Do you ever flip through a magazine and see pictures of living rooms that have the most perfect arrangement of picture frames above the sofa or following the line of the staircase and wonder how do they make it look so symmetrical or how they perfected the random collage look? I am going to show you how to do it without putting a thousand nail holes in your wall. The process might be a tad-bit time consuming but I promise you will be happy with the results the first time and your husband will be happy that he does not have to patch the million holes you put in your walls.
Step #1:
Buy picture frames! You should buy picture frames that are proportional to the wall that they are going to be hung on. Also, consider the pictures that you are going to want to put in the frames. Picture frames can be quite pricey, so I always look for good sales. I bought the frames I used at Kohls. They were 50% off! Woohoo!! You may also try looking for frames at Marshalls, Ross and Hobby Lobby. All of these stores always have good deals.
You may also be interested in Pottery Barn's Frame Riser. These are designed to stand your frames 4" off the wall. This can create a lot of dimension on your wall and make a really cool statement. The Frame Risers are $16 each and can be purchased in stores or online at www.potterybarn.com.
Step #2:
Once you get home, kick off your shoes and put on comfy clothes. You are going to be on the floor a lot! Clear off a large section of your floor (same size as the wall space you are going to be hanging on) and start playing with different arrangements. Don't forget that most frames can be hung horizontally and vertically.
Step #3:
After you have decided on a layout that you love, take a picture of the arrangement because you will need something to reference for this step. For this step you will need paper taped together to be the size of the space that you will be hanging on. You can use butcher paper, poster boards taped together or in my case I used 24x36 scratch paper that I had in the trunk of my car. You are more than likely going to have to tape the papers together to get a size large enough.
Step #4:
After you have made your paper template, refer back to the picture that you took and layout the frames on top of the paper. If you want a more symmetrical look you may want to whip out the handy-dandy ruler or if you want the random collage look you can eye-ball it to your liking.
Step #5:
Once you have your frames in the layout that you want on the paper, you need to trace the frames on the paper using a pencil. (You will more than likely mess up. I did several times)
Step #6:
After all of the frames are traced on the paper, move the frames to the side. Now the fun part! You will need to measure exactly where the hole on the back of the frame is and then mark the hole on the paper. Your paper should start looking like this...
Step #7:
You are almost done!! After you have all of the holes measured and marked on the paper you need to tape the paper on the wall where you are going to be hanging. Be sure that the middle of the collage is around eye level which ranges from 5'-4"-5'-6".
Step #8:
Grab your hammer girlfriend, it's time to start nailing! Be sure to use proper hanging materials for the weight of your frames. Typically 1-2 nails will do the trick. After you have nailed all of the nails in your marked places you can carefully tear down the paper, leaving the nails in place.
Step #9:
Finally!! You can start hanging the frames. You may have to refer back to the picture that you took in step #4. When you are done, your wall might look something like this...
Ta-Da!!! Perfection! You now have the gallery wall that you have always wanted!
Challenge yourself this weekend to tackle one of those empty walls in your house that haunts you every time you walk by it. This is a great way to feature family photos or art prints. Go ahead and mix the two. Have fun!!
Be sure to send me pictures of your gallery wall and I will post them for all to see.
-Hannah
