Let’s face it, no matter how many posts are written about hanging a photo or gallery wall, it can be quite a project! Whether you use templates or make a zillion holes…it’s just plain hard.  I have had them become a hot mess quick..but i’ve also  had them go up easy and wonderful.  When you do your own, you have to add emotions into the mix..like should you really hang a certain person by someone they did not get along with..it’s like seating at a dinner party.  Birthdays make me reflective and emotional so when i was working on this Sunday i could not help feel a mixture of sadness and joy. I finished it yesterday on my birthday which i thought was fitting since the wall really reflects my life (and of course that of our family too but you know what i mean!)

First I laid it out on the kitchen floor.  To get the right mix, i had to switch things around a bit, even switch out a few photos to get the right scale and pleasing depth etc.. And even after that planning it went up a bit different when i started nailing.

There is something wonderful about hanging photos of your children by photos of your grandparents that have passed. I so wish my grandfather could  have met my boys!

I even hung a wonderful photo of my parents when they very young, before they got unhappy and divorced. I could have never displayed this photo ten years ago when i first did this wall.  But time heals and this photo is a part of my history so I framed it!  Hopefully my mom won’t make me take it down!   But our photo walls really reflect our lives, painful and honest, which just adds to the feat of the project!  But it is worth it..feels good to have it updated with my little family and not just ancestors and have it reallly reflect where we are as a family and God’s faithfulness and blessings!

At the last minute, I added in Drew’s silhouette from Kindergarten he just brought home…Not fine paper art but I love it and I wrote the year and grade beneat it in pencil..It adds a large graphic spot for the eye to rest. 

I used a mix of silver, gold, and wood tone with a assortment of vintage and new frames. I used a few wood  frames from Pottery Barn with white mats, some don’t have mats and the linen matted silver frames are from West Elm (thanks LLH for telling me about those!) I love the vintage frame on the bottom of the image below! Most of the gold frames are old except a couple small ones from a local frame shop and the little round PB frame (not on their website but currently in the stores)..i needed something small and round i felt to fill space and counter the squares. I would replace with something a tad larger and vintage if i ever find..  I used no black frames because my stairwell walls are white and i felt the wood and silver and gold would be more interesting and warm and i like a true “gallery” look not too orderly…also I have a lot of black frames downstairs. What do you think of the baby bump…do pregnancy photos freak you out?

{top photo by K Gallery, bottom photo by Feather Nest Photography}

Not sure how to photograph this once its on the wall.the stairwell is no narrow so i wanted to give you a sneak peak. My one real regret is that this great new photo of Henry, his one year portrait by my friend Tami at the K Gallery, is up a bit high..you don’t really see it well as you go up the stairs..its a bit high and hidden.  I would like to have it more at eye level..Not sure how to fix that but keep in mind if you have one thing you really love to put it in a visible spot.

The one wise thing i did (i think) is I left room to grow. I framed a bookpage (subject matter is the complexity of human love! how perfect!) and hung inside a large vintage frame at the bottom of the stairs…and at the top of the stairs I left an empty oval frame (one of my favorite vintage frames so good to use it on this wall, it’s been all over my house)..this leaves a spot to grow and display what God has for us in the future..another child?  more photos of the boys as they grow?…we’ll see…I love the open feeling it leaves..room to grow and do more “living.”

Good luck with your GALLERY and photos walls…is it making you pull your hair out????  If you have any tips leave in the comments..i would love to hear and share with clients! Just remember it is worth the effort!

 Go in peace!