Wanna know a secret? It's a doozey. Here it is: wait for it….wait for it...I have a fear of hanging artwork. There, I said it. Mirrors, not so much. But, artwork, man, it gets me every time. Not that you'd know it looking at our living room gallery wall (check it out here). The truth is, a couple of weeks after we moved in, I stopped hanging art and started leaning it against walls all over the house -- afraid to yield a hammer and nail. I have no idea why, it's completely irrational, I know. Especially for someone in my line of work! Maybe I wasn't ready to commit, I'm not sure, but whatever the reason I've decided I will no longer live in fear … it's time. Time to hang some art.
So, in honor of our little lady's 3rd birthday, I swallowed my fear and tackled her long awaited gallery wall. Seriously, I've had stuff leaning all over the place in her room for well over a year. Like that's safe!
What is it about gallery walls in little kid's rooms anyway? Could it be because a gallery wall is the perfect way to highlight their ever changing interests?
Of course, it helped that we finally got her forever dresser ( do I even need to tell you where it came from? my parents, obviously.) it's kinda hard to anchor a gallery wall without proper furniture placement. Excuses, excuses. I hear you.
Most of the items we had from her room in Chicago (check out the reveal of her old Chicago nursery here - wow, that really takes me back!), except the print I picked up from Land of Nod back in the spring (read more about that here). That's how long all of this stuff has been lying around. Kinda pathetic.
The butterflies used to live in her big sisters room (since we're throwing it back, check out her Chicago room here), but like I said, interests change.
There are so many trains of thought on gallery walls:
symmetrical vs not symmetrical,
similar frames vs not similar vs no frames,
consistent color pallet vs not,
consistent theme vs not,
the list goes on.
If there's one place to have a little fun and perhaps not follow every design rule out there, it's in a kid's room for heaven sake. So I just went for it…within reason. Keeping a good balance of size, shape and color in mind. I'm also happy to report that all items were hung on the first try with no extra nail holes - it is a minor miracle and one I feel quite proud of.
The dresser needs a little love, but we are getting there. One little lady step at a time.
PS. I think I have overcome my fear, and have the receipt for a boat-load of picture hangers in my wallet to prove it! Watch out house, here I come.
until next time,
