Friday is Menu Planning and Shopping Day, but it's also a day to share the organizing project that I've decided to tackle via Pinterest for the week. My project is an ambitious one. I have been working on family photo wall. Understand that this will be my third round in as many years, so this time I want it to be as close to perfect as I can get. My issues with the previous photo walls that I've arranged was that the spacing was off and the frames would tip and tilt if a door was slammed or when the washing machine was spinning.
I started by taking all the frames down, filling the holes and repainting the hallway a darker color. I used Benjamin Moore's EcoSpec (it's a contractor grade no-VOC paint, so it's a lot cheaper and doesn't smell). The color? Revere Pewter in a flat finish - I love this color because it's a light, warm grey so it can look tan too, depending on your surroundings.
I took all the frames and started to try to figure out a configuration. Here's where Pinterest came in handy. I typed in 'photo wall' and started browsing different photo walls, pinned ones I liked and started trying to decide what look was best.
Here are a couple of my favorites:
So what I realized is that I like a large rectangle as the overall shape of the arrangement, but different sizes of frames within that rectangle or square.
So...I don't have a completed wall to show you, but I have a couple ideas for how I'm going to complete this wall (hopefully over the weekend). I still have to decide on some pictures to get enlarged too. Hopefully there's some takeaway here for you if you are coming up with a photo wall at some point too.
1. Arrange frames on floor - once the arrangement is just right, make a template out of old wrapping paper. Tape the wrapping paper up on the wall and then position in place with painter's tape. Mark where the frames will go.
2. Instead of using nails, I'm going to use these -
Have you seen them? You can reposition and move frames without damaging your walls - no more swiss cheese walls. Nice.
3. I'm going to use black wood gallery frames from Pottery Barn - different sizes, white and taupe mats, for a cohesive look. Here's a video from Pottery Barn on how to create a wall that's helpful.
Tell me, did you conquer an organizing project this week?
I definitely bit off more than I could chew, but I made a lot of progress. Any family photo wall tips you'd like to share?
The family photo wall is the most scary thing I've ever done. I would've never finished it if it weren't for my Mom's help. I found printing out the pictures made it all come together and gave me the boost i needed to get it done. Also, this week I finally completed my daugher's baby book for her first bday party this weekend. It was a ton of work that's taken sooooo long to finish. But it's done! Yippee! (and I also finished week two of the cleaning schedule and love every second of it)
ReplyDeleteFound on Pinterest, hopefully it helps your project! :-) http://www.celebrateeverydaywithme.com/2011/11/best-ever-picture-hanging-tip.html
ReplyDeleteI FINALLY completed my family wall a few months back. Took my anal-retentive husband (thank goodness for this project!) 5 hours!
ReplyDeleteOOOO, I haven't felt brave enough to attempt the photo wall yet....but I did complete my pinterest project for the week, cleaning buckets for my two kids, who are 2 and 5. One pink bucket, and one blue, microfiber towels, spray bottles, disinfectant wipes, and dusters...all found at the dollar store. They LOVE LOVE LOVE them, I have never had the lower half of my windows, and every washable surface within reach look cleaner!! It was a fun quick project, and the kids spend all day cleaning up their toys and carrying around their buckets so that they can dust and wash everything in sight!
ReplyDeleteI need to re-do our photo wall. A money-saving idea I'm using is I'm spray painting all the frames the same black color instead of buying new frames. I'll use white matting and white/black accent pieces (initials, objects, etc). Please share how you like those command adhesive strips-they look interesting!
ReplyDeleteWe moved house last year and ever since I've been trying to decide how and where to put my family photo wall. I've decided to make a more fun one in the kids playroom using a family tree mural.
ReplyDeleteFor the photo wall in the living room I've decided to use wedding photos as the theme as most of our siblings are married by now, but I want to match the frames to the wedding theme, i.e. fancy or elegant or vintage. Black and white photos and the frames in black, charcoal or silver to make it cohesive.
Also, there are photos from my husband and my grandparents weddings that I would also like to include. It's an ongoing project that never quite makes it to the top of my to do list, but it's going to be amazing once it's done!
I think our photo wall is everyones favorite room in the house..but as my kids get older there are so many more photos! homecoming queen, wedding,graduations... etc..all kinds of big celebrations we never anticipated when we started...taking up an entire wall now..but soo fun to look at! I am your newer follower..pls follow back if you can!
ReplyDeleteI have a photo wall that meets your requirements exactly. And I used those velcro strips!
ReplyDeleteFavorite things about it: I used primarily black and white photos so that the colors wouldn't conflict with each other. Then chose a couple favorite photos to print in color. Now they really pop.
Least favorite thing: those velcro strips. :( I'm sorry to say that it is very hard to get all the frames to hang perfectly straight with those. And within ~6 months, they started to come loose and the photos started falling down. Luckily, I used cheap ikea frames with no glass, so cleanup wasn't an issue, but just wanted to warn you!
Also, I found you on pinterest and I've been digging through your archives all day. Great stuff, thanks!