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Thursday, February 23, 2012

Photo Wall

I've always wanted to do this.  In fact, I've tried before and failed.  Actually, I've tried twice and failed.
That explains why I have an abundance of black frames and lots of holes left behind in the walls of apartments past.

This is the before...  
Here's the during...

Trace your selected frames on brown paper bags, cut out, and tape to the wall.  This will allow you to find just the right arrangement without pounding in a zillion holes in your wall. 

I taped off the corners and started hanging.  In hind sight I realized that I should have left the paper ones up, removed one at a time, and replaced it with the frame.  Oh well, my way worked too. 

I left some frames picture-less so that I would have a little flexibility in their arrangement, and just  filled them in afterwards. 

This is the after...
"K" Tutorial to come

 
 

Now I'm a far cry from a professional, but I've had enough flops to compile a list of tips for creating your own photo wall.  

1.  Plan ahead.  Do you want your arrangement to have a defined shape or a more organic one?   

2.    Only use photos that you adore. Good quality photos that you adore!  

3.  Find a common element for all the items you plan to hang.  I used all black frames.  All different shapes and sizes, but all black. I also used our last name as a theme.  One picture has Little Miss holding a Koenig sign.  One frame features a "K." The long frame on the bottom spells our name in those letter photos that you see absolutely everywhere.   

4.  Mat (or is it matte??) your photos.  It costs a little bit but makes a HUGE difference.  Don't worry about the smaller frames.  I chose to mat all 5x7's and larger, using the same mat for all.  

5.  Use a level!!!! Don't try to eyeball it.  If your frames are cheap like most of mine are, they don't come with any awesome hooks on the back, and therefore shift from time to time.  I bought this stuff called Candle Fast.  It's a wax that is typically used to hold candles upright in candle sticks.  I used a teeny tiny bit behind each frame and now I don't feel compelled to adjust them each time I walk in the room.  

If you create a photo wall of your own I'd love to see your finished product!

9 comments:

  1. Looking good! Such a variety of frame sizes - tricky to hang but gorgeous when done!

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  2. Oh jeez - why did I never think of this?? That is so smart to trace it out on paper to arrange it first! I always measure and mark and measure and mark and erase and measure and measure and mark, LOL. It may seem like an extra step but this will actually save me so much time!! Thanks for the share! :)

    By the way - not sure if you noticed when you dropped by but I have a linky party Fridays (through the weekend). I'd love to have you link up anytime! Thanks for the sweet comment you left!

    Adrianne
    www.happyhourprojects.com

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  3. Your photo wall turned out great! Once we get moved into our new place, I'd like to do something like that too. Thanks for stopping by :-)

    Take care,
    Jen
    sunnyvanilla.blogspot.com

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  4. I think your photo wall turned out great. I love things in black frames. And I love that your pictures have a theme.

    Holly

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  5. Hi Leah - I wanted to stop by and say hello and thank you for visiting my blog. Savannah is one of my favorite cities, you'll love it there! -----> I LOVE your photo wall, you did such a wonderful job, it looks great! Love the placement of the K! I'm a new follower - looking forward to your future posts! Have a great weekend ~ Mary (sweetlittlebluebird.com)

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  6. Wow! That turned out fantastic! I bet you love it everytime you look at it!

    Thanks for linking it up @ Creatively Living!

    --Katie

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  7. Thanks for stopping by over at Nest Love Designs!

    I love your photo wall...we are going to be working on one of those soon too!

    I am now following you as well :)

    xoxo Michelle

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  8. I love photo walls - you did a great job!

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  9. I've wanted a picture frame wall for the longest time but hanging them seems like quite the job and I suck at things like that. I have a multiple canvas painting in my living room and although I tried to make it easy but using the paper method, it was still not only exhausting but took forever and I still made mistakes. Congrats to you on such a great job. :) Thanks for stopping by my place.

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