One of the first projects tackled when we moved into our home was putting together a gallery wall in our front entry. It was also one of the very first things I blogged about! The focal point of our gallery wall was this large print that I had picked up at HomeSense. Throw in some white IKEA frames mixed with some navy accents and there was your wall.
I think it’s so very easy to get caught up in decor trends and what you ‘should have’ in your home as opposed to what really reflects you. I would say this was the case with this gallery wall. The first thing you see when you enter our home is this large expanse of a wall, so why not make it a gallery wall? My intentions were good, but I would have to say there’s more to it than just throwing some photo’s and prints into frames and slapping them on a wall.
Although all the frames more or less matched, the more I walked by the more things didn’t seem to jive. The large print no longer seemed to pull things together, but stand out in a way that it was all I was seeing. Everything else was forgotten.
It took me all of 5 minutes to take everything down.
Blank wall, clean slate. What now?
A few weeks ago, I posted a picture of this awesome ‘hello’ sign that I found at WalMart on Instagram. I used it as a starting point, what better way than to greet guests at our front door then with a sign that cheerily says hello to them?
It took a weekend of playing around with frames and prints to figure out what I wanted to include and where I wanted it all to hang. I layed out various formations of various frames and decor, snapping a photo of each with my phone, before I was able to decide the look that I liked best.
Pulling from the colors of the sign, I used washi tape to add some character to the existing mats in my white frames. An older picture of the kids stayed as is and I switched out my #Blessed print for this awesome Succulent Monogram that I found over on Oh So Lovely! Succulents + Monograms = Happy happy days! I had some industrial style “R”s kicking around from recent trips to Michael’s so to the wall they went.
I found the ‘Family is Laughter’ sign at Target last year and it’s been one of my favorites since I brought it home. It adds a nice industrial touch to the space and ties in well with the ‘hello’ sign. The Family Tree frame is made by Umbra and I found it at Indigo, you can switch out the pictures whenever you want and right now it house some Insta photo’s that I printed off. The Home Sweet Home print came from a recent trip to HomeSense & lastly, the steel arrow was found at WalMart – let me tell you, they’ve really stepped up their home decor game & I’m loving it! If you haven’t already noticed I LOVE ARROWS. Oh sorry, got a little excited there!
Our gallery wall now feels more welcoming and family focused without feeling too overwhelming and in your face. The pops of color really brighten the space up and I love that it doesn’t look so uniform. Our lives can be so chaotic some days & the formation of the pictures on the wall reflect that a bit. A little bit of crazy and a little bit of love all rolled into one!
Are you a fan of gallery walls? What are some of your favorite prints to hang?