Inspiration > Decor

Picture This

Posted by:

Picture This - Feature Image

Sometimes the easiest DIY projects are the ones that take the longest.

After my husband, David, and I got our wedding pictures back, we had to decide which ones we wanted to frame and hang in our house. The plan was to put them on the wall by the staircase, which is where we had hung our photo frame guest “book” (which we had opted to do in lieu of a traditional guestbook).

The problem was that we had 900+ photos to choose from, and we needed about six.

Sometime shortly after our one-year anniversary, David looked at the almost-blank wall, where our photo frame guest book hung sadly by itself, and declared that it was time to add some photos to the wall.

I should mention that I’m generally the decorator of the house. I had thought of the idea of the photo frame wall. I’m also the procrastinator, though, and apparently my procrastination had overcome even David’s indifference to household décor.

When we finally sat down to pick some photos, it really didn’t take that long. There were plenty that we ruled out right away, and after a little more cutting, we narrowed it down to about 12. Later that day, we looked again and cut out a few more. Done. Time to buy some frames.

We picked up some coordinating frames in different sizes. We wanted them to go well together but didn’t want them to match perfectly, so we chose frames that were all black but in slightly different styles. We ordered the photos to be printed and set about to hang the arrangement on the wall.

We quickly learned that one person shifting six frames across a large wall while the other stood back and gave directions like “Move that one a little to the left” and “Move that one way up” was not going to work. So we found an easier way. We traced each frame on a piece of old newspaper, cut it out, and taped it to the wall. It was much easier to shift the newspapers around until we found an arrangement we liked.

Once we were satisfied with the layout, we picked up the photos and framed them. It only took a few minutes to add some small nails to the wall (fortunately our local hardware store let us purchase 10 or so rather than the standard pack of 100) and hang the frames.

We stood back and admired our handiwork. (We also lamented the fact that the intake register was inconveniently located about the photo display, but we knew there wasn’t much we could do about it.) Then we laughed at ourselves for taking such a long time to do what was really a simple project that added a lot to our home.

We love having the pictures on the wall. I look at them and smile almost every time I walk up the stairs. Visitors comment on them and ask questions, and we get to laugh about memories from our wedding that were triggered by a glance at the photos. I only wish we’d put them up sooner.

So, if you have a project you’ve been putting off, get started today. Select some pictures. Pick up the hammer. Buy that can of paint. Whatever the first step is, take it. You’ll be glad you did.

Send to Kindle

Liz Lichtenberger
More about Liz Lichtenberger

Liz Lichtenberger is an assistant editor at NRHA. When she’s not writing about what’s going on in the hardware industry, she enjoys doing DIY projects around the condo where she and her husband live, trying to decide what paint color to try next, swimming, and cheering on her two favorite college teams: the Kentucky Wildcats and the Xavier Musketeers.

Read more posts by Liz Lichtenberger


Read more from: Inspiration > Decor

Back to top

5 responses to “Picture This”

  1. Kayley Wagner says:

    Smart idea about using newspaper to determine where to place the frames. I put three holes in my wall when I hung my last picture frame.

    …not so smart. x_X

  2. Alice says:

    Thanks for posting this wonderful post. Keep writing.

  3. Klais Last says:

    I remember doing a slideshow and clipart just to decorate very nicely. But it was hard to find good templates for this case and especially needed a book clipart. Fortunately, I was told later that https://masterbundles.com/book-clipart-for-you/ has several sets of such book cliparts and you can easily take them for your own composition. I hope that will be useful to many people. Good luck.

  4. MelDorn says:

    I also choose for a long time the photo that I want to put in a frame. I have a strict professional eye as a photographer and find fault with even the smallest details of my photos. To save myself from this torment of choice, I sometimes use stock photos. You can even find grinch images there. I recommend it for everyone who is involved in creating content. This will save you time.

  5. maksromanov says:

    Thank you for sharing! Your post is a treasure trove of photo display ideas for family pictures via the link. The creativity is inspiring, and I can’t wait to transform our cherished memories into captivating displays. Your ideas have added a special touch to our family’s visual story – much appreciated

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Current month ye@r day *