Home Swoon Home: How to Hang a Picture Wall

Last week, I blogged about my living room transformation.  One of my favorite parts of the "afters" is my picture wall over the couch.  It's a wonderful way to make sure all of your most treasured photos are on display in your home.  All it takes is some careful planning and a bit of patience.  Here is my grouping:




What you'll need:

* photos, frames, large sheets of craft paper or newspaper, painters tape, tape measure, pen, hammer & nails

What you do:

1- select the photos that you will hang.  I liked the way an all black and white wall looked.  I gathered up wedding photos, pictures of my kids, pictures of my family, etc.  Make sure to choose several different sizes.

2- get your frames.  I wanted everything to be uniform, so I chose black frames with white mats.  This simplified the arrangement and made it seem very balanced.  (check Target, WalMart, Michaels, West Elm, Home Goods, Marshalls and Pottery Barn for great black frames!)  Place all of your photos in your frames. Now comes the part where patience comes into play.

3- Clear a big open space and arrange the artwork on the floor.  Take your time.  Play around with it.  A good rule of thumb is to have about 1 inch in between pictures.

4- Once you have your arrangement, take your frames (one by one so you don't forget your arrangement!) and trace them onto your large paper.  I used the big roll of white art paper that Ikea sells.  Write a quick description of which picture that piece of paper is for.

5- Measure where exactly the frame hangers are located and place these on your paper with a small circle.  This will take awhile.  But trust me: it will be worth it in the end!

6- Use your painters tape to place each paper "frame" on the wall, just as you had it arranged on the floor.  Again, you may need to play around with this when it is on the wall.

7-  Once you are happy with the arrangement, grab your hammer and nails and put them through the paper, where you have already marked with circles in step 5 above.

8- Once your nails are in the wall, remove your paper template and hang its frame in its place.  Use your level to make sure everything is perfectly even.

Voila!  A gallery-like arrangement in your own home.

Need any help with decorating? We'd love to help!

See you swoon,


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