Thursday 19 March 2009

Oh, to be a photographer (and a tidy person)

There are many occasions in life worth documenting; weddings, birthdays, parties and brand new babies. For me, there are other moments worth capturing on camera, like the rarely-glimpsed tidy living room.

You may recall that I decided to hang some pictures in time for my Obama party. Well, three months on, and I've just banged in the final nail. I've documented the process below. Remember people, I am not a photographer - which is fairly obvious. I've done the best I could with my limited skills. I wanted to have one of those magazine-ready photos of my gallery wall, but in the end I had to admit defeat.



In case you're interested, here's where the pictures came from: 1. Vintage silk scarf from Pippin Jewellery 2, 7 & 8. Pippin Home (all from different visits) 3. Collage made from eBay photographs, gold and silver leaf 4. Picture from eBay (there is a much better photo here). 5. Photograph of my dad, now deceased, lounging around in a 1970s police station 6. Giclee tree print from Etsy seller Isoprint.

I followed the 'rules' for hanging a gallery wall. Roughly as follows:

1. Draw round each picture on tracing paper or newspaper to have a template and arrange these on the wall.

2. Try and centre the top of the mid picture so it is at eye level.

3. Measure the spaces in between each picture so they are even.

4. I also lined up the top of the pictures so they weren't higher than the doorframe.

In theory, this should work. But, to be honest, I mustn't be too talented with a tape measure as there are around five holes behind each of these pictures. One tip I have is to remember the wire hangs from the bottom of your hook. I made quite a few errors by banging in my hooks at the measured point, but not realising the picture would hang a little lower.

This is the tidiest this area has been for quite a while. What happened to everything? Well, I just shoved it out of the way to take this photo. Oops...

I'm expecting a house guest this evening, so I'm definitely making progress with this area by the end of the day. Even though it is a very sunny day outside...

16 comments:

Anna Ander said...

I absolutely hate putting things up on the walls. Not having them there, just the hanging part. Maybe I'll muster up the patience to try your gallery trick the next time. It would be great to have them nice and straight...

fritopi said...

that last picture is priceless. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm not a wall person at all... but you've done a fabulous job!!! I just cant seem to master the art of putting up a few frames on the wall and making them look good at the same time!!!

Anonymous said...

hi lynne, great job! love the eclectic mix of topics. :D my gallery wall is family pics.. my 20th anniv. present to my hubby, documenting our first 20 yrs worth of memories.
oh, and your desk chair looks amazing.. can we get a better look at that?

blessings,
Tracie

Rachel said...

It looks wonderful! I am one of those people that buys art and then it sits propped against the wall for years before I manage to hang it, so I'm very impressed.

You Are My Fave said...

I turned out so great. I love gallery walls. This definitely motivates me to get mine done.

10.15, saturday night said...

gorgeous walls, you have inspired me!

Forty Two East said...

It looks great. I am not that good at hanging stuff on walls, that's something I let my husband do.

Lee said...

Great gallery wall - well worth all the effort you went to. V. lovely pictures too.

Grace said...

I love that you framed a scarf on your gallery wall! The different colors and styles look lovely together.

I must admit that my desk currently looks just like your corner as well. Where's my mouse again?

lovin' it said...

Great job! Im inspired. I want the same for my wall. :-)

Anonymous said...

Great post.. putting up pictures is a job that I've been meaning to do for ages..thanks for the tips! Lovely pictures also.

!!Estella!! said...

I LOVE your blog!

Sarah Athow-Frost said...

Your gallery looks really stylish. You've reminded me that I really need to get some cool pictures for my house. But I want their to be a story behind each one. My boyfriends family used to live in Rome, and on our next trip over I've promised myself I'll buy a large sketch from one of the street sellers and have it framed. Also think it looks really effective when people hang portraits all up the stairs in random groups, so might try and adopt that too. Your sitting room looks amazing! x

Brittany | the Home Ground said...

Putting up pictures and artwork is something that will be in my near future, as soon as we're done unpacking! Looks great!

sue said...

I tried the trick of using paper shapes once too. Could never get it right because of the whole it hangs a little lower issue. Then I found a tool... It was a stir stick (like you get when you buy paint) with a screw all the way through it. The point is sticking out so that you can hang the picture on the head and mark exactly where the nail should be by pushing the point into the wall. Now I use the paper shapes for guides and when I have them exactly where I want I take each picture and Hang it buy holding my stick. When it is right I just bump the point into the wall. Perfect placement every time.