If there is anything I love, it’s art on the cheap. I love hanging framed pictures/artwork (even though I almost always have to recruit Scott’s help – I’m terrible at it) and adore looking at wall art and knowing that we created it. One of the best (and easiest) pieces of art to hang on your walls are photographs. They bring some color to your walls, some sentiment, and a heck of a lot of memories. And if you’ve taken them yourself, they’re virtually free!
After Scott and I got married, I decided to do this little collage of black frames in our bedroom of professional wedding pics and pictures we took on our honeymoon. We even included a photo of Charlie, our favorite wedding gift (he was free!) A lot of people are nervous about the whole picture collage trend, but it’s quite easy to master if you just follow a few bits of criteria, a la the artful abode:
Keep your frames consistent. Whether it be by size, color, or shape, a little bit of consistency will keep your collage from looking haphazard. If you want to mix up the sizes (like we did) keep the colors consistent. We chose to use the same type of frame, but you could certainly try different frames that are all one color, or similar frames that are in the same shade of color (shades of blues, etc). Lay your frames out first on the floor/bed to get the arrangement you’re looking for, then take your measurements and hang away.
Keep em’ close. I see a lot of collages out there that people have put up that just look a bit off. When you’re hanging a collage, treat it as a single piece of art. With that in mind, make the spacing between your frames between 1-2″. Anything more, and it’ll seem like your frames are floating on a large wall and not working together as a cohesive unit.
Keep em’ low. Well, not too low, but so many people hang pictures too high. Find the center of your piece (collage or single piece). That center line or a little above that center line should be at eye level of someone who is about 5′-6″. I used pretty vague adjectives here because it’s not an exact measurement, but a good rule of thumb. If a picture is hung higher than this, it won’t seem balanced in the room. Sure, if you’re hanging a mirror over a mantle or a large piece of art in a vaulted area, these rules aren’t for you. But for everyday hanging, think like a 5′-6″ person. This is the one bit of decorating knowledge we were taught in design school, so I took it to heart. :)
Scott and I hung these pictures on the other wall in the bedroom. One is from our wedding and the other is from one of his brother’s weddings, showing our two sides of the family. His brothers and him all got married within 5 months of each other (thank goodness they weren’t all girls!), so we like to remember all of the fun we had during that time. Pictures can definitely brighten your day if they illicit memories of boozing and dancing with family and friends. I had initially wanted to find the matching frame when we added the second picture, but I kind of like how the different frames give it a slightly eclectic look. Ooo look at me, gettin’ all wild over here. Two different frame styles! Someone stop me before I throw in a third!
This little number fills up an odd entry area from our bedroom to the back deck. Scott and I snagged these pictures during college from a local Tallahassee artist. The pics are of boats (Scott’s favorite past time) in Apalachicola, a place where we vacationed and where my best bud studied dolphins during school. The memories these pictures bring forth are threefold – score! It’s a burst of nostalgia when I come in from the back yard – plus they’re beautiful pictures to boot. Happy hanging!
[...] slapped some paint on those drab walls, brought in some pictures to remind us of good times and hung some curtains to add a little bit of drama. We’re still [...]