Hallway Gallery: DIY Framed City Prints
We turned a simple sale calendar into an inexpensive, polished hallway gallery that adds personality to a previously blank wall. After picking up an illustrated city calendar at Anthropologie for just $13 after New Year’s (calendars always go on sale in January), we decided not to use it as a calendar but instead to display the charming city illustrations in frames. The result: a cohesive, custom art collection that livens up our board & batten hallway.
At first we considered arranging all twelve prints in a grid for the guest room, but we were already planning to fill the large wall above the chairs there with something substantial. When we finished the board & batten hallway project, it occurred to us that spacing a selection of the prints along the hall would create a fun visual experience as you walk through. We chose eight illustrations and framed them in Ikea Ribba frames for a clean, consistent look.
The installation was very straightforward. We used a laser level to establish a single, straight sightline down the length of the hallway so every frame would hang at exactly the same height. For each frame we marked two nail points five inches apart. The two-nail method gives each frame better stability than a single nail and prevents the frequent need to re-level the frames. With this setup you can also make small left-right adjustments on the nails to fine-tune spacing.
We left roughly 10 inches of horizontal space between frames to keep the grouping airy and balanced along the length of the hall. After hammering the nails into the pre-marked spots, we simply hung each Ribba frame on the two nails and adjusted as needed until each print lined up perfectly with the next.
Cost and materials: the Ikea Ribba frames are an economical choice, priced at about $9 each, and we already owned four, so we only purchased four more. Adding the $13 calendar, the total cost to fill the hallway came to $49—$36 for frames and $13 for the prints. For a relatively small investment, we gained a continuous, gallery-style display that we pass several times a day.
Beyond the practical how-to, we love the personal narrative the prints create. They represent cities we hope to visit one day—Rome, Paris, Istanbul, Sydney, London, Amsterdam, and Rio de Janeiro—alongside New York, which we’ve been to and lived in for a while. John has started calling this our travel bucket list hallway, which makes the display feel hopeful as well as decorative.
Oddly, two of our three favorite spots in the house are hallways: the framed hallway that connects the living room, kitchen, and our bedroom, and this newly decorated hallway that leads to the other bedrooms. The third is Clara’s newly finished big girl room, which is a favorite because it transformed from a chaotic space into a calm, welcoming room.
What are your favorite areas in your home? Maybe you love an unexpected nook—a closet, a bathroom, or a window seat—or perhaps your favorite is a classic space like the living room or bedroom. Creating meaningful, curated spots in your house doesn’t require expensive art or major renovations; with careful selection, consistent framing, and simple installation techniques like a laser level and two nails per frame, you can create a lasting, attractive gallery for a modest budget.
Update: If you want to know where we sourced an item or what paint color we used, click on the image below to see our house shopping list.