DIY: Easy Gallery Wall

Recently I decided to switch our artwork over to white frames. It wasn't something I was planning to do immediately, but after I got these babies framed for the basement, it moved to the top of the list. The pictures just POPPED and I wanted the rest of our art to look like that. The biggest task was going to be the gallery wall, so decided to go whole hog and start there. At first I was going to hang everything the old fashioned way with nails and a lot of pencil scribbles, but then somebody changed my mind.

I have to give credit where credit is due. A couple of Facebook friends were raving about how much they loved the Command Strips designed for picture frames, and I was like, "You know what? I really don't feel like putting a bunch of new nail holes in the wall. Let's do this." I skedaddled over to Target and was actually surprised at how many options there were for these. I kind of expected them to be like the hooks, where it's the silver hook and the white hook, and those are your choices. But the frame strips come in three sizes--large, medium, and small--and you can buy them separately or spring for a value pack. Here's what I got:

I'll be honest with you, these are cheaper on Amazon, but I didn't feel like waiting the extra 48 hours for them to arrive. Target won't ask you to chop your arm off, but if you feel like saving a couple of bucks, maybe plan ahead a little better than I did.

Anyhoodle, before I put anything on the walls, I fiddled with the layout. This was originally going to be a straight-up frame switcheroo, but I ended up changing a few things and it was much easier to make adjustments on the dining room table. Once I was happy with the arrangement, I went frame-by-frame and hung them up.

With these strips you attach them to the back of the frame first, and then press the frame firmly into the wall for 30 seconds. I was a little worried about making everything level, but it's actually a lot easier to do when you're dealing with the actual frame instead of putting a nail into a pencil mark. If you're extra worried, grab a buddy to stand back and make sure things are lining up, but you probably won't need them. I did this alone on a whim while Hubsey was at work and it only took me about half an hour.

So where is this revamped cluster o' frames, exactly? It's in the kitchen:

Yay! Doesn't it look happy in there now? (It might seem a little off-center here, but that's because I'm standing to the side. It all lines up.)

This was one of those projects where I immediately forgot how the room looked before. Even when the wall was blank for a few days, my brain was like, "Brown picture frames, what?" Good thing I have photographic evidence hangin' around:

Bluuuuuuurg. It's just so dark. (And funny, if you look through the back door the sunroom is still there!) I don't think this was horrible, but lighter frames add some contrast. You know how I feel about things that are matchy-matchy.

Moving back to the after pictures, here's a view from the foyer. The artwork jumps so much in the white frames that even from another room it feels brighter in there.

Love it. Should've done it months ago when it first occurred to me.

Some of the frames are the old ones painted with leftover cabinet paint, and some are more of the Ribba collection from IKEA. For the remaining dark frames in the house, I think I'll just spray paint them since we're finally starting to thaw here. I'll give you an update when it's finished.

What have you been working on lately? Anybody else ever switched frame colors? Or used Command Strips for a gallery wall?