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.
Kristin says
PS I’m new on here and my husband and I are getting ready to buy our first home here in beautiful Chesterfield County, VA. Thank you so much for the daily inspirations! I can’t wait to get into the new place (closing May 2nd) and get our hands dirty.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw congrats on your impending first home purchase! We love Chesterfield County- so we’re sending out an early “welcome to the neighborhood!” for ya!
xo,
s
tracie says
i heart it too!!!
Amy @ larryspearslive.com says
I love it! It makes me wish I keep fun momentos to frame.
Sarah@StyleandCentsability says
I am currently hoarding frames and memoribilia to do a small scale version of this. Great tips:)
I am going to attempt to use the heavy duty 3M command strips for hanging- as I change my mind all the time. We will see how it works:)
Samantha says
It’s so awesome! I just love it! Great job.
Becky Jo says
So I was reading through the comments earlier today, and saw the one Missy from NoVa wrote about spotting John’s dad driving in Arlington… and what do you know, on my drive home from Manassas to Woodbridge, I was totally right behind the very same car with the very same license plate! How random is that? (By the way, every time I go to IKEA, I secretly hope to run into you guys and give you both a giant bear hug because you seem like amazingly cool people!!)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahaha, that’s hilarious! John’s dad must have been all over town! A for running into us at Ikea- totally probable! It’s practically our second home. Haha.
xo,
s
Kirsty says
Looks great guys! I’m totally the same with half finishing projects. I repainted our hallway a month ago and hung *one* solitary piece of art…that was it! I still have two very bare walls just begging for some gallery action, so thanks for inpiring me to get off my lazy behind and finish mine too, sometimes you need that little shove to get going! :)
Jessica says
You inspired my stairway photo wall which was featured here (we linked back to you too): http://freshhomeblog.com/2011/04/how-to-create-a-gallery-style-wall/
My only adaption for figuring out where to nail that worked super slick.
1) Flip the frame over and put the newspaper template over the back
2)Use your finger to find the hook (with wire, you can pull it taunt behind the template)
3) just mark where your finger is
Not measuring anything made this project so much more worth it! Thanks for inspiring our wall…now I just need to fill the frames!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh I love your stairway photo wall and your trick for no measuring! So smart.
xo,
s
Leah - Bogue Living says
It’s absolutely gorgeous! Love the sunny colours.
Apart from removing obvious dangers like the few chemicals we do have in the house to high places, and not leaving sharp stuff around, I haven’t had to do any baby proofing for my two kids, we’ve been lucky. They wouldn’t mess with the frames apart from perhaps touching them to point something out :)
April says
I love it! So pretty! It reminds me of my parents hallway growing up.
I especially love the frame with Clara’s name. I have a hard time finding anything with my daughters name either, but that’s what happens when you pick an old fashioned name like Phoebe. :)
Alyssa says
Hi!
Love the wall- you did a great job! To answer some other people’s questions about putting a gallery in a small hall- I have a hall just shy of 4 feet wide, and I only did a gallery on one side. The other side does have an opening for the guest bath, but I felt it would be too crowded with all those frames. I also don’t think it looks unbalanced since the doorway evens it out.
Question for you! I use IKEA frames and mats all the time, and it drives me NUTS that the mats are never standard size. Does anyone else have this happen? If so, what do you do to remedy? I always have a little too much space in between the item and the mat and it makes me so sad.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s funny because we usually have the opposite problem! The print we’re framing is too big for the mat so about an inch of it gets cut off on all sides (or more). We’ve just learned to embrace the imperfection of it all and enjoy things even if they’re a little bit cropped. Anyone else have ideas for Alyssa? Maybe you could put some colored cardstock between the mat and the item for a cool double mat effect with some pop?
xo,
s
annabelvita says
I once ordered some wallpaper samples – these make great double mats under photos!
YoungHouseLove says
Oooh that’s a great idea.
xo,
s
Amanda Gray says
It looks amazing! Very inspired to do this to my own walls…every wall. Would that be too much? Haha.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, not at all. In fact I’d recommend doors and ceilings too.
xo,
s
Kara says
This is the most fabulous gallery wall(s) I have seen. I love everything about it.
alison says
What a gallery wall! Well worth the time and effort. I love how everything works so well together and it really brightens up a dark space.
Lindsay says
I love it! You guys did such a great job and love the story behind each item. I made a DIY project inspired from the “frame the date” website featured on your blog. I photographed different house numbers in our city neighborhood and framed our wedding date as a gift to my new husband for our first valentines day.
Jennifer says
Love it! I’m in the process of planning out, spray painting (too fun, my first time) and figuring out what to put in the frames for several gallery walls.
I love the fabric. Here’s an idea (though you’ve probably already thought of it) – frame Sue at some point!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha love it! I’m actually planning to make some Sue pillows for the living room. But Sue art could be fun too!
xo,
s
Sara says
OMG I love it!! Im doing this in my house as we speak.
I know you’ve posted this somewhere on the blog but i can’t seem to find it – i’m just wondering what colour that wall is. I love it!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s Benjamin Moore’s Moonshine color matched to Olympic No-VOC paint. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
wendy says
I love it! Gorgeous!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Great job as usual!! I especially love the hanky with Clara’s name. Very adorable.
beth says
I have been inspired and started a wall of my kids art going up the stairs. Black frames, black sticker frames and 3-d as well as painting artwork. I love it. It will take months to finish …so I do not have any pics yet.
Audrey says
Sherry doesn’t know me so I can post this without fear that she will rough me up. LOL I was in Home Goods today and they had a slew of apple green parson chairs for $59.99 each! I didn’t buy any but they made me think of your blog. :-)
Audrey
YoungHouseLove says
Ooooh that sounds like heaven! Wow- what an awesome price.
xo,
s
Jenn says
Love, love, love the hallway!! I hung frames in my stairway but they look nothing like yours!! I may change paint my frames white and try again!! Didyou have certain colors that you stayed with or just pick what you wanted? Just curious! :)
YoungHouseLove says
We were totally random when it came to art. Some things were really bright like the fabric swatch we framed in the middle of the gallery on the right, and some were soft and subtle like the pink hankie and the hand written quote in pen on white cardstock. Just play around and see what you like!
xo,
s
liz says
I love it, and I also have a headache. Math. Ouch.
Gab says
Younghouselove Hall of F(r)ame!
Allison Burley says
This is incredible! I love the eclectic mix of prints and memories that you capture in frames.
Trish says
Maybe you can frame your inspiration napkin/lady friend up there someday;) Love the wall!
Amanda Wells says
Love, love, love it! I’m totally stealing your idea!
http://www.amandadovewells.com
Caiti says
I love this hallway! I am trying to recreate something similar using black frames on my kitchen wall. I have some old silver that I want to frame in a shadow box. Short of glueing it to the background, anyone have any ideas as to how to secure it in the box?
YoungHouseLove says
We glued arrow heads to cardstock with craft glue (I just let them dry on a horizontal surface fully and then framed them so they hung vertically once the glue cured). You might want to try some high strength epoxy or glue with some heavy weight cardstock for the back. Good luck!
xo,
s
LYM says
Did you guys consider one of these neat tools for your picture hanging projects?
http://www.amazon.com/Under-Roof-Decorating-5-100117-Picture/dp/B003Z9JN3I/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1303178047&sr=1-1
Its really easy to use. Once you have all your templates up, it takes a few seconds to mark where your nail should be placed – no measuring required.
YoungHouseLove says
Never tried those- thanks for the suggestion!
xo,
s
Melissa says
Love the wall! 2 of my favorite framed things in my house are:
1. Al the movie, concert, and play tickets from when my husband and I were dating
2. a foam chicken that my 2 yr old made at “school” for Easter
Both make me smile daily.
Wendy says
This post made me laugh! Ever since you posted the first one, I have been trying to figure out where I could do this in my home. I’ve also been buying frames, spray paint, finding my own art, hanging newspaper templates on the wall. Tonight I finally hung the frames, but they are still empty. I love it – thanks for the inspiration!
Christie says
Great gallery walls! Its like pinterested in real life.
I bet Clara will do fine with the frames. I taught my kids to not play with the the floor-length curtains, and they did fine with only the occasional reminder. But I noticed visiting children did not have the same manners, so while your Clara will do fine with your good training, just know that some of her little friends won’t be so respectful.
Jan Thompson says
LOVE IT!!
MelissaOklahoma says
The wall collage turned out great – can’t wait to do this in our new house and I may have to use that quote too! Such great ideas you guys.
Aron says
Great finish! I heart the vintage hankie. Clara is a popular vintage name. Clara Bow was the it flapper of the 1920’s. Pretty name :)
Monika says
The hallway looks lovely! I like the idea of framing the dust covers of books, I may have to borrow that one day… :)
Ashley says
Did I see your ceramic dog still inside the house in picture ~16??? Just kidding! Love what the walls ended up looking like!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s our concrete greyhound. He thankfully was uninjured during the frame wall process. Haha. Sadly his ceramic pooch friend is still on the back porch with a hole in his head and lots of glue all over his face. Poor guy.
xo,
s
Tia @ onsimepleplace says
Um yea, kind of In love with this! The Walls looks amazing and I am so so so inspired by you guys.
Charlotte says
Not sure if others have commented on the “look with your eyes” approach with Clara but we have had *great* luck with allowing our very active toddler to “say hi” to the things he’s not allowed to touch. I think giving them something that they *can* do helps, somehow. He now waves and says hi (really) to our glass lamp, and a) he doesn’t ever try to touch it and b) how cute is a little kid saying hi to a lamp!?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s so cute! And it just might work considering Clara loves to wave hi to everything (including things like her dinner, the grass, a bird that already flew away, etc).
xo,
s
Brittany says
LOVE how this turned out. I was planning on tackling a similar project on two of the (very) bare walls of my living room. (Beside shelves flanking the entertainment center, I do not have much else filling the blank wall space.) Do you think that this would look too cluttered in a primary living room on two walls side-by-side, but separated by an archway into the kitchen/dining area?
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
I definitely think it could work! Maybe just make some paper templates and tape them up on both walls to see how it looks and go from there? It’s such a great way to eye things and be sure they’re what you imagined before making any holes in the wall. Good luck!
xo,
s
hdstoker says
I thought your Tad Carpenter quote said, “What I love most about my HOMIES…” Ha! Took me a second to realize it said “Home Is” (after I stopped laughing hysterically, anyway!!) I mean, I could totally see you guys noddin’ to your homies on your collage wall. Word. : )
Love your wall! And I’m glad you guys believe in teaching Clara to be gentle and careful, instead of just baby-proofing the whole shebang. I was NOT about to put drawer latches and locks on every cabinet in my house, and sure enough, my son learned which drawers he could open and which were off limits. Of course I put a latch on the cabinets under the sink (with the garbage, cleaning products, etc.) and our silverware drawer (with the knife block.)
Heather
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahahahaha, homies. Hahahahahhahaha. Breathe Sherry. Hahahahaah. Man, that’s funny. Now I think I need a quote about homies on the wall.
xo,
s
Lana says
I’ve really enjoyed seeing this project come together! Friends have done gallery walls in their homes, but none were as successful or as well-thought out and varied in content as yours. You’ve inspired me to try finally the same in our home. Thank you for the tips on arranging and hanging the frames. It would seem like a simple matter, that is until you end up with an arrangement that makes no sense and excess holes in the wall. YHL – my “go to” blog every morning. Keep up the great work!
Michele says
Yours is what I want my frame wall to look like eventually! Its about half way there.
My latest addition is a heart cut out of a map of my hometown.
I’m going to the steal the peacock feather idea when I get a big enough frame. Its just in hiding because the cat thinks they’re wonderful things to play with. She also feels this way about the lowest of the fames so they’re taped to the wall. =P I think the velcro idea will work even better. ;)
Relevant Notes says
This turned out so well! Thanks for all of the great ideas for cheap artwork – I’m definitely going to be stealing some :)
Colene says
Apologies if you answered this already, but how did you guys determine how big to make your gallery of frames (ie. how many frames to use in that space, how far up and how far down)? Did you just eyeball it to see what looked right or…?
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, we just eyeballed it with the paper templates. We went higher and lower and just kept stepping back to adjust things until we liked it. It’s a really nice flexible method when it comes to planning since they can just be taped and untaped in different arrangements. Good luck!
xo,
s
mrs c. says
only found you recently – now i’m addicted!!!!
love love love your picture walls.
have been meaning to do something similar – your tips & hints on the ‘how-to’ are just perfect.
thank you.
mrs c. xox (from oz!!)
Alia says
This looks AMAZING!!!! Quick question, what paint color is on the wall? Also, do you have a ceiling paint color/brand that you particularly like? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
The walls are Moonshine by Benjamin Moore (color matched to Olympic’s no-VOC paint). As for ceilings, we usually just use flat off-the-shelf white paint by someone like Olympic or Glidden. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Brandan WH says
I bought some “letter art” that I’m planning to put up in my daughter’s room but at a total loss for how to do it! She’s 18 months old and is at the stage where she likes to hit things off walls (just wait ;0) but I don’t want to place them so hight that she can’t see them! I put all the letters in white frames except the ones that spell her name. Those are in red. Just looking at your completed wall has inspired me to get started…one day!
Amy S. says
I love the contrast of the white frames with the wall. What color are the walls?
YoungHouseLove says
They’re Moonshine by Benjamin Moore (color matched to Olympic Premium’s no-VOC paint). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Amanda B. says
I recently discovered that hanging just one frame in a neglected room (similar to your playroom, except we’ve lived here 4 years – yikes!) has caused me to spend more time in there, organizing and purging and dreaming. The picture draws me in, rather than the mess making me want to run away! (I too love to “visit” my projects!)
I think after seeing your gorgeous and fun collage wall I will give my one inspiration picture some neighbors. It may just be the catalyst that finally gets my room the attention it needs!
– A fellow brick ranch lover