Bright Living Room Wall Gallery

Courtney Carmean — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 11:00:01 +0000

In the past 10 years we have lived in 6 homes. Ah the military life. Each time we move I get better and better at getting packed up and then getting settled back in. This last move to Louisiana felt like my most organized to date. Before I knew it we were unpacked, things on the walls, and everything in place.

Yes everything on the walls but nothing in the frames! Ugh. Here’s the story of my Bright Living Room Wall Gallery……

This is what my living room looked like before we moved in. I wasn’t a big fan of the wall color so that was the first to go. We went from a peanut butter brown to a light soft grey. I love these huge, tall walls in our home. The only problem is how to fill them up! I knew I wanted my Aqua Entertainment Center and Open Shelving to go on the largest wall in the living room. However, just by itself it all looked small and awkward. I knew that the wall needed something more.

Have you ever wondered how people get their wall galleries on the wall and looking good? Here’s my tip…..I cut out packing paper (butcher paper, wax paper, or wrapping paper would all work to) in the shapes and sizes of my objects that I want to hang. I then tape the paper to the walls, positioning and re-positioning them this way is much easier. I usually hammer the nail right through the paper and hang the item up. Just pull the paper away and you’re on to the next one!

Once I got everything hung just the way I wanted it….there it sat. Sad to say for months with no pictures. I know I KNOW! Holidays, kids, general not-wanting-to. You know.

I had fun mixing picture frames, signs, mirrors, and some typography in my huge gallery wall. It was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle at first but I got it looking the way I wanted. I also had fun playing with colors too. Obviously I had to bring in the bright and colorful Aqua color from my entertainment center. I also added some white, black, and grey into the mix. I really wanted the aqua to be the pop of color.

It’s such a relief to have this wall officially DONE. And it’s so pretty too!

I would say that my home is complete, but that would be a lie. For me, my space is never done. I am always tweaking things and there is one large project in the works as well. I would say that I have nested into this home quite well though! Finishing my Bright Living Room Wall Gallery was one of the last things on my list from the move though!

Are you a fan of Gallery Walls? Do you have one in your home?

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

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In my latest post I shared some of my recent Thrifty Thursday finds! Come check them out and tell me what you would make with them!!!

Living Room Makeover {Open Shelving}

Courtney Carmean — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 07:00:00 +0000

I am happy to say that I am finally done with my living room makeover! It took awhile to gather all the items, get things painted up, and arrange them all. Especially because I am super picky and kept changing the arrangement of the items on the shelves. I totally got a work out going up and down my step stool! My living room makeover all started with my Aqua Buffet Entertainment Center.

The minute that I put my new aqua entertainment center in place I was in love with it. Obviously the area needed something more. Awhile back I picked up some wood shelving mounts from Goodwill and these were the inspiration for my Living Room Open Shelving.

I cleaned up and painted the shelving mounts white along with some 1×10 boards that I used for the shelves. Honestly you can’t get pretty shelving for any less than this!

I was able to decorate these shelves with items that I happened to have lying around. It was a hodge podge of items though, mostly from all my thrift store hunting. You may even recognize some of them from some of my Thrifty Thursday posts. I was able to tie a lot of these things together with a little bit of paint.

Some items didn’t need a thing and worked perfectly with the colors I was using, like the fan and white owl. Other items need some help in the color department. Enter some white, aqua, and black spray paint. I even used some fabric scraps in embroidery hoops to further tie the color scheme together.

All of the picture frames came from thrift stores. When I find frames that I like, which means they probably have some fun detailing, I grab them. I have quite a few hanging around just waiting for a project.

I decided to add a few “natural” elements into the mix as well. I grabbed a few faux plants and popped them into an old wood drawer. I used another plant and added it to a painted urn, then propped it all on top of some old worn books.

I of course added some pictures of the family in all my painted thrifty frames. I can never get enough of my beautiful kiddo’s smiling faces!!!

I finished things off with a couple greenery topiaries. I had some milk glass flower pots in my stash that I just HAD to use! I bought some already made greenery topiaries and put them into the pots using some floral foam. Added some spanish moss to cover the foam and they were done. I love that they look the same but the pots are a bit different, adding to the eclectic feel of everything!

I am just totally obsessed with all of the aqua right now! I think that it all came together so well. It’s like my living room just got a big ole breath of fresh air!!!

Linking up to these great link parties!!!

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Make sure you stop over at the Time to Shine party going on right now and check out all the fabulous things linked up! I would love it if you would join along and link up too!!!

living room – A Diamond in the Stuff

Bright Living Room Wall Gallery

Living Room Makeover {Open Shelving}