I got lots of questions about this gallery wall the first time I posted it on Instagram, and even though I tried to share as many details as I could in the comments, I thought it might be helpful to be more thorough and add a few links.
I’ve had five or six of these gallery walls in our last two homes, ranging in size from just four grouped frames, up to nine. I love them because they’re relatively inexpensive, a great way to show off your personal photos, and can be arranged to custom fit any sized space. You can also fill a big wall with something that’s visually appealing and interesting, yet subtle. (And again, inexpensive compared to a huge piece of artwork.)
So here’s what I did: with the help of my most honest critic (Jake of course), I determined which photos we wanted to use, and edited them in a similar way so they look cohesive. In the past, I’ve also done black and white prints (which are great), but we wanted to change things up when we moved and opted for more pastel-like colors. I also chose just a few extra shots as back-ups, just in case any of them didn’t look quite as expected when printed. Examples of the black and white prints in our old house, below.
I love mpix.com for printing. They’re a little pricey compared to someplace like Costco, but they run sales pretty often, (I’ve gotten up to half off) so if you’re not in a hurry, you could wait for a deal. My other reco is adoramapix.com, which is less expensive. (They also make the most gorgeous photo books… will try to do a post on that soon, too.) I used to print at Costco all the time, but I’ve gotten pickier over the years, and I’ve noticed that Costco’s photos, at least in my experience at our location, come out darker and moodier with more pronounced shadows. Not a bad thing if you’re going for that look, but I purposely go for lighter images so I like to use a printing service whose products align more closely with what I see on my screen. I should mention – my prints above are 11″ x 14.”
Onto the frames: Hobby Lobby! I think these particular frames are staples at their locations, as I’ve seen them both in Arizona and Chicago. They measure 16″ x 20″ and are a warm silver with glints of gold, so I think they could go well with any color palette. I’ve been wanting to try either white frames, or something similar to what I have but with a slimmer edge, but I’ve already invested in like 40 of these things so we’re not switching anytime soon 🙂 These frames are normally $30 but are half off every other week. If they don’t have enough in stock, you can ask them to order more for you and they’ll give you a raincheck to honor the price.
Matting: Also from Hobby Lobby. My mats have the double layers (looks like a beveled edge), but HL also carries more simple ones, as well as mats in various colors. I’ve tried both white and cream, and I find the white to look cleaner. The 16″ x 20″ mats are $5 each and sadly, don’t go on sale, but they’re worth it! I cheaped out in my office and made my own matting out of cardstock…. it was a good amount of work and they don’t look nearly as professional.
And that’s it! The ‘fun’ part comes in trying to clean the glass from both sides and not getting lint from the paper towel stuck behind the glass. (Also, I know this sounds silly, but make sure your glass is really thoroughly dried, or it’ll permanently leave a mark on your photo.) Hanging them is also a treat. (More like treat yourself to a bottle of wine after.) These frames don’t come with hooks, so we get something along these lines from Home Depot, and screw them directly into the center of the frame at the top. Honestly, we use to spend all sorts of time measuring where to place the nails in the wall, and these days, we just start with the bottom layer and eye ball it all. We have at least half a dozen extra holes under those frames, but who can tell? 🙂
