Isn’t it funny how you can begin a project—like the gallery of frames we wanted to use to “wallpaper” our hallway—and then leave the other half of it unfinished for a whole month? Not weeks. Literally a month. We loved the look of the first half (recounted here), but life pulled us into other things: building a console, painting a chair, organizing a closet, fixing ceramics, trimming the tree, spray-painting sectional legs, and a dozen other small projects. DIY momentum can be weird that way—fits and starts—but we’re back and the hallway gallery is finally complete.
After a month of staring at taped-up newspaper templates and a stack of frames on the floor, we mustered the motivation to finish hanging them. A few hours of hammering and arranging later, the whole hallway gallery was done. Here’s the finished arrangement in all its glory:
We already owned about ten frames (clearance finds from Ikea and Target) and bought fourteen more from Ikea, thanks to a generous birthday gift card from family. The frames aren’t all the exact same shade of white, which creates a soft, layered effect of cream and crisp whites that feels intentional even though nothing matches perfectly. We leaned into the layered, mixed-style look—some frames are modern, others more decorative—so the wall reads as cohesive but interesting.
We’ve explained our template method for planning a frame wall before, but here’s a practical tip about where to put the nail, with photos because visual steps really help. First, John measures down from the top of the frame to find how far below the top the hanging hardware sits.
Then he measures the same distance down from the top of the newspaper template on the wall to locate the exact nail placement (four inches in this example).
He marks the template with an X at that spot and hammers through the paper right where he marked it.
When the nail is set, he rips off the paper and hangs the frame on the nail. The result is a frame positioned exactly where the template indicated—proof that a little measuring makes hanging an entire gallery much simpler.
We started with a large frame in the center to anchor the grouping. Beginning in the middle and working outward helps keep the entire arrangement balanced so the frames don’t slowly creep left or right as you hang them. Choosing a substantial central piece also lends a sense of structure even if the rest of the layout ends up asymmetrical.
Here are all the frames hung without art—except for a canvas I hung backwards to show the raw wood backing. I’d taped a photo of us inside some time ago and liked the rustic look. You can also spot a few 8×10 black-and-white photos that used to hang behind our den sofa; some needed rotating, so the frames weren’t finished yet.
For safety, we plan to babyproof the lower frames with heavy-duty Command Velcro when Clara starts toddling. She’s gentle now and responds when we ask her to be careful, but if any lower frames become a hazard or too high-maintenance, we’ll remove them until she’s older.
Finally, we filled the frames with a mix of sentimental items, photos, and playful non-traditional pieces. The left-side mini-gallery includes two fortune cookies taped to craft paper, a black-and-white wedding photo, and a striking water-droplet photo taken by our friend Laura.
The bottom-left cluster features a peacock feather, a sweet Etsy birthday print John gave me, and a book cover repurposed as art (I removed the dust jacket to reveal the cloth-bound cover and used the paper jacket in a frame).
The little pink rectangle with Clara’s name is a vintage handkerchief embroidered with her moniker—such a lucky find from our friend Terri. It’s rare to spot her name on anything, so framing it felt perfect.
On the right-side gallery we hung everything from a cardstock placeholder key to a fabric swatch, a hand-written quote, more family photos, and a silhouette portrait of our bald little girl. Photos sometimes reveal things you don’t notice in person—I think one column could shift a bit right to balance the doorway—but that’s the beauty of a gallery wall: it’s flexible and easy to tweak.
The handwritten quote, by Tad Carpenter, is written in my own hand and tucked behind glass so it invites you to lean in and read. It’s a quiet, personal touch among the bolder images and keepsakes. And yes, that’s Burger’s paw in a photo—our dog has a habit of photobombing.
We reused the back of a book jacket as a framed quote—Arthur Rubenstein’s line, “I have found that if you love life, life will love you right back,” seemed like a fitting reminder in a space we pass through often.
One small upcycle: I framed a July desk-calendar page, bordered it in red, and circled July 7th with a heart to commemorate our wedding date. Simple, meaningful, and made from something that had been tucked in a drawer.
Another favorite piece is a fabric sample that once wrapped a gift; I liked the way it looked so much I framed it as-is. Little stories like these make the gallery feel personal and lived-in.
One of the best parts is how visible the wall is from the hallway that leads to Clara’s room, the hall bath, the playroom, and the guest room. It brightens my day whenever I walk past it—laundry in hand or fresh from stubbing my toe—because the gallery has this little mood-boosting effect.
So that’s one project checked off the list. Of course we’ll swap pieces in and out over time—that’s part of the fun. I can’t wait for Clara to start making scribbles and drawings we can proudly display.
Have you framed anything unexpected lately? Are there keepsakes tucked away in a drawer that would look great behind glass? A gallery wall is a simple, flexible way to showcase memories and small treasures—no need for perfection, just a willingness to mix, match, and enjoy the process.