Ttodd! (Hi!) I love it!! I really love it. As a teen, I literally covered my bedroom wall in photos from ceiling to floor and thought it was so neat. This is much more classy and I never thought about doing it this way in my house.

That is very exciting about your Dad moving closer and the possibility of a photography business! I hope that turns out well for you!

I usually dont like gallery walls, but I do like yours. You have a knack for it. Looks good.

I like that it is loosening up a bit:)

ttodd - It looks fantastic! Any tips/rules of thumb for others who would like to create something similar?

To be able to sit down in a room and walk down memory lane !! My mother use to say, "this is a kodak moment".
Yours is a kodak life. Wonderful. You managed to put order in them so they are enjoyable.

I love it, too!

Question--the really old pics...do you use the actual photograph or a copy? I've become the Keeper of Family Artifacts (guess because I'm the only one into genealogy) and have some wonderful old ones of ancestors, but I'm afraid of framing them and somehow ruining them in the process of attaching them to a backboard or matting.

Thanks!

oh my it is turning out beautifully. Don't you like the feeling , a sort of lightness of being, when you get rid of extra stuff ? Great job tt. c

I am not usually a fan of gallery walls (aesthetically) of family photos, but this is stunning. The color of the walls, the frames, mats, and photos themselves are just a treat to look at.

Also, I remember your thread about that white lamp; can't recall if I had commented about whether you should keep it or not, but I was rooting that you would. I thought it was perfect for that space and I guess I never knew if you decided to keep it or not. I see you did and it is really gorgeous in your room.

I remember seeing this room before! It's interesting to watch the transitions.

Have you just bought various frames that fit your style here and there when they go on sale or when you just happen to spot something you like?

(Tracey: I'm looking forward to what TTodd's advice on the original photos is. Here's something to take note of: I copied all my originals -- and family originals -- every time I put something up on the wall. Most of them I did on the Kodak PictureMaker machine that a lot of stores have. But I've noticed over the past several years that those copies have shown signs of deterioration, like little pinholes. It's hard to know what will happen down the line, but if I could turn back the clock now, I wouldn't use the PictureMaker machine.)

This looks amazing!

Absolutely wonderful! The more I look, the more I realize how much WORK is involved in placing all those pictures. It doesn't seem that you put them in any certain order according to subject or time period. Is that right? I like the look. Very professional!
Pat

Gorgeous!

Thanks!

JIW - Tips? Hmmm - well I just put up what I really love to look at. Some of them aren't even photos that I've taken or of family members. Some are cards and post cards that I was just drawn to, some are store bought prints of places I dream of going to and are 'less famous views' of famous places. Since we're pet lovers some are old photos of dogs.

I don't match frames but in this particular instance I kept them all the same color. To keep it more eclectic I don't use mats on all of the pictures.

I also keep the walls in other rooms almost empty. It seems to build from minimal to this as you move from room to room.

Tracey b - For daguerreotypes it is often recommended that they be placed under glass because air reacts w/ the metals used in the process of creating the the picture. Personally I don't mind the reaction. It reminds me of old mercury glass or old tarnished silver. The rest of pics that are originals (ie: not from a picture machine) I try not to have glass rest directly on top of the picture. I will often put those in a deeper frame with a mat or use a double mat. I've had occassion in the past where moisture has gotten into the frame and then the picture stuck to the glass.

You can also get picture spacers to put between the mat and the glass.

TR - our basement and rooms feel so much better. One of the reasons I decided to move pictures to the walls was to get stuff off of my table tops.

Olychick - Finally I am pleased w/ the color of the walls! When I painted them this color a few years ago I really liked it but something seemed 'off'. It didn't bother me enough to change it though. As soon as I added the daguerreotypes this past week I new the color was perfect and was so happy that I hadn't tried to tweak it. There's just enough color in the paint that it feels rich but is still gives me an 'airy' feeling.

Can you believe that I still had the tags on that lamp?! I do remember your post about the light!

Pammyfay - I pick up frames here and there if the price is right and store them away until a space calls for them. I tend to always have a stack accumulating somewhere in the house. I search 'as is' bins and also look for dinged up ones and ask for an 'as is' price. A black sharpie takes care of those knicks. I also live by an IKEA and their frames are perfect for me as well as super cheap. I'm not a perfectionist.

My MIL gave me an old framed photo of DH's grandfather and when I took it out of the frame it turned out to be a photocopy of a picture! It was that sharp and crisp! I don't think picture machines pictures last as long. I noticed that wherever my MIL does it that the pictures fade really bad over a few yrs. If you want a copy that will last a really long time I'd suggest going to a professional place and having them do it on really good quality paper. That's what my aunt did when she did a family wall and after 13+ years her reprints of old family photos look amazing.

Ladypat - There's no general order but I did notice that I have a fair amount of wedding photos from various familiy members weddings, both old and recent so I am going to add to that 'theme' and get copies of my parents wedding photo.

Other than that it's really doesn't take me a lot of time to arrange it all. I lay the frames out on a table or the floor and just start arranging them. When I get an arrangement that I like I take a picture of it so that I don't forget and then start hanging. I also don't hesitate to alter the plan as I'm hanging. This wall took me about 2hrs. from beginning to end.

A digital camera that shoots underwater?

How far underwater will you be shooting? Do you just want to do over-under shots?

quote:
I like that it is loosening up a bit:)

I usually dont like gallery walls, but I do like yours. You have a knack for it. Looks good.

Ditto....

Hi Ttodd, I haven't seen you in a long time!

I hope you are doing well.

It's so strange I opened this thread.
The wall behind my computer desk, in my little office which is just inside the garage door and off the kitchen, has been crying for years for personal photos, just as you have done.

I was speaking with a friend not long ago, who happens to be an interior designer, and mentined what a pain it is to keep my 12 framed photos over a corner chest straight, and I wondered how one large "bulletin board" hanging with photos mounted on that, would work instead. Of course that would not accommodate the floor to ceiling effect.

So, how do you keep the frames straight?
Please don't tell me you measured and used a level to hang them,

That blows my here to now method of "eyeing" it out the window!

Good job, it looks great.

Demi - Am not sure what Ttodd does, but I use museum putty on any pictures that tend to wander. Just a small bit on one inside corner of the frame will do the job. If the picture is larger, then a dab inside each bottom corner. Since we're in earthquake country, I also use it under a few items that could be shaken off their shelves. Amazon sells a variety of these products - Quakehold, Museum Gel, Collectors Hold Museum Putty.

I've also used a level a few times when I've wanted perfect evenness with more than one picture. Am thinking of getting QVC's yardstick that comes with two built-in levels - looks so handy! Oh, and I am absolutely not a sales rep for either of these companies!

Ttodd - I neglected to mention your beautiful room. With your vision and patience you are creating a real wall/work of art!

I'm lovin' it, too! Nothing quite like those b/w sepia photos for a crisp look!

Would you please have time to stop by my thread *Asking For Help...*? It's about color suggestions for a living room that adjoins a dining room that will be painted Revere Pewter.

I understand if you're busy, though, me too!

I love it...especially the pup in the truck!

Hey ttodd, looks great! Glad to see your name back on the board.

Here's a silly question if you or anyone else can answer it. Regarding all the black frames-were they always black or did you paint some? I had some gold frames (not metal, but wood) in my foyer and with the new colors in there, I would really like all the frames in the foyer (upper level & lower level) to be black. I'm a whizz with the spray paint now, so I'm wondering if I go for it, or will it look stupid? Some of the frames are pretty ornate.

Thanks and glad your back.

Mine came black but if you've got the initiative to paint your others black, I say do it! I think ornate frames look great in matte black!

That looks wonderful! What a great job keeping them all straight!

Demifloyd! Wow - so good to see your name! One of my absolute favorite homes!

For the most part I do 'eyeball it' when I am hanging the arrangements. First I use the hook or whatever is on the back of the pic to lightly mark the wall (by lightly rubbing it on the wall) where the nail or hook should go and then 'rearrange' a nail or two to get it even. When I get down to a row where they are all of the same frame and I want them all even is when I start measuring from the bottom of the picture frame in the row above to where the nail should go.

I try not to let perfection get in the way. Life's not perfect and it's killer to try. Some pics hang perfectly straight and some get wonky when a door is slammed or kids are jumping up and down. I don't worry about it - I just re-straighten when I walk by. That is if and when I feel like it.

I could totally see a bulletin board style format. Maybe you could make copies of the pics and use pretty tacs to afix them like jewelry and then swap out the regular bulleting board frame w/ a really pretty ornate one. Shoot - I'd bet it'd be real easy to make one to the size you want!

Nicole - my dad said that it's a little stainless steel camera that can shoot underwater (I'm sure not too deep) and can shoot in the rain and snow. He said it's about the size of a cell phone. We'll see!

Sable CA - I'll have to check out that level yardstick. DH had gotten me a laser level but I never use it since hooks aren't often placed evenly and by the time I got my level set up I could have eyeballed 2 or 3 in the same amount of time.

Catkin - I'll see ya over there. Revere Pewter is one of my favorites!

Newhomebuilder - I love that picture. Apparently a couple traveled all over on a road trip in that truck with their dog and took a picture of him at every stop. My mom went back to get me more but they were gone. :( Judging by the style of her clothing I think they picture is from the 30's or 40's.

Beekeepers wife - I bought my frames black but I know that many people spray paint their frames black. Excellent way to save money! Personally I like the odd ball frame thrown in the mix. While most of the frames are standard gallery style there are a few that have a more ornate frame that are hanging up there.

Another suggestion that I found helped me accumulate frames more cost effectively is not to worry about whether or not you have a picture in mind to go in the frame. Buy the frame anyway. It's so cheap to scan a pic and have it made to fit the size of the frame that you already have. Or you can have a mat made to accomdate a smaller sized picture that you have to fit in a larger frame. Don't get bogged down w/ "But the picture that I have won't fit that frame" or "Do I have a picture to go in that frame" etc.

I think it needs MOAR PICTURES!!!!

It's a great look - keeping the frame and mat colors constant gives it a sense of order.