Custom Photo Wall

Over the years I've seen umpteen examples of photo walls leading up staircases which always catch my eye. I'm not sure if it was the thought of purchasing multiple picture frames, or just not having a clear idea of what I wanted to frame, but I hadn't  been motivated to do this myself until recently.

While perusing Pinterest I recently saw the post-gone-viral about custom whimsical frames and I was officially inspired to create my photo wall. I had also recently seen a post about doing a family tree of photos so I had my theme - a family tree of wedding photos.

My first stop was Michaels to purchase the unfinished wooden plaques that would act as my frames. They have a good variety of shapes and sizes ranging from $1 - $3. I also picked up some Mod Podge (satin finish), hangers for the plaques, and black & white spray paint.

For the photographs I printed out pictures on photo paper at home. Since I was doing photos from years past, and because our walls are brown, I decided to go with a sepia tone finish.

(Note: The photo is not adhered to the plaque at this stage.
I simply taped it on to get a feel for the look)

I wanted to create a custom, vintagey feel so I first sprayed the plaques black with a couple coats of spray paint. Once they were dry to the touch (about 30 minutes) I used a bar of wax to coat the corners and edges of the frames. Then I sprayed them white with a couple more coats. After the white paint dried completely I took a swatch of sandpaper and gently sanded over the edges where I used the wax. This helped the white paint come off easily and created the distressed look I was going for.

I then mod podged my photos onto the plaques and adhered the wall mounts to the backs.

Then it was time for mounting these suckers on the wall. I think I was most intimidated by this step of the process. I already don't love putting holes in my walls, but the thought of 11 different frames with a specific layout in mind was a little scary. I started by laying my plaques out on the counter in my desired pattern. I then took a picture so when I hung them I could reference it easily.

Then my genius husband suggested I make cutouts of the plaques on paper so I could play with my layout on the wall before putting holes everywhere.  I'm so glad I did this step because it took a little tweaking to get it exactly how I wanted it.

And once I had the paper where I wanted it, it was as simple as 1-2-3 and my pictures were nailed, hung and mounted.

And I'm happy to say I finally have the photo wall I've been relishing in my own home!

Kitchen Cabinet Fix: Beadboard

Let me start by saying I love my home. It is a perfect place for our family and I adore it. This doesn't mean I love exactly how it came, however. There's always room for a little tweaking, right?

Specifically, I'm referring to my kitchen cabinets. They are probably my least favorite thing about our house. With that being said, new cabinets aren't quite in the budget at this time. So I've constantly been thinking about ways to repaint them, or things I could do to distract from them. Being that they are practically laminate (ugh), I decided paint was out of the question.

So my recent solution was to remove some cabinet doors and create an open shelf concept to help break up the blah look of the cabinetry.

~ Before ~

To give the open shelving a little pizzaz I decided to add beadboard behind the shelves. I think this look adds texture and dimension, and it's oh-so-easy & cheap (two of my favorite things)!

A sheet of beadboard costs $20 at Home Depot and they will cut it to size for you. (Note: Be sure you are very thorough with your measurements) And it comes primed & ready for painting - bonus!

After sticking the beadboard in the cabinet just to make sure it fit, I spray painted it black. Now this is where customizing your home can be fun, yet sometimes scary. My advice is go bold and choose colors that wow you.

I was initially deciding between green & brown. It was my mom who encouraged me to go bold with black. And boy am I happy I did (thanks mom). It really makes my white dishes pop and gives a dramatic focal point in the kitchen - which I desperately needed!

~ After ~

For under $30 and a couple of hours I tweaked a corner of my home that left much to be desired, into a space that I absolutely love. Now who can complain about that?!

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting A Charmed Space. We hope to inspire you to add a little charm to your surroundings with simple, yet sophisticated, modifications to existing spaces your home.