13 Jun Starting the Gallery Wall
It’s confession time….By far the most neglected spot in this apartment has been the long hallway down to the master bedroom. I have never known WHAT to do with it. Brace yourself for the changes over the years…
Pathetic. The best is how I went really wild in 2004 for a party and put dollhouse-sized votives down the shelves. 🙂 The truth is that every time I went to hang a frame or a series of art down the hallway it just looked weird to me from down at the other end. I guess anything would after staring at asylum walls for so long!
One idea that had come and gone over the years was to do a big gallery of assorted frames. I would see it in a magazine and have no idea how to achieve that random look without looking cluttered. When I stumbled upon THIS POST on Young House Love I thought, it’s time to give it a try! Using all white frames appealed to me. Maybe that way it wouldn’t be too distracting from the other end of the hallway.
I started a gathering mission. I wanted an assortment of sizes and styles so I hit up Salvation Army for some $2 and $3 frames that I could spray paint white, collected some at home and bought a few with good matting from Ikea. Yes, I fully realized there was no set plan. Luckily not so costly to begin the collection.
Next the newspaper templates. I cut out pieces to approximate the shapes of each of my frames. Can I just say I hate BS tasks like this? But I also know it is the *right* thing to do and will save me from superlatives later on when there are random holes in the wall.
I started in the center with my largest frame and built out from there. I turned some vertically and some horizontally trying to get that random feel.
Using painters tape allowed me to get them up, and then step back and rearrange. This happened often and over the course of a week or so. Example: Walking down the hallway on a random Tuesday night and thinking, yuck, why is that one THERE!? I recommend letting them marinate for a bit.
Hanging the frames…YHL’s post suggested nailing right into the newspaper – great advice. I measured how far down the nail should actually go to catch the wire/hook and hang at the right height. The newspaper was also nice because I could mark it with a pen, nail right into it and then rip off when done. (Sorry for the yellow night time pics!)
The cutouts would represent a generic 5×7 or 4×6, so there were still decisions to be made about which style frame was going where. Then the leveling…over and over.
Starting to take shape…
So here’s where I have left off. Still expanding but needing a little break. Figure after staring at a blank wall for so long I should ease myself in. Lordy, then I will still have to FILL all of these. It is all just scraps and ideas and this point! And how high & wide to go??? Wish me luck…
