We’re back with pics of our hallway that we “wallpapered with frames” for lack of a better description. We think it created some pretty quick dimension and interest that’s sure to be fun for the whole family. Literally. We love that we can work in drawings by Clara, class pictures, and photos of favorite vacations for the whole family to enjoy.
As for how we did it, you saw how I cut out little newspaper templates for all of the frames that we already owned (we actually had a lot of them from various arrangements in our first house, seen here, and even had a few unused ones snagged on sale a while back that were begging for some action). So we just taped up all of our pre-cut templates with a few of the larger ones staggered in the middle (to ground things) and built things out from there, placing most of the smaller frames around the perimeter for some subtle balance. We shifted things around a little, stepped back, went back in and moved stuff around, and stepped back to look at everything again. This happened about ten times with smaller and smaller tweaks until we decided we liked it. But we still wanted to sleep on it and study it one more time the next morning before breaking out the hammer (hence this post about that first phase of the project).
Yesterday we mentioned that The Washington Post scooped us by sharing this shot of our frame-riddled hallway here:
We try to stay as real-time as possible, but we also like to take a ton of after pics and write a big wordy post for ya, so it can take a few days from project completion to post publishing. If only we had a live camera feed going 24/7. Just kidding, my nightmare is to get caught picking a wedgie on camera. It’s why I never auditioned for the Real World (side tangent: John actually sent in an audition tape once when he was 19).
Anyway, so when we woke up the next day and agreed that we still liked the proposed frame placement, it was time to lay out all of our frames on the floor of the dining room in the same arrangement, just to check if some of the actual frames conflicted (since all we were looking at on the wall were their outlines and not their actual styles). Of course we ignored the art since most of it would be switched out anyway.
The frames all looked just fine together, so we decided to bite the bullet and grab the hammer. It was hangin’ time (here’s where a lot of MC Hammer was sung). Since our newspaper templates were still up on the wall, it was actually really easy to hang stuff. We just measured how far down from the edge of the frame that our wire, hook, or other hanging device was and just marked a centered “x” right on each template (the horizontal line is the measured center of the template, and the x below it is the spot where the nail should actually go to catch the wire or hook so the frame hangs in the right place).
Then we just hammered directly into the “x” in the template…
… and pulled the template off the wall to reveal a lone nail waiting for a frame (even though it looks like a jacked up hole, that’s just a tiny bit of paper caught above the nail that we easily removed with a finger flick).
We slowly worked our way around the wall using this method. It probably took an hour or so.
Sadly our old plaster walls don’t work with 3M Command hooks or velcro alone (since that’s always an easy way to create a frame collage without making any holes) but 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 Burger for example) so our plan is to sweetly request that she be nice to the frames and “look with her eyes” and we might even try the “you can only touch them with one finger” technique that an awesome varsity mom shared with us a few days ago (she said it actually works!). 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. Clara first!
But back to our process. After following our templates and hanging every frame we stepped back for a little look-see and frowned. Somehow they seemed a little tighter in the top right corner (which we actually really liked) and a bit too loosey goosey everywhere else…
… so we adjusted some of the frames on the left and added in a few little “filler” items to get the same full look that we had on the top right corner going on everywhere else.
So yes, there are probably ten extra holes in the walls hiding behind those frames from fine tuning them an inch one way or the other. Our bad. But they’re all out of sight so we’re at peace with it. They can just be our little secret. Oops, I just told The Interweb.
Once everything was hung we scavenger hunted the house to find things to display (since many of the existing items in the frames were horizontal images that were now hanging vertically or the frames were completely empty to begin with since we hadn’t used a few of them yet). Which puts the cost of the entire frame wall plus all of the “art” that you see (since that was also already owned) at 100% f-r-e-e. Except for this cool $16 frame from Target that we splurged on because we adored it’s “special capabilities” to store and easily showcase lots of kid art. We love that we don’t have to take it off the walls to change things out. Come on Clara, don’t you feel like drawing mommy a picture or two?
So this is our current arrangement with all of the just-for-now stuff that we found around the house. First here’s the view from the kitchen (which is why we placed the console table there, so it looks centered through the doorway:
And here are a bunch of other angles:
From an old Banana Republic ad with a llama (or is it an alpaca?) carrying sweaters…
… to a vintage milk cap that we found at our first house glued to a small square canvas…
….and a white paper key that I cut out of card stock (which I hope to replace with a DIYed ceramic-looking one)…
… it’s definitely a smorgasbord. And there are probably way too many photostrips, but they’ll do for now.
We’re actually planning a post later with more detailed shots of various items and directions for making your own stuff, like an arrowhead shadowbox for example. Or a long skinny wooden pinboard (still have to make that, for now we have a placeholder piece of card stock with a photostrip taped to it). We also thought it would be fun to take a picture of the wall every few months just to see what comes and goes (new Clara art? updated family pics?) and what always stays (the sketch of our first house’s lot? a favorite photobooth strip of the whole fam?).
We anticipate that at least 25% of the wall will be changing pretty regularly as new things steal our hearts – like a particularly good (or bad) fortune cookie fortune and Will Bower’s first birthday invitation. You know, the important stuff. We definitely feel like this gallery will be the most personal, eclectic, and fun display spot in the house. So while I’ve already asked for some awesome art prints for my birthday (which is this Saturday- woot!) we also want to frame everyday objects that hold meaning to us. From Clara scribbles to little love notes and even particularly funny greeting cards with chihuahuas on the front.
In short: We are so in love with the whole hallway frame gallery. It took a spot that was just a way to get from A to B and made it feel like a bonafide destination. We both keep finding ourselves being drawn to that wall like magnets, just standing there gazing at all the frames. Even Clara loves to stare at it. Ah gallery wall. How can you make us so happy? We’re nerds.
And surprise. We’re so enamored that we’re planning to “wallpaper” the other two walls on the other side of the hallway with frames too.
Here’s the pile that we grabbed from Ikea (feast your eyes on that pretty shattered fireplace tile).
Should be good times.
Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winners. Click here to see if you’re one of them.
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
Ooohh. I LOVE it! I’d love to see more close ups of other art items you have. The hall will look great with the rest of the wall complete. I just finished up a gallery wall in our basement. Some of the first art hung in the space. Love it!
Elle says
You guys are on the front page of the Washington Post website! I wanted to make sure you saw it, congrats!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much!
xo,
s
Allie says
My favorite line from this post: “…even though it looks like a jacked up hole…” I actually laughed out loud when I read that one! LOOKS GREAT!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I must have hole pride. Nobody calls my nail holes jacked up. Nobody. Haha.
xo,
s
Anna @ The Owl and The Phoenix says
Same here – so funny =)
I LOVE the wall. It looks amazing and I am now going to have to find a spot in my condo to do something similar. Ack – too many good ideas from you guys!
xo,
Anna
MandyP says
ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! You guys have SUCH an eye for this stuff! I wish you could come to my house and help me! =)
Jen @ The Decor Scene says
Love it!!! That is so awesome that you will be doing the other walls too. I wish my hallway was that wide and I would do something like this. Great inspiration!!! Thanks for sharing.
Tia says
Wow! Looks great! Definitely inspiration to start printing more of our photos. :)
Hope you’re enjoying the day.
Debra says
Gorgeous! I love it…you have totally inspired me to ‘take on’ my bare hallway walls this weekend!
karen @ our slo house says
Oh! I can’t believe how good it looks! Sometimes, gallery walls can go horribly wrong. I think you nailed it! get it? ‘nailed’ it? ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Har-har, a punny girl after my own heart.
xo,
s
Ali says
It looks fantastic! Great job. I love the variety of things you have to look at.
Laura says
I love that you guys hung the swatch book up there – cute. :) It’s looking really good and I imagine it will have high impact once the other side is done. :) Now you just need a chevron runner in that hall and BAM! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Your use of “chevron runner” just got me all hot and bothered. Haha. Love it!
xo,
s
Cait @ Hernando House says
Oh yes, I second the chevron runner!
Caro says
third! chevron runners get me excited too!
Kasey at Thrifty Little Blog says
Those images could come right out of a magazine! I love the way it turned out, especially with the table from your old house.
Amy L. says
Happy Birthday, Sherry!
I’ve been intimidated by my stack of white IKEA frames waiting to go up on an expanse of wall in my living room. I just can’t seem to commit to what to fill them with. I love some of your ideas! And I just have to keep telling myself, I’m not stuck with whatever I choose the first go-round, so like you guys do, why not just fill ’em up and reassess later? I’m ON IT! :P Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck!!!
xo,
s
Lindsay@Tell'er All About It says
OMG! LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But c’mon! You don’t love the newspaper look? Hehe! Just throw some mod podge over that bad boy and call it a day!!!
No seriously – awesome! Totally in love!!!! I’m actually interested to see how it will feel with both walls hung simply because I have long narrow hallways like that in my house and I’ve been afraid to hang too much for fear it will be “cluttered” and/or claustrophobic!
Well done, guys!
xoxo,
Lindsay
annabelvita says
Wow, that hearth in the last shot is pretty special! :)
Good work on the frames – love the white with the grey.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you know it. Totally hurts your eyes in the morning.
xo,
s
Lora says
WOW!!! I love it!!! I really wish we had a wall that would work for that project! Oh, and here’s a twist on the “touch with one finger” trick – we alwasy tell our kiddos, “don’t touch it just smell it”…it started with a Christmas tree and worked so well that 9 sweetpeas later it’s still our rabbit trick!
YoungHouseLove says
Love that! Oh my gosh. It’s perfect because Burger sniffs everything, so we can say “be like Burger and just sniff it.” Haha.
xo,
s
Mindy says
Looks amazing! Oh I feel so inspired. I love how much meaning is in the artwork you display. One of my big goals now versus just something I thought looked “pretty” (not that there’s anything wrong with that). :)
Abercrombie Wife says
L.O.V.E it and I am totally loving the idea of doing the other side of the hallway! Can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Ileana says
Love how it turned out! And Happy Birthday! My birthday is also on Saturday :) Good times!
Michelle says
I love it! I just saved a picture in my ever-full “house inspiration” folder on my computer (since we don’t have a house currently). Does anyone else do this, or am I just crazy?
Annelise says
@Michelle, you should be using Pinterest!
Jessa says
Evernote is also an amazing way to organize those things. It has a web clipper that automatically saves the hyperlink and info you want to clip, and then you can add your own tags. Also, there is a smartphone app that syncs with your account so you can access it out and about! Great for making shopping lists or whatever :)
Tonia says
Can I ask why you guys don’t use the Command picture hanging strips? I am doing this in my dining room and the strips make it so much easier! I just put the frames exactly where I want without having to put a hole in my wall! I am loving them!!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Tonia,
We actually mentioned them in the post since so many people recommend them! We hear they’re awesome but our plaster walls just don’t work with them (they crumble and can’t support the weight, so things crash down). Boo!
xo,
s
Tonia says
Okay, I just was wondering! Sorry, I didn’t read the whole thing! :)
YoungHouseLove says
No worries at all! We know our posts can go on and on. Haha.
xo,
s
Tamisha says
I’ve used them on my 90 year old plaster walls without difficulty. If your plaster is crumbling, then you have bigger issues, like water damage. Might want to get that checked out.
YoungHouseLove says
Not to worry! We’ve had full inspections on both this house and our first house (which have both had “finicky” plaster) and there’s no water damage. 50’s/60’s ranchers just aren’t famous for perfect plaster (maybe older homes actually have stronger more mortar-filled plaster that’s actually more durable?). Either way we can definitely use 3M hooks to hang small frames from time to time, it’s just not an 100% success rate (so we don’t mind breaking out the old hammer).
xo,
s
megs & bacon says
GAH me loves! So much better with the Filler. I live vicariously through you guys… my mod house requires a less-is-more approach. But sometimes I want MORE is more. MORE FRAMES! Shoot. I have no Ikea. But I do haves me some Amazon Prime….
YoungHouseLove says
We also find cheap frames on clearance at Target from time to time!
xo,
s
megs & bacon says
Yes, me and Target are like *this*. (I’m crossing my fingers)
One of these days I’ll get to the point in our story where I hang my black and white Chicago photos in the hall. Target frames! They had some on clearance that were for weddings. So, an 11×14 frame with just a 5×7 opening. Tons of mat so everyone can autograph it. WHATEVER! It fulfilled my dream of “GIANT MAT, TINY PICTURE” (Isn’t that everyone’s dream?). For only $11 each! I had to drive to all 3 Targets to collect a set of 5. And then I had to ditch the wedding photo that was included. Like, duh, I don’t know them.
I walk around my house singing “Giant mat and a tineeeeeeeee FRAME” to the tune of “Short Skirt and a Long Jacket”. Like, all the time.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, now you’ve got me singing it!
xo,
s
Care says
Haha! Megs & Bacon’s comment totally made me start singing Chris Farley’s ” fat guy in a little coat”!
YoungHouseLove says
Me too!!!
Can’t. Stop.
xo,
s
Randi says
Wow- I love it. To me, there is absolutely nothing as precious as someone displaying meaningful art, photographs, notes or anything else that is special to them in their home. I can just imagine you guys smiling from ear to ear everytime you walk past! And I’m sure your future guests will enjoy gazing at everything, too! Great job to both of you!
Niki says
Oh my, it looks so lovely. I can’t wait to see the DIY key. Bated breath.
Jennifer says
YES! I’ve wanted to have a “gallery” in our entry way and up our stairs forever but hesitated to bang away. Paper frames and placing the nail in the paper first? Brilliant! Solved all my “how am I going to do this without turning our wall into swiss cheese and making my husband shake his head and sigh” problem. Thank you!
Wom-mom Ethne says
I want one! The hallway gallery, I mean. And two (one for each of my twins) of the special picture frames will be purchased at Target over lunch today! GREAT idea. ~Ethne
http://www.wom-mom.com
Katie says
LOVE the look, and definitely agree that tighter is the way to go. I like that it’s not just pictures, but an eclectic collection…hmm, inspiration is a-brewin!
Patti says
Oh my gosh, I love this! I have a big expanse of wall in my dining room that I don’t know what to do with, but you’ve inspired me! Can I ask what is the text that you have framed? It looks like a handwritten essay.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s actually an amazing story! We were legally obligated to hire a licensed contractor to do a few little tweaks on our old house after the buyer’s home inspection (they wouldn’t let us DIY them, boo!) but he was such a nice man and he was actually the same licensed contractor who did the work on our new house since the previous owners here hired him as well (they were the ones who recommended him to us). After a bunch of meetings with him as he fixed a few things at our old house and our new one he stopped by to give us a housewarming gift! And it was this poem that he had hand written himself (he’s also a calligrapher!). What an amazing guy.
xo,
s
Amber V. says
Wow! What an amazing gift. I would like to find a project that needs his attention immediately! haha
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I know, right?
xo,
s
Courtney says
Wow… what an aweome contractor (and a great guy)! Plus, that is one of my favorite poems. :)
YoungHouseLove says
We had never heard it before but really liked it!
xo,
s
D'vine Living says
It looks fabulous. Definitely going to try this out. On my way to go buy white frames
Mary says
I really love it all, but my fave is the pig holding your paint color palette :)
Felicity @ Our Little Beehive says
I love it! I’m not a fan of having tons of photos all over the house, but this is the perfect way to get a ton of photos into the house without feeling overdone. Seriously, a gazillion frames on one wall and it still doesn’t look cluttered. Well done!
lindsay says
Couldn’t love it more!!!
Kate says
I love the new hallway look. I was wondering what kind of plant is under the terrarium?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s fake. Haha. We got it from Ikea because he’s so darn convincing but I can’t kill him!
xo,
s
ka says
Love the Maymont Italian Garden screenprint! I’ve been eyeing that on Etsy but my husband won’t let me get it.
When he was in high school he took a trip there with 2 friends who were dating – while they were off being couple-y in the Japanese Garden below, he walked over to sit on top of the dry waterfall (it was January so there was no water falling).
When we went to get up he slipped and fell all.the.way.down to the rocks in the Japanese Garden! He has a fake hip now. I’m a recent import to Richmond and I dragged him there one day to be tourists – when we go to that spot I was climbing on the rocks by the waterfall and he freaked out.
Needless to say, I can’t have any Maymont art in our home!
Haha.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh I can’t believe that! We always look at kids climbing those rocks and wonder if anyone falls. I’m a nervous nellie like that. Hah. So glad he’s ok!
xo,
s
Leslie says
Nice job :) Always FAB to hear about your little boo-boo’s… makes us feel like we’d fit right in.
Cynthia says
I love the first wall of your art gallery, and am eager to see the others! The diverse images and objects will delight Clara as she grows up and contributes her own to the collection.
When my children were babies, part of their bedtime ritual was to say “night night” to pictures of their grandparents, who lived on the other side of the USA (my mother) and in the UK (my husband’s parents). I think it helped them become comfortable more quickly with the in-person grandparents when they visited. You are fortunate that John’s parents are moving to Richmond and Sherry’s mom and stepdad are a reasonable day’s drive away!
Thanks, as always, for the inspiration and joy you bring to your readers!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s really sweet! I’d love for Clara to say goodnight to photos of our relatives who are far away!
xo,
s
erica says
looks GREAT!
I love those shadowbox ikea frames.. I used one for showing off concert ticket stubs that I had saved. :)
Katherine O says
Love, love, love it! I had planned on doing something very similar to this in our entryway once I can pick out a paint color. I have a stack of Ikea and Target frames just waiting…and piles of pictures, wrapping paper from our wedding, some geometric floral paper from flowers my husband gave me, scrapbook paper, et cetera…and lots of little items (like a key!) to hang. Gives me more incentive to get going on picking that paint color and getting some things on the walls. Thanks!
Christine says
Looks great, so inspiring! Love how the random collection of items has truly meaningful treasures mixed in.
Am I the only one who would love to see John’s Real World audition tape??
YoungHouseLove says
Nope, I would die to see it too! Haha.
xo,
s
Sylvia Felix says
I love love this!!! We’re in the process of rebuilding our house also, can’t wait till all is finished to copy you guys!!
seriously, i love this blog… everyone in my family is now a follower because of us…
we love you!
specially the beautiful daughter of yours!!!!
all the way from Phoenix, AZ
<3
Charity says
Looks so nice, guys! Hey, you mentioned you have plaster walls – we do too, and it seems like every time I try to nail something in, I get a chunk of crumbling plaster and a hole in my wall. Do you guys have any advice for working with plaster walls?
YoungHouseLove says
If things start to crumble like that we always deflect to anchors and screws. That way you can hammer in an anchor and just screw into that (the anchor contains the screw and helps to prevent wall flakage). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Alexi says
Love it! It looks great! I can’t wait to see the other side done as well!
Laura *You Stir Me* says
oh it’s so fabulous! I can’t believe it only took you one hour to hang the frames. I did the same thing to my craft room but it took me about an hour to hang and tweak 8 frames. Go you rockstars, go. I love that you have my favorite turquoise vase featured on the hall curio (is that the right word?)! Your advice paid off too – I just saw a very similar one at TJ Maxx with me name on it!:)
oh – and I love that you hung the paint swatches too. Brilliant.
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! So glad you found that vase! As for the time it took, we expected hanging to take much longer, but once John realized we could just measure and mark the templates instead of fussing with marking the spots on the wall for each frame it really saved us time!
xo,
s
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
I totally swear by marking the nail holes on the paper template. I did that too and it worked like a charm (and saved a lot of time!)
Cait @ Hernando House says
I love that vase! I found a small blue one at HomeGoods, but I totally online-stalked it until I found a larger one (which actually haven’t ordered yet).
Melissa Irvin says
I hadn’t even thought about doing a gallery wall in our foyer UNTIL NOW! That looks so awesome! LOVE it! Feeling so inspired – once again! Thank you!
Liz says
It looks awesome!!!
Liliana says
Awesomeness! Makes me really want to postpone the order of my projects and get a jump start to creating the wall gallery I’ve been wanting since we moved into our house! Can’t to display my husband’s pictures!
You guys are such inspiring!
~ L.
Angie says
love the color swatch placement! so you, so unique! we have plaster walls too. glad to hear it wasn’t my inept skills when it came to using command strips. i’ll have to commit to nails as well. looks great! so inspired to tackle my entryway!
Meredith says
I really love the idea of a wall like this, I’m just not sure where the best place to do it would be in our house! My one free wall that “needs” something is the wall that our TV sits on, but it sits on top of some low bookshelves (which are FULL of books), and I’m worried that between the bookshelves and the frame wall, it would be too much going on.
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe try putting up white paper templates (the newspaper ones are a little busy if you’re trying to evaluate how it’ll look in the end) and even taping up some of the photos and art you might frame? Just to give it a trial run before nailing any frames up? Good luck!
xo,
s
Brooke Buckingham says
I LOVE the old milk cap glued to a small white canvas! SUCH a good idea. I can think of a ton of cute little “what do I do with this” items that I could display on a canvas. Once again, you guys have inspired me! Happy Friday! :)
Izabela says
Looks fabolous! Hapy birthday Sherry. I do have a question: I’d love to hang some old windows on my walls, with as many squares as possible, and I’d like to insert art into the squares. Our house is fairly dark. I don’t want to put any backing on the window frame. Any ideas?
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve seen people just tape art to the back of the window pane so it faces out and looks framed behind the glass. It’s awesome!
xo,
s
Harinee says
Love! Love! Love!
What’s the grayish large one with the writing- Under the key?
YoungHouseLove says
Scroll back for that info. It’s a really cool story!
xo,
s
Harinee says
Saw it a bit after I posted the question! Sorry!
YoungHouseLove says
No worries at all! Lots of comments come in at the same time!
xo,
s