wall of memories

The hallway in the house I grew up in was always filled with pictures.  Family pictures that were taken for the church directory.  Pictures from vacations.  Pictures from weddings.  Pictures from the cabin.  Pictures of memories.  I loved that hallway.  Being a rather nostalgic person, I would often pause as I walked to and from my bedroom to look at the those pictures and would then carry those memories with me throughout the day.  

As I’ve mentioned before, we have a lot of windows in our little house and very little wall space.  So, while I’ve always loved the idea of filling our house with photo memories, it’s easier said than done due to the lack of wall space.  Over the past few months, though, I started looking at our staircase and realizing that there was perhaps some wall-space potential there that I had been missing.  Because, while I love the idea of a hall/stairway filled with pictures, I also love the simplicity that comes with clutter-free walls.  Our stairway has two walls that can only be seen when you are on the stairs, and so it was decided that these would become the designated pictures walls!

A project soon commenced.  Photos were selected and printed and a frame search began.  I love finding old frames at thrift stores and then spray painting them all the same color to make an eclectic collection.  The different frames add character, while the matching color unites them.  Not only does this make for a fun project, but it is rather economical as well.  I have a rule that I won’t buy a frame it if is over $3.00, and I usually try to get most of them for $2.00 or less.  I was able to buy 11 frames, two cans of spray paint, and print my pictures for $25-30.  That’s not bad at all, if you ask me! 

We left room in the collage to later add other pictures as we make more memories.  I’m so excited to watch these walls fill up with images of our lives and the things that make us who we are.