Wednesday, September 11, 2013

[ finally - my gallery wall! ]

I KNOW, I've been talking about putting up a gallery wall for what, about 2 years now? Seriously, this has been the longest project I've ever had kicking around. But I FINALLY got everything hung up!

I decided to stick to a beach/swimming theme and have had fun sourcing out some great pieces on our travels and online. I used mostly white IKEA frames to frame everything up which was the most time-consuming part. Originally I had planned to run this along our long dining room wall in the apartment but now that we've moved, I split it up into 2 groupings ~ one over the sofa and the other over the 2 slipcovered chairs.

First, I planned it out on the floor, moving pieces around until they seemed to fit together...


Thank goodness for these for our concrete walls {I should buy shares in 3M!}...


I measured the centre of the grouping and measured the area above the sofa to find a starting point. I decided that the bottom of the grouping would be about 6 inches above the sofa. Then I started from the  centre bottom and worked my way out from there...


I used a tiny level to keep everything straight and used the top and bottom edges to make aligning quick and easy, filling in as I went along...


Soon the first wall was done!



For the second grouping, I decided to incorporate my beach photo I had enlarged onto canvas a while back and fill in with other smaller pieces, including the wooden Malaysian sandals I bought on our trip to Langkawi a couple years ago...


I purchased one of the deep shadow box style frames from IKEA but discovered a slight problem...


The depth of the frame was not deep enough to fit the sandals behind the glass. Hmm... what to do? Well, I decided that I would simply remove the glass, paint the backing board and screw the sandals onto the board from behind. Time to get painting...


A few coats of paint later and I think it worked out just fine...


I followed the same routine to get the second grouping up above the chairs. I love that the sandals add a bit of an unexpected element to the grouping...


All in all, I'm really pleased with how my gallery has turned out. It took forever to get there but it's a great mix of both happy memories and fun finds.


Have you tackled a gallery wall in your home?

lisa

9 comments:

Leanne said...

Looks great! You're so crafty ;) ...I still haven't hung most of my art (7yrs)...oy...time to get brave like you! I think I'll use the command hooks too actually. xo

Travel With Lulu said...

Looks amazing! I love those sandals too :)

Pinecone Camp said...

I love it! Where were you when I hammered 100 holes in my wall, as I didn't first lay it all out, like you cleverly did? ;)

Formerly known as Frau said...

Omg I love it! It turned out perfect!! I hope your place is feeling more like home! Happy Weekend!

PS we are going to Pittsburgh next weekend to see Katelyn and go to Ikea...I'm excited to see her but over the moon excited for Ikea!!!

Anonymous said...

What a lovely post and thank you for sharing! I'm through Dubai at times with my work and what inspiration you have a lllll around you! The place oozes in wonder! Keep at the great ideas!

Barbara Matson said...

I love how it turned out!

Meeling said...

Looks great! I have a few pictures "saved" up for a future wall, but still don't have quite the look that I'm going for. I keep scouring flea markets and such and know that one of these days I will come across the right finishing pieces. Wonderful job!

Carolyn@Sweet Chaos Home said...

Fabulous!! Definitely worth the wait :) I'm helping a friend collect items for her gallery wall. It's not a quick process if you really want items that have meaning. Your sandals are great!

Anne-Marie @ 10 Rooms said...

beautiful! Love the arrangement you went with, very energetic, and of course, love seeing the lake muskoka sign included!

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