We Joined the Bandwagon

We did it. We joined the bandwagon that is gallery walls.  I haven't met a gallery wall I didn't like and I had to have one of my own. Since our walls have been bare since we moved in, I decided it was about time to grab a hammer and nails and hang a few (or 18) frames on the wall in our living room. You should have seen Devin's face when I explained my vision....He's learning that MY visions become HIS projects. So you can imagine how thrilled he was with my idea. I had a feeling this wouldn't be a very fun task for an OCD/perfectionist type like him but I knew he'd make sure everything looked picture perfect (see what I did there) so I asked for his help anyway. Thank goodness I married a good sport, and praise Jesus for a level.

Here's the 'Before'. It's hard not to notice that embarrassingly large, bare wall .

 

And here's our gallery wall in all its gloriousness. I am uhhbsessed. Just imagine how great this room will look when we replace that fan with a chandelier.... Which is still up for debate here at the McEntire house. He wants a newer fan for practical reasons. I want a pretty, shiny light figure for beautiful-house-decor reasons.

Most the frames are either garage sale finds or are purchased from Ikea or TJMaxx.  All very inexpensive. I wanted the frames to look cohesive so the majority are white and then I mixed in a few brown and green accents. We didn't spend much money on art either.

I found this gem at a garage sale for $5. The frame and matte weren't really doing it for me but the map is sooo cool.

 

So, I simply removed the map and put it in one of my new white frames.

I also grabbed a few sheets of my favorite scrapbook paper at Hob Lob and framed them. Gotta Love cheap, instant art! And no gallery wall is complete without some herringbone right?

 

I wanted to add some personal items to our wall as well. We saved the cork from the bottle of wine we  drank right after we got engaged so I framed some scrapbook paper and glued the cork to the paper. The frame was a 50 cent thrift store find that I spray painted white. Easy Breezy (beautiful cover girl)

Does this picture look familiar? The frame was another garage sale purchase.

 

I also made the antler art...more on that in another post. Ohhh the suspense.

To hang everything, we laid all the frames out on the floor to get an idea of spacing. I've seen other blog posts that recommend cutting out pieces of paper in the same sizes/shapes as your frames to hang on the wall first for spacing purposes (like this). That sounded like a great idea buttttt I was a little too lazy to do all that.

We did make sure to measure though. We got an overall idea of the total length and width of the wall so that the arrangement would be centered. We also left enough space below the frames to account for a potential future sectional.

 

How did we hang them you ask? We used the good ole' Pinterest tape trick on the frames. Worked like a charm.

 

(The photo tutorial is from This Blog)

And that's it! It's starting to feel a little more like us in here. I wonder if I can get away with a gallery wall in every room.....Just kidding. Kind of.

Have a great Sunday evening!

Katy

P.S. I'm linking up to the Best of the Nest , The Shabby Nest, and Inspire Me Please !