framed hallway photos

So my deadline for a "complete house" has come and gone. And we are...done! I am excited to share some before (move-in day) and afters (two years and so many nail holes later!) in the next week or so. In the meantime, one more project post...

I've had eight Ikea Ribba frames in my garage since last fall, but it wasn't until I saw Elsie's post a few weeks ago that I finally started printing photos.

I debated a million ideas for these frames but picking some of my favorite iPhone photos was the first idea that actually got me motivated to get to work. It was inspiring to see the casual photos Elsie had chosen. The everyday Elise, Paul and Ellerie photos are always the winners. Why not blow them up on the wall? Highlights include some timercam shots, Paul's return from deployment when Ellerie was four weeks old and so much color and sunshine.

It's no secret that framed photos are sort of my go-to. This house will be remembered for four things - the killer light (that's not in this hallway), the wood ceilings, the black kitchen counter tops I can't keep clean and the fact that I slapped family photos up on every wall. It's not fancy. It's not high-style. But it's me. It's us. It's our house and we might as well live with our memories.

I printed the 12x12 photos at home on my Canon PIXMA iP8720. (Long time readers know I have a partnership with Canon - they sent me printers and I am writing six sponsored posts over six months using them. This is not one of those posts.) My non-sponsored opinion is that I love my Canon printers and the fact that I can print 12x12 photos in minutes at 7pm on a Thursday without leaving my house is insane.

Long-term readers also know that activities like "measuring" and "being exact" are my worst nightmares. But hanging photos in a grid sort of takes some planning. I used tape and a level to get a straight line. Then I measured where the centers of the frames would be before hammered the top row into place. The bottom row was based off the top and is held to the wall with command strips (making them much harder for Ellerie to bump).

I ended up with space for more on the wall so back to Ikea I went. 10 frames seems just right. This wall is impossible to photograph because it's so narrow and obviously there are no windows to throw in some natural light. I would say that the 12x12s are almost too big for a space this small. But they are striking and fun and I'm so happy with how it turned out.

Seriously. How did I wait so long?