This Beginner’s Guide To Creating A Picture Wall

So my picture wall is finally complete, and I’m happy with it.  Some things I love, some things I don’t, but it was a learning experience.

Here’s a list of things I learned along the way:

1.  Live with your layout…for awhile.

It’s going to sound crazy, but it’s my #1 “must-do” piece of advice for starting a picture wall? Put paper bags on your wall! Ha!! Cut them the size of your frames and tape them in the positions you think you’d like the finished wall.  I lived with the paper cut-outs of my picture frames for almost a week, and continuously tweaked them until I got them just how I liked them.  I would literally walk by and just move one up an inch, and then twenty minutes later move the same one again down an inch, but I thought of them as a giant puzzle.  I knew eventually I would get the pieces just right.

2.  Don’t be afraid to mix frame sizes, shapes, and styles.

I say this for two reasons.  The first being I like the look of it.  But second, by mixing the frames together, this picture wall can easily grow with your family.  If all of the frames are the same, in a few months when you’d like to add more pictures, you may have trouble finding those frames again.  If you already have an eclectic mix, a different frame can easily fit in.

3.  Consider the architecture surrounding your wall.

This picture wall is along a staircase, and I liked the look of the pictures moving up along the steps.  I don’t think putting them in a straight line, or a box formation would have worked given the stairs.  Plus, this “mosaic” formation will again make expanding the picture wall and adding more frames much easier.

Enjoy,

Nikki, In Stitches

Added Later: The picture wall made the move with us! Take a peek at how it looks now!