Our master bedroom has come a long way in the last few days — it finally feels like a room and not just a bed with empty walls. The transformation was mostly frames and curtains. And then more frames. And a few extra frames after that.
Before we started putting holes in the wall, the room looked exactly like it had since we painted it nine months ago: very bare. It desperately needed curtains, but for now let’s focus on the gallery wall.
We’d been talking about a gallery wall over the bed for a while and finally decided on large, dark wood frames with crisp white mats — not the usual white frames you see everywhere. Our plan is to gradually upgrade to real wood frames with glass and generous mats throughout the house, so we shopped around and found big wooden frames at Michaels that fit the look. They were $39 for the largest and $29 for the slightly smaller ones, but a two-for-one sale brought the average down to something more reasonable.
At home, Sherry cut templates from leftover rosin paper we had lying around and taped them to the wall to plan a mostly symmetrical arrangement. Having the paper templates made it easy to experiment without committing to nail holes right away.
The first layout felt a bit too formal and perfectly lined up, so Sherry loosened up the grid a little — the gallery-wall equivalent of unbuttoning the top button of a shirt. That small change made the arrangement look more relaxed and casual instead of stiffly balanced.
With about 17 frames ready to hang, the actual hanging process wasn’t as bad as it sounded. These frames hang on one or two nails thanks to a groove on the back lip of the wood, and because we had the paper templates in place, positioning was straightforward. Since the arrangement mirrors from one side of the bed to the other, we used a laser level to match heights and a yardstick to keep the spacing between frames consistent.
After the initial set was up, the display still read a bit like a stripe across the headboard, so we bought five more frames to balance the space above each nightstand and give the wall a fuller, more intentional look. In the end we had five of the larger frames (11.5 x 14.5″ outer size with an 8 x 10″ mat opening) and seventeen of the slightly smaller 16.5 x 16.5″ frames (a mix of 8 x 10″ and 5 x 7″ openings). We later nudged a few frames near the curtain to better balance the composition.
Our plan from the start was to fill the frames with family photos. A bedroom felt like the right place for a personal gallery, and many of these images had never been printed large like 8 x 10 before. We selected the photos from our yearly iPhoto folders, flagged favorites, then narrowed that long list down to the 22 images that felt most meaningful. We ordered prints for in-store pickup through Target because it was more affordable for 8 x 10 prints than our usual provider.
All framed and hung, the collection blends classic and cheerful: handsome wood frames and white mats alongside colorful family photos that pick up tones from the pillows and headboard. The colors help the images stand out against the dark wall while still reading as a cohesive display.
We didn’t aim for a strict color scheme; the photos are an eclectic mix. We did, however, gravitate toward candid moments rather than staged, all-looking-at-the-camera portraits. Most of the images show people interacting, looking away, or caught in a moment — only a few eyes look straight into the lens.
Once the gallery was up, a few patterns revealed themselves. About a third of the photos feature water — beaches, lakes, pools — since many favorites come from trips. We counted photos taken across six states, from Alaska and Hawaii to Florida and Delaware. A quirky discovery: three pictures in the gallery were taken on the very bed they now hang above. So either we love to travel or we really like our bed — maybe both.
When everything was finished, our once-plain wall became a daily photographic celebration of our family. It’s an uplifting first thing to see in the morning and a comforting last thing at night. We thought our hallway gallery in the previous house was unbeatable, but this bedroom collection ranks right up there.
Even photos tucked behind the bedside lamp are visible from bed and when you enter the room — it’s all about the viewing angle.
We hope this wall inspires us to keep taking pictures. Almost half of the images were shot on iPhones or an old point-and-shoot, so you don’t need fancy gear to make prints worth framing.
When we finished the install, Clara was napping, so we used the chance to photograph Teddy and Burger together — another shot that might someday join the gallery above the bed. Meta, yes, but fitting.
It’s hard to imagine the room’s “before” without looking back at the actual photos — the change is that dramatic. We still have a few items on the to-do list: a better bench at the bed’s foot, proper end tables so we can relocate the dresser, finishing the curtains, and adding an overhead light. But the gallery wall already makes the room feel complete in a meaningful way.
Anyone else updating a bedroom or hanging a family-photo display? Did you discover any subconscious themes after you hung everything — a love of water, travel, or snoozing in bed? And are the eyes in your photos all watching you Mona-Lisa style?
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