wishful wednesdays {photo wall}

One thing this Lazy Lady does best is fantasize about the future.  I'm not very good at living "in the now," I'm always thinking about the next recipe we should make, or couch we should buy, or city we'll live in, or job I could have, and where we'll be in 1, 3, 5, or 15 years.  It's not really the healthy way to live, buuuut sometimes I come up with some really great futures. . . 

A family photo wall is something I think every home should have.  There are so many different ways to style it and organize it.  There is a way to make it fit with any homes decor.  Back at my parents house we had one in the hallway leading to the bedrooms.  There were new pictures, pictures of everyone as kids, a wedding photo and a few objects hanging on the wall.  I loved it, and always recreated some version of it in any apartment I've lived in.  It's such a simple idea, just a collection of images hung in a group.  It makes a room more personal, not so much like a catalog, void of anything truly human.

There is so much you can do with a group of photos or art on paper.  There are so many variables, from size, to color, placement, old frames, new frames, etc. etc.  There are sooo many options that I've had a hard time putting this all together.  I compiled a bunch of photos I found interesting and there are so many categories it's hard to know where to begin, so I think I just dive right in.

source

One way to go is uniform.  Here they put together a block of the same exact frame, cut the photos down to size (I'm assuming these photos didn't all start as squares, but I could be wrong).  It makes all of these different photos one solid statement. You look at the wall as one piece instead of seeing many separate pieces.

source

Here is another way to create a uniform look.  Black frames are pretty common, they are the easiest to find and you see them in everyone's house.  So choosing something just a bit different like thick white frames still creates a cohesive look without having to all be the same size and shape.  It's also very clean looking I might add.

source

This is what I was talking about before.  All black frames is a common way to style a photo wall.  I have always been drawn to this picture though.  I love the tiffany blue paint that matches the rug, chairs, and stools, and that other than the very few temporary hints of light pink the blue is the only color in the room.  It is very elegant.

source

I like how these frames seem to fit together like puzzle pieces, and that not every photo needs it's own frame.  Taking pictures is so different now.  You don't need to print out hard copies of every photo to see what you shot.  It's all digital, and if you do decide to print them out you can do it in any format you'd like.  But every picture from my childhood to high school is the standard 3X5, and you can't go sticking every tiny photo in it's own little frame, that looks much too cluttered.  These frames with multiple holes cut out in the mat are perfect.

Or you can do something a little more unexpected . . . 

source

I love this! It looks like it'd be a ton of work, but it's so worth it.  Just sitting there propped up against the wall it makes a beautiful piece of art.  It's a huge statement piece, if I had a space that would allow for something that massive without looking over-bearing I would go for it.  I also love how the repeated  rectangles of the photos mimics the bricks on the connecting wall.  It's so fun! And such a wonderful way to finally use all those old photos, instead of keeping them in a shoe box in a drawer at your parents house (or maybe that's just me).

source

Drastic differences in size is a great way to change it up a little.  This large format photo becomes the focal point of the hallway/staircase.  It catches your attention right away, and I love that these people chose a slightly unusual photo to blow up.  It's not your typical Family Portrait, and once you're done wondering what's going on in that photo you're able to shift your attention to the other smaller pictures surrounding it.

source

And speaking about stairwells, they are a perfect place to hang your photo wall.  Whether you use the wall to your side  . . . 

source

Or the stairs themselves

source

You don't always have to hang the photos either.  Picture shelves are becoming increasingly popular. 

source

source

I like that you can layer the frames on the picture shelves, and it makes it much easier to add objects into the mix, not just photos.  I also think it's fun that using the shelves makes it a little more acceptable to place some of the frames on the floor.

Alright I've rambled on enough for one post.  I still have more to say, and more photos to share (including my own photo wall), but that will all have to wait to tomorrow.

Talk to you soon!!