Gallery Wall: DIY

I have always been intrigued with the idea of doing a Gallery Wall in my house.  You know, the grouping and hanging of somewhat random (or perhaps not so random) things on a wall in your home.  I was for whatever reason, a little intimidated by the idea.  I hang tons of stuff on my walls, but the idea of finding a bunch of things that would look good together seemed challenging.  Plus, when I looked at Pinterest for inspiration, I always felt like I could never do something as pretty or as professional looking as what I see on there.

But, I have this very large wall in my bedroom and it's been blank for over 2 months now.  And I REALLY don't like blank walls.  It's like the walls are calling to me saying "put something on me," "cover me up," "don't leave me bare."  And, since I can't afford a really large, nice, piece of art, I decided to go for it and put up a gallery wall in my bedroom.  Surprise! As it turns out, I can do it.  And, I'm pretty happy with it.  So I thought it would be good to tell you my tips for doing your own gallery wall because it's really not as challenging as it seems!

First things first, gather some materials.  I would recommend finding 15-20 different "things" that you  think you could hang on your walls.  Try to find different shapes and sizes.  Picture frames are great, but I also think it's fun to add a couple of pieces that aren't necessarily photos.  Don't be afraid to not have everything match, but try to have a certain color scheme or vibe that you are going for.  Our bedroom has predominately dark wood furniture as well as vintage white pieces and light blue/green bedding, so I gathered my items based on that.

About half of the items I used on this wall, I already had.  I just went rummaging around my apartment looking for things that I wasn't using that would work on this wall.  The other half, I found at stores like Home Goods, Pier 1, Target, and Anthropologie.  But, I didn't get them all in one day.  I find it's best to find things over time and that way you don't feel like you are breaking the bank either.  If you know you eventually want to put up a gallery wall in your home, start browsing the hanging home decor sections at some of these stores and pick up a piece here or there.  Eventually, you will have enough to put together a wall.  Also, if you are using photos, find some that also work with your color scheme which helps to bring it all together.

Once you have enough items, I suggest finding a spot you can lay out all your pieces in order to find the best arrangement.  I used our bed, mostly because if I tried to use the floor Ryan would have been ALL up in that.  I tried LOTS of different arrangements.  I probably spent at least an hour or more arranging and rearranging these items.  I took pictures of the designs I liked best so that I could go back to them for reference.  I had about 20 different items and I only used 17 on my wall, so I kept switching out different things for others.

Once you are happy with the layout (on the ground), first make sure you have a picture of it before you start hanging!  Then, I have seen a couple ways of hanging.  Some people suggest tracing paper the size of each piece and then taping that to your wall so you know where you are hanging things.  I'm sure that works great.  But honestly, ain't nobody got time for that!  Okay, maybe some people do, but I don't.  Or I don't have the patience to do that.  Either way, I'm more a just take a hammer and go with it girl.  My large canvas print was my focal point, (almost) centered piece, so I started with that and worked my way out referencing the photo I had taken of the arrangement the whole way.

I may or may not have ended up with a couple of extra nail holes in my wall by doing it this way, but you can't see them and I feel like 2 extra nail holes can be considered nothing short of success.  At least in my book!

I'm pretty thrilled with the outcome and it almost makes me wish that I had another large blank wall in my apartment so I could do another one!

Massachusetts Residents

So, we are officially Massachusetts residents now.  Weird.

First impressions of Worcester:

• SUPER green and lush
• Rains almost daily (even in summer)
• Cool
• Slower paced
• Friendly people

Ryan and I got here a week ago and Josh was ready and waiting for us at the Boston airport.  It was a long day of traveling, but Ryan did so well.  The most difficult part of our day was getting through the airport security.  I had decided to carry Ryan on me in the Ergo in order to have my hands free.  This ended up being a good idea.  What was a bad idea was having three carry-ons.  I looked like a straight up pack horse getting through the airport.  Ryan strapped to my front, diaper bag on my back,  duffle bag over one arm, and my computer bag over the other.  I was sweating by the time we made it to the gate but we made it on the plane and Jet Blue was so accommodating, putting us in a bulk head seat so Ryan could play at my feet.  They even gave Ryan a set of "wings" since it was her very first plane ride.

The flight was almost 5.5 hours, but you wouldn't have known that Ryan was even on the plane.  She played, socialized, and took a 1.5 hour nap in my arms.  I don't think she cried one time.  I couldn't have asked for her to be a better baby.  In fact, so many passengers and flight attendants commented on the fact that she was the most well-behaved, happy, good-tempered baby they had ever seen/flown with.  Way to make me look like Mom of the year Ry! :)

We were definitely happy to get to our new apartment and reunite with Josh, even though we knew it would mean sleeping on an air mattress.   The apartment is super nice, minus being a little "hotel-like" but we think that may be an East Coast thing and are sure we'll adapt to it.

We spent the week trying to get out and enjoy all that Worcester has to offer since our apartment was furniture less until this weekend.  We found a local park with swings, went on a couple little hikes near our house, and ate lunch down by Lake Quinsigamond.

We also went to check out the University of Massachusetts Memorial Hospital where Josh will begin working in a few weeks.  It's VERY nice.  Definitely a step up from ARMC county hospital.   And it's super close to our home.  So close that Josh plans to walk!!

Our stuff arrived on Thursday and we were definitely ready for it to get here.  A week without things is a bit challenging, especially with a baby.

We've spent the last couple of days trying to unpack and organize all of our stuff.  It's a process, but I prefer the boxes and chaos to an apartment full of nothing.  Massachusetts is starting to feel a bit more like home now that we have some familiar things and I assume it won't take long before we feel at home here.

Sun Worshiper

My little guy is a sun worshiper. 

Just like his Mama.

He tends to follow me from room to room.  But no matter what room I'm in, he finds that little bit of sunshine to lay in. 

A dog after my own heart.

I think there's a chance we both suffer from seasonal affective disorder.

** And on another doggie note, obedience classes start tonight.  Wish us luck!

Come on in...

...to our home.

We've been living in Redlands for almost two months, but I'm just getting to this post because decorating takes time and well, money.  While I have loads of the first, the latter is typically lacking. 

However, Josh and I were blessed with so many wonderful wedding gifts that had been un-used and in storage for 2 years and family who gave us "IOU" gifts in the form of money once we got back to the states that I have been able to (for the most part) completely furnish our apartment.

I really enjoy home decorating and I could spend hours in stores like Target, Home Goods, World Market, Pier 1, Marshalls, Pottery Barn, and Crate and Barrel.  Most if not all of our home furnishings came from these stores. So without further ado, here is our Home Sweet Home.

When you walk in, you have the dining area/kitchen to the right and the living room to the left.  The washer and dryer (an absolute must for me) are straight ahead down the hallway with the bathroom to the right of the hallway and the bedroom to the left.

 I'm STILL trying to organize this etagere but I keep playing with different things in different spots.  Any ideas for what I could put on the top shelf are welcome!



Mom made me these curtains to match my chairs.  Find out about bottle flower vases HERE

An Anthropologie splurge

Here's the living room.

My Grenada wall; not there in person but always in my heart.

Our patio that you can enter by either the living room or bedroom.

DIY twine "S" post HERE



My plants that are coming back to life!

Next up is our bedroom.

This adorable table was a Home Goods purchase on a whim.

Walmart dresser put together by Mom and yours truly.



I'm not kidding, the closet is bursting at the seams.  Our My biggest worry about getting a one bedroom apartment was closet space, but thankfully, it DID all fit.



One year anniversary (paper) gift; all the places we've been cut out of maps.  Learn how HERE

Pottery Barn Hurricane with Grenada fillings.

 And, here's what Doyle was doing while I was taking pictures and writing this post.


We are crate training to help with separation anxiety and so far it is going well.
 

So, that's our apartment.  I will post more about it as I continue to fill up wall space and stuff, specifically in our bedroom.  But for now, I am very pleased with how it has all come together.  We don't have a second bedroom, but we do have a couch and floor space and we always love visitors.  :)  I hope you enjoyed our home tour!