Project #14: Hang a Wall of Frames

When we moved into this house, I wasn't really blessed with a lot of time to decorate. Strike that. I didn't take the time to strategize how to decorate or to buy things that necessarily fit the house. (Comes with the territory when your on a tight money and time budget!)

So last year, I decided that the blank wall above the overstuffed chair in the den would be a great place to display some family photos. We really don't have a good place in our home, like a table top or other sort of display, to show off our darling dear ones, so this seemed like a sensible solution. I looked into getting some shelving to go along the wall but was overwhelmed by the high prices. It's just a strip of wood attached to the wall, right? Why on earth should it cost so much? Plus, I didn't have a lot of frames, so add in the cost of uniformly colored and matted frames, and this was going to be a budget drainer. Back to the drawing board.

I went through the small collection of frames we already had and found all the black ones. That was a start. Then I received a couple of frames for Christmas. After finding all the pictures I wanted to display, I finished off my framing at Walmart, where you can buy a matted 8x10 frame (for a 5x7 photo) or a matted 5x7 frame (for a 3x5 photo) for $3 each. Not bad. I wasn't as concerned about the frames not being the same style, so long as they were black with white mats.

After creating a general layout on the floor, I began hanging the frames with common picture-hanging hooks one by one, and I came up with this:

The problem now is that it's a little hard to expand the collection easily. Sure, you can just branch out and add another frame, but after a few additions, I realized that you have to be strategic in each of your placements. The other problem is that I scraped up the wall when hanging the frames, so there are lots of black scuffs on the wall surrounding the pictures and in between them.  I also decided that I would have liked them spaced a little farther apart. And also, I noticed that when people walked by heavy-footed or bumped a chair against the wall, some of the pictures would shift. I was constantly having to adjust the frames so that it didn't look like we lived in the Haunted Mansion at Disney World:


Well, the other day, my husband came home and asked if I'd seen the 3M Picture Hanging Strips, and he wondered if they'd be a good option for remounting our picture wall. With a few newly acquired pictures to hang, I was in!


I checked out the strips at the store and found that they were rated for different sizes/weights of frames. I purchased several "value" packs of size small and medium because our frames are rather light and fairly small. This was really the only cost, because I had all the other supplies on hand. It took me two nights because I had to let the paint dry, but it was very easy. Here's how I dismantled the old wall of frames and put up the new one:

Hang a Wall of Frames

Materials: 

• Framed pictures or memorabilia
• Fine finishing sanding block
• Drywall repair tools and supplies (if needed)
• Paint and supplies (if needed)
• 3M Picture Hanging Strips (sized appropriate to your hangings)

Cost: Under $20

Time: Two Nights

Skill Level: Easy

Instructions:

1. Remove all items from the wall. I found lots of scrapes, scuffs, and holes!
   
2. Patch the holes with drywall tools. I could only find my wood putty at the time and not my drywall patch (which would have worked better), but I decided to go with what I had. Allow to dry/set.
   
3. After filling the holes, use the sanding blocks to even out the wall surface.
4. Using a paint roller, reapply paint to the repaired area. Allow to dry.
5. Choose the appropriate 3M Picture Hanging Strips for each picture and afix to the back of each frame. Note that different size strips are rated for different frame weights. For instance, there are small strips that seem to be weighted for about 1 lb. each. Add two strips to hold a 2-lb. picture, etc. Medium strips seem to be weighted for 3 lbs. Check the back of your package for quantity and configuration suggestions. We got away with 1-2 small or large strips per frame. Not bad!
6. Lay out the frames on a table or the floor to create a pattern for your hangings. I tried to align two edges of every picture frame with another frame. This gave me an organized, but not an overly symmetrical, matchy-matchy layout. I think it was a good strategy to adopt.
7. One by one, afix the frames to the wall using the 3M strips according to manufacturer's instructions. I will say that you need to separate EACH STRIP before afixing it to the frame. If you just fold a pair of strips along the perforated line, then you won't be able to easily pull the frame off the wall once it's mounted.

Here's what I ended up with:

(There are two other projects in this picture...stay tuned for details!)

What's especially handy about this is that I can easily remove these frames and rearrange them without damaging the wall. So essentially I could have a different pattern every week if I wanted to! (I'm sure the 3M company would love me buying all those refill strips!) But, if I ever decide I want to do something completely different with the decor here, I can easily do so without disrupting any of the wall. Lesson learned! Plus, there's still plenty of room for more frames. I like it.

What about you? How have you creatively displayed your familiy photos? Have you ever used these 3M strips? Got any creative suggestions for making your arrangement truly unique?