Gallery Wall: Updated!

The past couple weeks I've been inspired to change up the gallery wall. I felt like it was lacking something, and I knew it could be put together a little more beautifully.

I don't really have a good straight-on view, but here is what it looked like before (click here to see the full living room post):

Since this photo, I had filled in the two missing frames with prints, but it still felt a little boring and one-dimensional. My goals for sprucing up the wall were:

+ add larger frames

+ add in photos from France

+ make the whole look a little more cohesive

+ fill up the whole wall space, instead of centering it in the middle

+ fit the frames together in a more dynamic way so it looks more like a puzzle instead of a grid

Well, here is the after!

I think I achieved most of my goals, and I'm pretty excited about it! I've thought about adding a little more to the top and bottom to completely fill out the wall, but I might think about it for a while before doing so. I love that I added larger frames with mattes. I think that it makes it more "gallery-like" and really showcases those photos and prints. All of the frames are from Target, Homegoods/TJ Maxx, and Ross. And I think the large black one might be from Walmart. I had that frame in college and just found it again and repurposed it.

And now for the deets!

I found the "What I love" print on The Small Things Blog in Kate's post about her own gallery wall last summer. It was a free printable via Eighteen25, and there are multiple color options. The frames next to it are photos me and my siblings at my wedding, and a photo of my family in South Carolina for my Grandpa's 80th birthday last fall.

The center large print is a photo that Michael took last time we were at Lake Norman with his family. He is so good at doing shots with the sun - sunlight, shadows, sunsets, etc. The print on the right that says, "Carry me back to Old Virginny," is a print I found on Etsy, via the shop 1canoe2. I grew up in Virginia and went to college in that state, and I miss it a lot. I knew this print was perfect when I saw it. Above that is a photo of Michael and me a couple of days before we got married.

The large customized "B" print was actually found on Plum District last summer (kind of like Groupon). It was for a shop called Kelly Hughes Designs that does customizable prints. I had wanted something like that for my gallery wall, kind of to state that this is our house, and thought a large red "B" was perfect. To the right of that in the large black frame is my recent work of art! I made this last week when I was inspired by Annie to do something with my Instagram photos. I found out that Walgreens does square prints right from your Instagram account on their app. So awesome. I downloaded the app, linked it up with my Instagram, picked the prints I wanted, and then ordered them. I was able to pick them up an hour later and work on my project right away. These prints are the 4x4 size, but they also sell 8x8. I'm in love with how it turned out! I can also switch out the pictures to update it whenever I want, which I'm sure I'll be doing in the future.

To the right of the insta collage sit two more black and white prints. These are both from my trip to France and to me, they truly look like art. The left is obviously from Paris, and the right was taken in Cannes. I think the large black and white prints add so much interest to the gallery and make it seem well thought out and put together instead of just a bunch of home photos thrown together in frames. I am so happy with the way these turned out!

And here is what it looks like at night:

I'm so, so happy with the way this turned out and I'm glad I pushed myself to explore what other things I could do with this wall. I catch myself staring at it every time I walk by it in my house, I just love it that much! Gallery walls aren't that hard because there is literally no right or wrong way to do it. You just have to find out what kind of style you're going for, buy frames accordingly, and start hanging! (and try not the think about the amount of holes you're putting in the wall. that's what wall putty is for, right??)