Hey Strangers,
I apologize for my spotty blog presence these last few months. I know you’ve been just crying into your pillows over it nightly. Haha. The reason I’ve been MIA is that I’ve been a busy little bee crazily reorganizing every room in our house. It all starts when you redo one room. Suddenly this one room looks great, but then you realize, oh crap, the rest of the house looks like complete shit! Our home improvement projects began when we purchased this gorgeous teal couch.
So, of course all of our red, tan and brown had to go. At least that is what my mother-in-law told me. She has the best taste and a talent for home decor, while I’m fond of funny posters and being lazy. If it wasn’t for her we’d probably still have all our college furniture, so when she gives advice, I listen.
We repainted, and after lots of time online, I found us a new rug, coffee table and throw pillows that really brought the room together, whatever the hell that means. Now I was left with this big empty wall surrounding our ugly television. I’d been wanting to create a gallery wall for years, but always chickened out before hammering the first nail. It was time to grow a pair!
Here’s how I did it:
1. Find art or photos that mean something to you, gather them together and start arranging them on the floor the way you’d like them on the wall. I had a large wall and used fourteen different pieces, a mix of family photos and art pieces.
2. Once you have it the way you think you want it, grab some contact or construction paper. Trace each piece with a pencil and then cut them out.
3. Put tape on the back of each piece of paper and place on the wall. This is the part that takes awhile. I found that I kept putting them up, standing back to look, adjusting, standing back to look, adjusting, etc. The above picture was my last of probably around 15-20 adjustments.
4. Once you have the papers taped and arranged on the wall, you’re ready to start hanging the pieces. Hang them directly over each piece of paper, using a level and measuring tape to measure where the nail should go. After it’s been hung you can just gently pull the piece of paper out from under the piece. I really liked using these picture hangers that I found at Michaels. Don’t forget to look for a 40-50% off a single item coupons they have pretty much daily.
5. Step back and admire your new hard-won gallery wall. Great job!
Looks great! A very modern version of what your Mom has.