Hallway Gallery Wall *Reveal*

We have a 20-foot hallway in our home, and it's pretty narrow! A few months ago we put up board + batten, and that gave it way more character. But it was missing something . . . FRAMES

Here is the hallway before:

It's not bad, right? I could've left it blank or painted a bold color, but I wanted to walk by it every day and have a connection to the wall (now it's sounding weird, haha!)

Frame It Easy is my go-to framing company because they're reliable, friendly, and create amazing frames that actually last. I can't tell you how many times I've bought a frame and had it break on me months later. I've had Frame It Easy frames for more than a year and they still look just like the day I got them! (I know that's sounds like an ad, but even if we weren't working together on this project, I'd still go for them and their frames.)

I taped off the wall and planned out sizes before ordering the frames. Eleven of them arrived and it took a few days to plan and fill the frames before we put a nail in the wall. 

TIP: Plan WAY more than you think when it comes to a gallery wall. Tape off your ideas, use a design program, even plan the photos and artwork before you hang the frames. 

                

Instead of filling every frame with a photo, I used textures, patterns, old travel mementos, and memories we had. It felt WAY more fun and meaningful to use special items (and it adds some balance to your home so every room isn't a giant family scrapbook album)

Here are some items I laid out to fill the frames: stamps, viewfinder cards, fabric, a black-and-gold gift bag from Target, and other pieces:

When they were ready to go, I got some help from a friend :) 

Are you ready? Finally at the bottom of this blog post? Here are the finished frames in the hallway. Ours is the Derby frame in Wheat color: 

They're hung in a sort of diamond pattern, with the frames peaking at the top and then going back down. I saw this idea on Pinterest. If I had a few more frames I could reallllly fill this wall, but for now I love it as is—not too "boring" but not too busy!

Do you know what movie this quote is from below? We watched this movie when we were dating, and at the end of the movie we had our first kiss in my little apartment on the couch. 

This gold leaf pattern is from the gift bag I got from Target! You can use almost anything to fill frames. In our hallway gallery wall we also have a ticket from The MET from our 2019 vacation to NYC, some art I made with a sponge and paint, a few photos of us and our baby, a Disneyland viewfinder card, and more. 

             

Let me know what you think! Do you have a gallery wall in your home?