Labour and Wait is a British store that offers a collection of homegoods that are vintage in styling, but still modern and fresh. I am in love not only with their name (what Mom wouldn't appreciate the clever moniker?!), but with their kitchen products, especially.
Simply lovely.
So one of the many reasons I'm passionate about photography is that I think it has the ability to provide each home with singularly personal wall adornment.
But seeing the emptiness and utter directional wasteland that a wall can be sometimes causes people get stuck (myself included). So whenever I find a display of photos that I like, I try to think of how I can recreate that in my own home. My photo ledges are my most recent attempt at this. And I have a few other blank walls just crying out for something like the following ideas:
If you're going to choose smaller images (5x7's, 4x6's, etc.), the BEST thing you can do is MAT THEM!! A simple white mat with a plain black frame can turn even the smallest photos into a stunning collection.
For a simple, unified look, choose square frames and then mat your smaller pictures inside these. Notice that the photos are different sizes, but by keeping the frame the same size,you create symmetry. Instant gallery look.
On the other hand, the trend right now is towards LACK of symmetry and mixing up your frames. So don't be afraid to put metal frames with wood, mats with no mats, brown with white, etc. And the old rule about trying to keep all the photos at eye level? Forget that too!! You're going for visual impact here, so go ahead and carry those photos right down to the floor if you like!
Colored frames are also super hot right now, especially against a white wall.
Or go completely frameless! One of my very favorite things right now are gallery wrapped canvases. You can see that the photo wraps right around the edges of these so you can hang them directly on the wall and they look very fresh and modern. Most portrait photographers offer them (including me!), and they're a great way to get ready to hang artwork for your home. I'm planning on recreating this look in my bedroom with all black & white pictures of the kids.
And this is the inspiration I'll be using for my hallway gallery. I love the incorporation of kids artwork (which you could change out each month or so) and the idea of using wrapping paper (or scrapbook paper) as the matting material. A great way to add color and visual interest to your gallery.
Of course, I still love ledges, so here's another idea for those. Though silver frames don't really jive with the interior space I've created in my own home, I love the look of all silver frames with white mats. I think they look especially lovely under lights - they add a bit of sparkle and "bling" to a room. I would probably choose to mix up the order of the frames (I'm not a big fan of matchy matchy or obvious order), but I love the collection of different sizes and the look of all black & white photos with the silver frames.
I'll continue to post photo display ideas as I find them. I'm super passionate about decorating a home with photos - it doesn't make much sense to take a ton of pictures just for them to stay locked away in a photo box or, worse, never printed to begin with and just eating up space on your hard drive. Get those photos printed! Get them up on your walls! Make your home a tribute to the people and places you love.
I think I've found it. I think I've found my dream house!! (Click on the images to make them larger and really appreciate this beautiful home!)
Look, honey -- it even has a full basement for your man-cave!!
I love everything about this house - old bones/new finishes, all the moldings, all the detail, the wainscoting, the floors (oh my GOD, the floors!!), the fixtures, the rough finishes (I absolutely adore exposed brick!), the 5 panel doors...
Absolute home perfection. I'm in love. Pack up, honey - we're moving to Jersey!
I recently installed these shelves from Ikea in my living room:
Right now they're a little more cluttered than I would like, but I'm not quite sure what I want to edit out. I love all the pictures and really wanted a mix of pictures, albums, etc.
But these shelves are SO versatile, I'm also thinking of going BACK to Ikea to get more so I can do something like this in the kids' play area in the basement...:
...where I can change out the titles as the kids interests evolve.
So much inspiration, so little space.
I need more walls.
I've always had visions of myself becoming an entertainer.
At one point, had I been able to get over the whole "speaking in front of people causes me to have a nervous belly and not be more than 50 feet from a restroom" thing, I really would have loved to have been on Saturday Night Live.
Unfortunately, I'm still not over that belly/bathroom thing, so I'm relatively certain that National television shows are not in my future.
However, I can still be an ENTERTAINER. Or rather, I can entertain people here in my own home. I enjoy cooking, I love having close friends over...so what's stopping me?
Two words - CHIPPED DISHES.
I know, lame excuse. But seriously, would you want to serve meals to your nearest and dearest on these dishes??
I don't - they're embarrassing.
But today I opened the door to my new hostess-with-the-mostess lifestyle; I bought new dishes!! And they're so pretty...
I got these bowls and salad plates...
...and these dinner plates...
...and this serving platter (can you tell I don't like matchy-matchy?!)
I went into Pier One with the intention of just buying plain white plates, but these were so lovely and matched my dining room/kitchen so well that I caved. Oh well. Got them just in time for Easter so my mom will be our first "guest" to share our new dinnerware with us!
Now, on to scheduling that first dinner party...who wants to come over?!
I love our house at Christmas time - it's one of the few times that I feel like our house really seems cozy and homey. I'm a bit of an indecisive decorator most of the year, but come Christmas, I really get into it with lots of little touches throughout the house. This year I didn't do as much as usual, but here's a bit of our holiday cheer:
Merry Christmas, everyone!!
