Our Wall of Photography is Finished!

As promised, here are the pictures of our finished photo arrangement wall. All of the photos were taken by my husband Brian (wow, it still feels weird saying "husband" having only been married for 2 months!) and most of the photos are of memories we share together; vacation to Colorado, 4th of July in Georgia, our puppy Alfie in Kentucky, a trip to Kent (where I went to school) sunrise on our honeymoon in Jamaica, and interesting shots of our tandem bike that Brian proposed to me on :)

Here's the before shot: It really was just a blank wall. For some reason this wall never got any attention since I moved in in December!

 

Here's a shot during the process. We cut out all the cardboard backs of the boxes the frames were packaged in so that we could easily tape them on the wall to create our arrangement. This makes the hanging process go much faster. 

 

And here's the after!!

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It definitely gives the living room a more finished feel. Now our antique dresser looks more at home with some friends like this little guy:

I know that taping up cardboard/paper templates is a pretty well-known picture hanging technique, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret that you may not know. This is my secret to getting my frames to hang perfectly straight (because I would go crazy otherwise!)

Velcro Stickers!!!

These little guys can be found at any craft store and cost only a couple of bucks for a pack. I stick two together (velcro sides together) and then stick them on one or two corners of the frame, pushing it against the wall. These really keep the frames from shifting around and don't do any damage to the wall when you remove them. They can also straighten out frames that are just slightly crooked - that way you won't have to make another hole.




But like any designer, my work is never complete. I still feel like it needs something else............

 

I've had my eye on this museum lighting from Pottery Barn for a couple of weeks now. They have another option that comes with 3 fixtures and it would fit perfectly over our arrangement! It's also dark in our living room so we could always use extra lighting - plus it will go nicely with the style of our home. Usually track lighting is contemporary looking and that would probably look pretty ridiculous in our arts and crafts home - especially next to the rose stained glass in the front door!

I love this little ottoman from West Elm. I think it would add a little sass to the living room without distracting too much from the dresser.

 

What do you guys think?