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.
Giulia says
Nicely done, you’ll have to have a cocktail party for people to view the gallery with a glass of wine.
My most cherished framed object I have is a picture of my grandparents taken by a street photographer in the 40s in Montreal. They are briskly walking down the street together, coat tails flapping, unaware of someone taking their picture. It’s lovely to see the now 83 and 87 year old couple so young and happy.
Courtney says
I was inspired by your first posting…and now I’m totally stuck in that “chair full of frames, hallway full of newspaper templates” place. Oh well, I’ll get the mojo soon!
sarah (sarah learns) says
i love it! i’m so glad you guys finished it!!! the anticipation was killing me… ;) it looks great!
Robin @ Our Semi Organic Life says
Love it! My favorite would be the clara hankie, so adorable.
Megan says
It looks fantastic!!! Inspires me to dig out the momentous tucked away in memory boxes and put them on display.
I have to thank you for such an awesome blog, you’ve inspired me to begin the process of making our home truly ours.
J'Ann says
I love the wall of frames so much. Wish I could replicate, but I would need a bigger place :-(
A Girl’s Next Best Friend
Erin @ Domestic Adventure says
This might be my favorite project that you’ve done. Ever. It looks incredible, and I love the personal touches!
Liz says
Looks amazing! I’ve got some beautiful handkerchiefs of my great-grandmother’s that I’ve had tucked away. I love the idea of framing them!
Kristi says
Looks great! I bought a pair of traditional wrist warmers made from wool and angora in Greenland, only moths got to them the first summer I put them away. Since they’d disintegrate if I wore them but the holes were virtually invisible otherwise, I used a stitch to attach them to matching card stock and hung them in an Ikea shadow box. Now I still get to enjoy them!
NancyV908 says
Thanks for posting this. I really wasn’t sure I’d like the second wall (I thought it might be too much), but I love it! And you’ve given me some ideas for filling a few stray frames I have in my own frame gallery, in my home office–they have placeholders that aren’t doing it for me.
Actually, I have to thank you for your example in the old house too–when I was setting my frames up, I learned a lot from your arrangement(particularly to keep my arrangement nice & tight). It was so helpful!
Melissa says
I love that print with the Empire State building! Who is the artist?
YoungHouseLove says
I just trimmed down this etsy print that I got for my b-day from John’s sweet sister.
xo,
s
Kevin M says
Looks great, I totally dig the framed quotes and plan on stealing the idea. I have a few favorites worthy of framing.
Mary B. says
Love it – You guys are so creative & your frame wall(s) are inspiring me to try & make one (or maybe two) of my own! We have a big wall leading up the stairs that’s also open to our family room & I have eons of school pics of my 3 boys from years past that would make a great wall if scanned & printed black & white or sepia. I might throw in some sentimental items in shadow boxes, too… or write out some of the cute things they’ve said or notes they’ve written over the years… hmmm.
Tash says
I am constantly thinking of things to do in our next house and I can’t wait to do this. I love the idea of putting personal momentos and book covers in the frames. Harry Potter anyone? LOL!!
Melissa says
Looks amazing!
Roeshel says
Beautiful job ~ I love how personalized it is. It looks fabulous too!
Mylene Desjardins Beadow says
Awesome!!! I love how wide your hall is! Great job!
p.s. my childhood crush was also named Steven!! Ha ha ha!
[email protected] says
I love your gallery walls. It’s so inspirational I want to do that to my walls someday…I like that every framed picture/ photo has a special meaning or special memory attached to it. Well done. One of my favorite projects from you guys!
Jessie
http://www.mixandchic.com
Bethany says
I’ve been admiring the progress of your gallery wall, but now seeing it all put together, I’m starting to wonder if I could pull it off myself! My apartment’s really small and I already have a lot of pictures, but there is one blank wall that I’ve been thinking about. A gallery wall would be fun if I can convince myself that it won’t make the small space feel too cluttered/busy. Otherwise I’ll just do what I’ve been thinking about and frame two vintage maps of our home states – MN and VA. It’s weird, we live in Virginia now (VA Beach!!) but still I haven’t been able to find a nice old map of Virginia. Got any extras? Hahahaha kidding.
Thanks for the inspiration!!!!
laura says
Looks great as usual! I just made the closet by our front door (that we never use) into a toy/book closet for my son. He is only 20 months but he has done some awesome paintings at daycare and I cut them into 8×10’s and framed them with cheap glass and clip frames from Pier 1. I bought like 3 years ago and had done nothing with them so they were just something I had lying around. Anywho…I hung them in the closet. They look super cute and they add some whimsy and a nice decorative touch to all the loud and bright colored toys! Plus, who doesn’t love looking at their kids art?! :)
Adriane @ GreenhornLiving says
Awwwwww, I love it!!! I had high hopes anyways but it defintely delivered. And I can so relate to the project pause syndrome! I was so gung-ho when I started re-doing some thrift store bookcases but I hit a snag with putting on trim and the whole project screeched to a halt. I’ve had trouble revving up motivation, but I’m determined to finish it. I’m ready to use them as intended and get my garage parking back. lol.
sara miller says
its too much. The one wall is cute but now it just feels closed in and cluttered. Overdone.
Kate Armbruster says
I have a fantastic retro bikini my mom wore in the 60’s that I want to attempt to frame…
And my old girl scout sashes.
Any ideas on how to frame or memory box them?
YoungHouseLove says
I’d just grab a frame or memory box that would accommodate them and use something like double stick tape or even straight pins to hold them up. Sounds really fun!
xo,
s
Ted says
You can buy acrylic box frames (Google search for them, you can find them for under $10). Then go to the crafts store and buy a thin sheet of styrofoam that is the same size or slightly larger than the box frame. Cut the styrofoam down to just barely under the size of the box frame. Wrap the styrofoam with thin fabric, put the bikini on using small push pins (the smaller the head, the better) then push the styrofoam into the box frame. Custom frame for clothing items and pretty inexpensive.
Kate Armbruster says
Sounds like a fantastic idea….shadow-boxes await!
Amy says
Looks great!
My homemade “art” (I don’t want Bob to criticize me :)) project was printing out simple dates (like 091199) and framing them. The dates were the day my husband and I met, the day we got engaged, the day we got married (which is aforementioned 091199), the day we moved into our first (and only) house and the day our son was born. What we didn’t realize until this project was that our son was born exactly 8 years after we moved into our house.
Wow, I am very parenthetical today!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s so cool! Love it.
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
Love it!!!
Julia @ Chris loves Julia says
I WILL do a gallery wall coming down our stairs. But first I have to paint that wall, and gather frames and art and find time. ….yeeeessshhhh. I’m giving myself a one month time frame to do all that. :)
Chris Loves Julia
Lisa says
Hi. I love your wall! I’ve wanted to do something similar but afraid I wouldn’t like it after putting a bunch of holes in the wall! Just curious on the size range – what are the smallest and largest frames? I’m guessing 5 X7″ for the smallest but can’t be sure on the larger frames. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
They range from 5 x 7″ to 14 x 18″ – hope it helps!
xo,
s
Meggo says
Where did you get the second peacock feather print from? The one on the wall with the framed fabric that was from a gift? I love it!!
YoungHouseLove says
That was a b-day gift from J’s cute family from Etsy. More info here for ya: https://www.younghouselove.com/2011/03/the-big-two-nine/
xo,
s
Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage says
I love it!! I want to frame some arrow heads. Our farm was home to indians many, many, many (lots of manys) years ago. And I have a small collection of arrow heads we have found. I am ready to frame. And I have been waiting on this post cause I know you said that you may frame some. So I am pouting a little…but I will come up with a way to frame mine! :)
YoungHouseLove says
We framed them on the first wall! You can see them in this pic: http://images.younghouselove.com.s3.amazonaws.com/2011/03/FrameWall-Close-Console-Lef.jpg
We just used craft glue on craft paper and let them dry before framing and hanging them.
xo,
s
Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage says
Ha! I see them now! Does that have glass over it?? Or no glass??
YoungHouseLove says
Yup it has glass. It was a 5″ x 5″ frame (for $5) from Ikea. The nice thing about it is that there is about 1.5″ of space between the back of the frame and the glass (it floats away from the frame a ways) so larger items like arrowheads can be displayed inside of it like a shadow box. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage says
Thanks so much for the help!! :) Just found two at the thrift store!! :) So excited!! Blog post soon! ;)
Kristin says
The gallery wall looks absolutely great. I would love to do something like this in my own hallway some time, but right now we plan to start an art wall in the living room, but we want to use black frames for a more graphic look. Let’s see how it turns out!
By the way, love the Clara kerchief! I had the same problem when I was a kid, Kristin is a rare spelling of my name here in germany, so I found all kings of stamps, magnets, cups and stuff with Christin, Christine, Christina, even Kristina, but never one with Kristin. I wanted a stamp with my name, so when we finally found ine that said “Kristine” my mum just cut off the “e”, haha.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, resourceful. I love it.
xo,
s
Kayla says
MY fiance and I are moving into our first home next week, and I love looking at your blog for great inspiration and motivation/encouragement to make our home beautiful!
Melody says
I am so in love with your framed hallway! I’m officially inspired to do that in my own home. I especially love all of the different ideas for art.
Jill says
I LOVE IT! Looks amazing — such a labor of love on those walls! I really love the hand-written quote — you’re right, there is something about having something in your own handwriting that makes it more precious!
We recently did a photo collage in my son’s sports-themed room and were able to use the decals from my hubby’s high school and college football helmets. I love that little touch. They are all marked up with grass and paint from other helmets. Very cool — I’m so glad that his mom thought to keep them! Also, I am planning to frame some notes/letters from my hubby and I to each other when I redecorate our master bedroom this summer. Love adding personal touches and you have inspired me to do that even more!
Tanya from Dans le Townhouse says
Ah, we also have DIY projects that kinda get left mid-way through. Life (and other projects) definitely get in the way. But the other half of the wall looks great, I love the inclusion of more art-y art, with your sentimental stuff.
Jamie says
A few months ago I picked my daughter up from preschool and I was so excited to find lined paper she had written words on. There was a few of her classmates names and at the bottom it said ‘MAMA”. I came home, dug out a frame, found some colored paper to use as a background and hung it. Last week we were talking and she said something about one of her classmates writing it. She started crying- and confessed her friend wrote it not her! She was so sad, I still feel awful. But it’s still on my wall…
YoungHouseLove says
Aw that’s so cute. She couldn’t tell a lie. What a good girl!
xo,
s
Jenn says
Great job! It’s gorgeous! Speaking of your frames from your old house’s den, a picture of your frame wall was featured on the Nate Berkus show last week! He was doing a segment on doing a gallery wall and he featured a picture of your den’s wall gallery!!! I noticed it right away. Are you guys still not getting the Nate Berkus show in VA? I live in GA but am from Virginia Beach and I know my folks in V.B. still aren’t getting the show.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny! We still don’t get that show here – so sad considering people in Canada do! Oh well, someday…
xo,
s
Amanda says
Yes we do get it. I watched it today actually. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Lucky duck.
xo,
s
Clare says
Love it!! I am already starting to gather things for gallery walls. You guys are such an inspiration!
Terry @ Power Tool Spare Parts says
I think thats a great idea with the picture frames, you can include images and posters which fit into your vision for the house and also display pictures of family and friends etc.
Aimee W. says
The walls look great! I was wondering…I went back and read your tutorial on how to use newspaper to start the arrangement and to nail right through the newspaper, but do you use a level too? I plan to start hanging two walls of frames today but my hanging skills aren’t cool like yours!
YoungHouseLove says
We actually didn’t use a level since many of our frames were hanging over one nail on a wire (so they natually level themselves with gravity thanks to hanging over that nail). We just eyed it when we taped up the newspaper and it seemed to work. Hope that makes sense. If we were doing a more symmetrical grid-like arrangement, a level would be a must though!
xo,
s
Bryanna S says
I LOVE this! Someday, I will have to do the same thing.
about fabric to wrap presents.. it is the ONLY way I do presents now… so much less waste! In japan, they call it furoshiki. I love finding the best way to tie fabric onto gifts. I have my stash of fabric for holidays and I like to find new fabrics to use. I also like to use unusual fabrics… like summery trees for Christmas :D
Janna says
Looks awesome!! What is your opinion on using those collage picture frames that hold 10 4×6 photos on a photo wall?
YoungHouseLove says
Those are fun too! We’ve seen so many frame arrangements that we love so that sounds great to us.
xo,
s
Robyn says
I have a whole gallery of frames, I’m just waiting on some good weather so I can go spray paint them all black because they are a mish-mash of random colors. Then it’s a matter of finding stuff to put into each frame.
SP says
So this might be a weird question but do you buy a whole lof of different size frames and then decide what to put in them? Or do you know what you will frame and then buy the appropriate frames? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
In this project the frames came first (we owned over 80% of them already and just randomly picked up a varied collection of a few more from Ikea to finish things off). Then once they were hung we just hunted around for stuff that makes us smile to shove inside. But we’ve also done it the other way (if we have something we love and know we want to frame it, we’ve been known to track down a frame specifically for that print or piece).
xo,
s
Jamie says
Every time my boyfriend and I fly he gets out the southwest airlines magazine and flips to the origami dollar page. I have three now! A seashell, a windmill, and a whale. They are all behind glass in our own white frame gallery!!!
Lili says
Oh! This post reminded me that I have been meaning to tell you that they have massive amounts of adorable bee things at Cracker Barrel right now! I so thought of you guys while perusing the shop the other day!
Janelle says
Am now totally inspired – thanks!:) I especially appreciate the tips on frame hanging and placement. Do you have any tips for getting nails into plaster walls? Bent nails are the reason for my bare walls after 5 years in my house (so pathetic). I’m afraid of destroying the walls.
YoungHouseLove says
We use nice thick nails (not those little picture hanging ones, but beefier ones with nice sharp points) and just whack them hard with a hammer. Haha. Occasionally one will bend, but we just take it out and use another one and it seems to work. Good luck!
xo,
s
Audra says
We have plaster walls too, and we’ve found that screws actually work better for us and are less likely to cause the plaster to crack. I’ve also heard of using a slightly heated nail and placing tape on the wall where you’re going to put the nail in to keep the plaster from getting damaged. Oh how I miss sheet rocked walls…
Missy from NoVa says
So I totally feel like a stalker, but I think I may have been driving behind John’s dad yesterday in Arlington. It was a boxy-ish SUV with the license plate “PTRSIX” (or something close to that). I immediately thought of you Young’uns when I saw it, but then I was even more psyched when I realized it might actually be someone related. It felt like my own little Northern Virginia psuedo-celebrity sighting!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahahaahhaahahah that was totally John’s dad in the Soul! No way. John came up with that plate name (Petersix) back in high school since there are 6 of them in the original Petersik family. They keep renewing it. I love it so much.
xo,
s
Nikki T says
I <3 the frame walls…so much, in fact, that I may have to steal the idea and do the same in my home!
I'm also considering getting a Karl for our living room…do you think John would come to Alberta and build me a Karl-console like yours?! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, unfortunately I’ve already booked him for the rest of the year with other projects. Haha.
xo,
s
Nikki T says
Wow, he really gets booked up ahead of time!
:)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yeah I blame his demanding wife.
xo,
s
Amanda says
I love it! I especially love the idea of framing the little calendar page. What a cute way to honor that special day! I so wanna do something like this in my hallway, except mine is a little more narrower (is that even a word?)so I’m concerned with it looking a little claustraphobic. What do you guys think? Or is there something else you would recommend for a narrow hallway?
YoungHouseLove says
I think if you have a narrower hallway you might want to keep the contrast down, so using all white frames with black and white images, and maybe spacing them out more for an airier effect could work. Just use paper templates to plan it out and see how it feels beforehand (you might want to use kraft paper or white paper instead of busy newspaper to get more of an accurate effect). Good luck!
xo,
s
Marilyn says
it looks great! Sherry, I have a question for you. Do you like the way your King duvet fits your bed? I’m wanting a new one and thinking about a king size also.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! We’re so mad we didn’t think of it sooner (in the old house) because we have so much more room to hoard blankets without bothering each other- haha. We laid it long-ways if that makes sense (so the extra length is on the sides, not at the bottom) which works well since it’s so high off the ground. Hope it helps!
xo,
s