I’ve been wanting to redo a gallery wall we have in our hallway and I’ve been working on that project for-like-ever {full post on that project to come next week}. But it just wasn’t coming together. Currently we have a bunch of black-framed photographs – mostly of our kids at young ages – hanging on the wall in a gallery-like grouping. We love it. It’s so sweet and people love looking at this wall when they come over. But it’s looking dark and all the photos need some variation – some artwork and other personal items to liven the wall up again. It’s time to refresh but I didn’t know where to start. Then I saw this:
This was a clean, bright, colorful collection of pieces. Nothing “matched” but yet they worked well together. I will show many more inspirational photos on the full gallery wall post next week but I chose this one photo because I loved the ornate white frame. Like, really loved it. And I thought that was exactly what my wall needed. So I looked. And I looked. And I looked again. But nothing was quite right. Then I found this at Homegoods:
An ornate 16×20″ black frame with a burlap wrap/dark Halloween decor. Huh? Not white, not bright, and more black. But sometimes you gotta see the trees through the forest {is that the right saying?}. What I’m trying to say is that this frame was an even better solution because it was the right size and I could paint it the exact, bright, semi-gloss white finish that I wanted. And no glass means that I can put a fun fabric in place of a photo and do something different and unexpected. I love that. And this is what I came up with:
Definitely brighter, more colorful and fun. I think the photos will look much better with this in the mix. So, even though the gallery wall redesign project is slow going, here’s what I did to kick start it:
DIY frame & artwork:
1) First, I removed the backing of the frame and set the screws aside to reassemble.
2) I spray painted the frame using a semi-gloss bright white paint. It took a few coats because of all the nooks & crannies {sorry no pic bit you get the idea}.
3) While the paint was drying, I pulled off the burlap Halloween cover. I love burlap so I kept the artwork for a different project but for this – we needed color!
4) Next, I cut a piece of my fabric to fit the backing. I used Scotch Super 77 Adhesive to attach the material. I also used a glue gun at each of the corners so it stayed flat.
5) Then, I took a piece of fun, pom-pom trim that I found at the material store and hot glued a strip across the material. I loved the idea of just using the material but I couldn’t pass up this trim. It’s definitely funky and not for everyone but I think it will add a lot more interest to this piece.
6) When the frame was completely dry, I attached the material wrapped piece and the backing onto the frame. Done! And it cost about $34, including original art, material, spray paint and trim. Now I just have to finish the rest of the wall. Stay tuned for that post coming next week. This piece – and this fun, colorful material – has made me excited to get it going!
[…] ok – I did it! I gave our dull, black-framed photo gallery wall a facelift. And it was one of the quickest projects I’ve ever done! We had my in-laws visiting this weekend and I always think visitors make the best excuse for finishing a home project. Our kitchen table was covered with artwork so I had to get it up on the wall if we wanted a place to eat! I pulled together a quick, use-what-you-got gallery wall. Click here to check out my post from last week on diy artwork and the start of this gallery wall. […]