We’re sharing new photos of our hallway that we “wallpapered with frames.” The result adds instant depth and interest to a space everyone in the family can enjoy. It’s a playful, personal display that includes Clara’s drawings, class photos, and favorite vacation shots—everything within easy view.
Here’s how we did it. First, we cut newspaper templates to match the frames we already owned (many of which we’d collected over the years or grabbed on sale). We taped those templates to the wall, staggering a few of the larger ones in the middle to anchor the arrangement and placing smaller frames around the edges for balance. We rearranged, stepped back to assess, made tweaks, and repeated that process until the composition felt right. We even slept on it and reviewed the layout again the next morning before breaking out the hammer.
Once we confirmed the layout, we laid the frames out on the dining room floor in the same configuration to check how the real frames looked together (the templates only showed outlines, not the frame styles). We ignored the art inside most frames since we planned to swap many pieces anyway.
Everything worked, so we started hanging. With the templates still taped up, hanging was easy: measure from the top edge of the frame to the hanging point (wire or hook), mark the corresponding spot on the template, then hammer into that spot. The horizontal line marked the center of the template and the “x” marked where the nail needed to go to catch the frame’s hanging hardware.
After hammering into the marked spot, we peeled the paper template away and were left with a single nail ready for a frame. It’s a straightforward method that helped us hang the whole gallery in about an hour.
Our plaster walls don’t cooperate with 3M Command hooks or velcro by themselves, so we used nails. For the lower frames within Clara’s reach, we plan to add heavy-duty Command velcro so they’re more secure. Clara is usually gentle—she listens when we ask her to be—and we’ll teach her to “look with her eyes” or to touch pieces with just one finger, a trick another parent shared that apparently works. If any lower frames become a safety issue or too much maintenance, we’ll remove them until she’s a bit older.
After hanging everything, we assessed the wall and made some adjustments. The top-right area felt pleasantly dense, so we added a few smaller pieces to other areas to even things out. That fine-tuning added a handful of extra, hidden nail holes, but they’re concealed behind the frames and not noticeable.
We then hunted around the house for things to display. Many frames were empty or oriented differently than their previous use, so we repurposed photos, drawings, and keepsakes we already owned. That kept the project nearly free, aside from one useful $16 frame from Target designed to store and rotate kid art easily—we love that you can change artwork without removing the frame from the wall.
Here’s the view from the kitchen; we placed the console table to align visually through the doorway and center the vignette.
More angles show how the gallery reads from different perspectives. The collection mixes everything from a Banana Republic ad with a llama or alpaca, to a vintage milk cap mounted on canvas, to a simple paper key I cut from cardstock (I plan to replace that with a ceramic-look DIY someday). It’s eclectic, personal, and a little silly—just how we like it.
We plan to post more close-ups and DIY directions for some of the smaller pieces—like an arrowhead shadowbox or a long skinny pinboard—so you can recreate similar items. We’ll also photograph the wall periodically to track what changes over time: new Clara drawings, updated family photos, or a favorite photobooth strip that stays put.
About a quarter of the wall will likely change regularly as meaningful little things collect there: a hilarious fortune cookie slip, a birthday invitation, or a sweet note. This gallery has quickly become our most personal and beloved display spot in the house. We find ourselves pausing in the hallway to gaze at it, and Clara enjoys looking at it too. It transformed a simple passageway into a destination.
We’re so happy with the result that we plan to “wallpaper” the other two walls of the hallway with frames as well. Here’s the pile of frames we grabbed from Ikea—ready for the next round.
Should be good times.
Psst—We announced this week’s giveaway winners. Check the original post to see if you’re one of them.