Our house looks like its straight out of a catalog. Unfortunately, it’s for all of the wrong reasons! Like some of our favorite catalogs, we have plenty of wall art, but none of it is personal. That is, we barely have any photos of our family. And by barely, I think the exact count is eight. Yes, EIGHT photos of our family. Our parents must be miffed when they come over. I certainly would be.
The quickest way to go from a grand total of eight photos to twenty or more is through the use of a photo wall, like those pictured above. While I love the gallery feel of more uniform layouts, the two spaces we’ve dedicated as our photo walls – the stairwell and den – are better suited for a more collaged look.
While the final product is beautiful and can do wonders to liven up a room, many people write off the idea of a photo wall because of the wide variety of frames and, in many instances, their prohibitive cost. While you can certainly splurge for gallery-quality frames, you don’t have the break the bank for ones that are right for you. If you’re looking for a more random look and don’t care too much about uniformity in size or style, your local estate sale, flea market or re-purposed furniture store is the best place to start. In that these may be worn, be sure to look for ones that are sturdily built and can be freshened up with a coat of paint.
Should you be more interested in a uniform look, we’ve put together a list of some quality frames at affordable prices.
- Multipack Templates for Hanging Frames – If you don’t feel like measuring, this is a perfect product at just $9.99. It allows you to quickly lay out a template, which can be adjusted, before drilling any holes in your wall. I bought two.
- FJÄLLSTA or RIBBA Frame, like the rest of Ikea’s offerings, are cheap and sturdy. While we love that each comes in various sizes, they’re made of cheap-looking plastic rather than glass.
- Feeling a little lazy? Try the Pinnacle Create a Gallery Set from Walmart. It comes with seven frames of varying sizes which, like the multipack templates above, can be hung in various formations. The quality is surprisingly good – real wood and glass – and the frames are sturdy.
- Urban Outfitters isn’t just for graphic T’s and summer concert gear. They offer a set of 10 frames, which come in varying sizes, for just $39. The primary downfall with these is the lack of sizes in the 10-pack, so these frames may be more suitable for a kids rooms or smaller wall.
- If you don’t mind spending $100 for three frames, the offering from CB2 is tremendous. The frames are clean, well built and really do give off the professional gallery vibe. Mix and match with some frames from Crate & Barrel to complete the look.
Of course, you can never go wrong with Michaels. Just time your purchase with their regular 40% off sales.
That Flipping Couple 
We buy a lot of frames from second hand stores. It’s great because there are an assortment of styles and sizes that can be painted to fit our taste. The best part though!? They are usually $2-$6 for solid wood and glass frames that would easily be 4x that much at a store 🙂
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