow.ly/4East
As you can tell they look so much better in white…
OMG-YHL says
Wow! I thought all those frames might look cluttered or overwhelming, but once again you guys nailed it! I love Sherry’s home-made quote sketch– I do that all the time! No reason spending money on something that will be hung with blue sticky tack (curse you, dorm living!). I love how each bit of wall has it’s own subtle color pallette. So pretty!
In conclusion, you guys are awesome and your house is gorgeous!
– Carlie
kris says
This is so, so great. I have put off so many projects with the mindset that I can’t afford to do that, yet, most of the objects you put in your frames our reclaimed items from your house “stash”. Brilliant. Thank you for cracking my noggin….Affordable genius
Harinee says
Lovely!
What is the print right below Clara’s handkerchief? I love the food/drinky prints and this one looks beautiful.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s actually from an old poster I had in the old house from allposters.com. A while back when I was making art for the kitchen I cut it up (it was a still life) and framed different parts of it (the cup of sugar, the apples, the spoon, etc) so I just reused those 4 x 6 “excerpts” that I made from the original large poster for the frame wall.
xo,
s
Katy says
Love the final results! But are you saving all those coupons Sherry??? (referencing the coupon newspaper you used for the frame placement on the walls).
Are we going to see you on TLC soon as one of the crazy coupon ladies or what? They’re my fave!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I am nowhere near those crazy coupons savers! It’s amazing what they do, but the idea of a stockpile makes me itch. I hate having extra anything on hand. Haha. Simple is the key to me not being all twitchy and crazy. But at least I know that about myself. Haha.
xo,
s
Lia @ {sprightly} says
It looks absolutely amazing! Also – you inspired my Pinterest addiction. I just can’t get enough!
cafenoHut says
What a wonderful hallway. This is like a museum which gathered a lot of lovely prints.
Love this….
Felicity @ Our Little Beehive says
Looks great! I love the Clara hanky. I found a few old “F” hankies as an antique store years ago and snatched them all up; this is such a great way to display them.
p.s. can’t wait to see what you do to the paneling in the background! :)
Corinne says
Wow! This looks amazing! Very inspiring.
I haven’t framed anything too weird, though I did purposely buy wrapping paper at Target after Christmas specifically for putting into frames. I also bought poster board for a puppy art project. I have loads of paint samples sitting around that I’ll never use, so I’m going to put them on her paws and have her run across the paper, then cut out sections and frame them!
Natalie says
I went on Zazzle and bought some cheapie vintage post cards from every place we’ve lived (DC, AZ, and OH) and added them to our hallway framing arrangement. I love how they look, and it’s reminder of everywhere we’ve been together. I think I love the Arizona one the most… http://www.zazzle.com/greetings_from_arizona_az_postcard-239131094193865219 :)
Kathy says
Looks great!! Your guests will always love to look at these and changing them over time will be fun too. I am relieved you say that about project progress – I thought it was only me. 80% of a project in a few hours and then 3 months go by before I finish the last piece. Drives me crazy that I do that!
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
I love it! Gallery walls are Kryptonite to me lately. I just finished ours which has a bird, feather or tree theme, as I’m always drawn to those art items.
http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/birds-and-a-feather/
Lisa in Seattle says
*gasp* I love this so much. It’s serene and beautiful and just perfect.
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
Thanks, Lisa!!!
rachael says
Oh, I love it! I’ve started a gallery wall in our hallway, but am at a stand still. I’ve been spray painting thrift store frames in my garage b/c a week ago it was so warm out! Now its snowing again, so I’ll have to wait; spray paint and below freezing don’t mix well. Silly Canadian weather! Our daughters name is Violet so I know what you mean about finding items that have Clara’s name on it!
Jenny says
That is so gorgeous! The most beautiful gallery wall I’ve ever seen, really!
Way to go!
Single Mama says
That looks awesome. I love all the creative little pieces you use instead of portrait pictures!
Sarah @ a drop of golden sun says
WOW, I love it! Great job guys! I could never, ever, EVER, tackle a project like that though. For starters, it would be a one-woman job since my hubby would freak at the thought of that, and also because it took me half a day to do a 5 frame wall collage in our bedroom. It just stresses me out too much, lol. You guys rock!
Danielle says
I would love to walk down that hallway everyday!