This is My Gallery Wall

"Gallery Wall" is another one of those terms that I had never heard of, much less said out loud, before I became an avid reader of all the fantastic interior decorating blogs out there.  You can't throw a rock on the interwebs without hitting a blog post about gallery walls.  Now it's my turn!!   That's the beginning of mine and I love it.  

I'm one of the few people who isn't crazy about family pictures on every surface of counter top or wall space.  I don't know why, it makes me happy in other people's houses, I just don't love it in my house.  But I still want to enjoy (and show off!) photos of my family in a really pretty way, and what better way to kill all that blank space above the stairs.  I also think that so many of those meaningful photos or keepsakes that don't merit a mantel spot and usually get stuck in a drawer, can be really cool when mingled with other unique pictures and art.  Know what I mean?  Here is the very first example that struck me in a magazine long ago and inspired me to kick start my gallery wall:

I just love that!  And it reminds me I need to incorporate some more colored mats into mine.  I want to keep mine mostly black and white but the little pops of color interspersed make me pretty happy. Oh, and most people create a template for theirs before they start, but I add one and a time and plan to just keep mine random. Okay, let's talk about mine for one more second.

Our starting point was the wedding photo I had blown up and put on canvas last year for our 11th anniversary (wow).  I added a few photos of Baylor and my family, but I also love the other little randoms.  The newest addition is on the bottom right.  My Mother in Law brought a postcard that my husband received from the author Willie Morris when he was 8 years old.  There's an artist's rendering of the museum where we got married, a drawing by my sister of us and our first dog, and a caricature of me dancing when I was a child.  Fun memories!  I have a few other things in the works, but enough about me...here is some inspiration for your new gallery wall that can go anywhere.

Most of these are just groupings of art, which is a gorgeous concept too!  I like to mix it up for mine, but fully intend to copy one of my favorite examples from the blogosphere in my husband's office.  This is Lauren Leiss' entryway in her home and it is much loved and talked about by designers, bloggers, and was prominently featured in Better Homes & Gardens.  She pulled all of these from the book Leonardo's Notebooks and framed them similarly for this gorgeous effect.

Photo from Better Homes and Gardens via Pure Style Home

Baylor says....

"Let's go Target Daddy!!" 

Hope you all have a very merry President's Day and that the one who takes you special places is off of work and taking you there today!