Monday, August 8, 2011

Stairway to Frames

Do you remember this post of yesteryear? It unveiled the painting transformation of our grandeous entryway and included these two photos of our barey-bare-bare staircase.



Well, I'm pleased to inform you that this staircase got its groove on.



I tackled the wall while Justin was frolicking in Australia for six weeks and aside from the missing artwork, we absolutely love it.




A few years ago I started slowly accumulating frames from thrift stores and garage sales after falling in love with framed galleries, especially in a stairway. (Cue these images from past posts.)

From this post.

From this post.

From this post.

However, after taking inventory of my stash recently, I realized I didn't like 1/2 of the frames I had been hoarding  (see a prelim arrangement from a year ago here). With that frustration and my intense desire to have this project done (and to get oodles of frames out of a guest closet), I took to my computer and started messing around with several arrangements. Strict grid? All one size? Mix of two sizes? Different colors? Various sizes and colors? I tried them all.

When it came down to it, I preferred the Tetris nature of the varied frame sizes and knew using all white frames would unify the arrangement. In my quest to find the most affordable frames, I checked out Target, Walmart, Ikea, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and I think even Kohls, but Ikea was the victor because of price and size selection.

Before I dove right in hammering holes in the wall, I copied this approach and taped up paper "frames" to perfect my spacing. Then I measured where the hanger was on the back of each frame and tapped a nail through that spot on the paper template. Last, I tore the nailed paper frame off the wall and replaced it with the real deal. Pretty sweet, don't you think?


I already have tons of DIY art ideas for the frames (thank you pintrest) but am lucky enough to start out with this beautiful photo of Chicago by Dan Dry...


and this large typographic piece I created my sophomore year of college.


One of the best aspects about this project is the transformative power it had in our front entry. Now whenever a newbie enters our house a wow is generally uttered—even from the cable guy.

3 comments:

  1. I love this! I actually am wanting to do the same with EMPTY frames (no glass ... just the frame) on my walls. Definitely thrifting those though. Looks fabulous!

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  2. I LOVE this. Will there be an update when more art is on display?

    ReplyDelete

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