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Last week I had the opportunity to attend market for the first time.  I was SO excited!  I couldn’t wait to see the latest and greatest in home decor.  There really were so many great things – how do retailers and designers ever make a decision?!

I thought  there would be lots of new trends that had not yet made it to Tulsa.  But it seemed to be me that there were really no huge new trends- at least not where I was-  but things we’ve already seen continue to be popular and done even better.  Lots of natural, organic materials and beautiful colors incorporated in subtle ways.  Neutral backgrounds – especially gray- with pops of color.  Works for me!  I love it!

Here are a few images of beautiful things I saw as I wandered around…

Design Legacy

Be Home

Avindy

Fishs Eddy

Villa Home Collection

Roost

Like many others seem to be right now as well, I am obsessed with the picture collage.  It’s the perfect answer to how to display all of the photos, paintings, drawings and prints that we all love but can’t seem to find just the right way to hang together in a cohesive way.  And the best thing about them is, no matter your style, there is a collage for you.   Mismatched and haphazard or perfectly matched and hung in a grid the photo collage will definitely help you bring together all of the memories and things you love in a display that will make you smile every time you  look at it.

I have a few around here that you may have seen in the current issue of Prairie Hive.  All of them are different, serve a different purpose and all are incomplete!  I think that’s the best thing about it – you can just keep adding to the collage until you are either a) completely satisfied with how it looks or b) run out of room.

The first wall I started in our house is the hallway that leads to the bedrooms.  What to do with all of the photos of your kids that you don’t want to put away, but you really can not set one more frame on one more table?!  I took many pictures out of standing frames and started hanging them.  Some of the pictures are formal photographs, some are candid snapshots, some are older photos of our parents and some are drawings by the kids.  My plan is to fill the entire hallway, but I’ve slowed down for now.  If I add too fast there will be no room for high school graduation- not to mention grandkids!  To keep some sort of order, I put all colored photographs in white frames and all black and white pictures in black frames.  I used a combination of frames and mat sizes from places like Target, Hobby Lobby and Ikea.  Inexpensive and easy to grab without having to think about it too hard!

The playroom is where I wanted to focus on family pictures and art and projects the kids have done at school.  This collage seems very incomplete to me, but I’m trying to wait and add only my very favorites as they produce so much fantastic art!  We also plan to add the drums back to this room, so I hope to find more great music posters and fun prints to add to the wall as well.  Some of these pictures I had custom framed because they were an odd size or because I wanted to be sure they were done correctly.  Others I had custom mats cut to fit inexpensive pre-made frames and then others I just hung from a clip or a nail.

When I started working on my eldest son’s room, I once again pulled pictures out of little stand-up frames and put them in frames that could be hung.  I started with the most meaningful pictures and left room for others as he collects prints or photographs that he would like to add.  Since this picture was taken we’ve already added a couple more.

Ok, the final area in the house (at least for now) in which I’ve “collaged” my pictures in is my dining room.  This is an especially odd collection, but I like it the best.  I plan on adding to this one, too, but I really want to hunt for just the right thing.  I’d rather add some more eclectic pieces of art to this wall.  To make the feathers, I used my daughters watercolors and a stencil from Hobby Lobby on canvas paper.  The middle painting is a print of a finger painting that my youngest son did and our good friend from Egypt brought us back the hieroglyphics.  The painting on the top is an Etsy find and the big frame is filled with wrapping paper until I find something I like more!  I love the gold and white frames against the blue walls, so I’m excited to work on this one some more.  Something to enjoy looking for!

Ok, that’s enough of my pictures.  Here are a few that I found online that are really great and much more inspiring!

When I hang my photos, I don’t use any kind of planning system – I just start hanging!  I begin with the biggest picture – usually hung according to furniture, windows, etc. and then hang the others until I like the arrangement.  In some cases, especially my long hallway, I have gone ahead and hung empty frames to fill the space and make a more complete arrangement.

For those of you who are a little more cautious about putting holes in your walls, the following from Young House Love has a great tutorial on how to hang a picture wall.  I also love how all of the white frames in this hallway give it such a cohesive look.

The next picture I found at  Brabourne Farm.  I love the whole thing – especially the wall of art next to the books.

And for those of you who love the look of a collage, maybe try this.  No commitment to art or any particular photographs.  Also a great way to make an impact with a specific color.

Image via Pinterest