How we hung our stairway gallery wall quickly and easily without any accidental nail holes + inspiration for other gallery walls in the house.
Well, lookie there! It only took a YEAR… but we finally have photos of our second-born framed on the wall in our house. I mean, I think I deserve a Mother of the Year Award or something, ya know? 😉
We’ve shared our stairway gallery wall before a couple of years ago, but we’ve added another row to keep growing the memories with our sweet little Regan.
(And also the foyer table is still decorated for Halloween, Edgar Allan Poe style.)
(Some affiliate links are provided in this post. Full disclosure here.)
If you ever wanted to know how to create a gallery wall (either on your stairway or anywhere else) efficiently and painlessly, I’m telling ya… the wrapping paper / shipping paper trick right here is the way to go.
We did the same thing in our dining room and master bathroom too.
Just trace your frames with old wrapping paper or shipping paper, mark where the nail holes should go on the paper, place the paper cut-outs on the wall with Scotch tape and move them around until you’re happy with the layout.
Then, drive the nails right through the nail marks and hang.
If we’re feeling lazy though, sometimes we just rely on our tried and true toothpaste trick. If you’re on Instagram, you can see our demo video of that trick here.
We used the same frames we did last time with these from Target and these frames from IKEA.
I’m a sucker for black & white because it makes every space look classic but modern at the same time.
And I feel like it makes our stairway look streamlined and not too busy that way.
The hardest part was figuring out what photos to print because my mama heart just wants to scream “I WANT THEM ALL!!!”
So now we have a reason to smile even more when we walk up and down these stairs every day. (Often multiple times a day because #parentingproblems )
If you want to know about our foyer/stairway at all, here are some of the sources:
- Wall color: Benjamin Moore Classic Grey
- Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
- 5×7 frames
- 8×10 frames
- 11×14 frames
- 5×7 collage
- Sconce light (similar – ours is discontinued)
- Wall mirror
- Foyer chest (similar – ours was a Craigslist find)
- Semi-flush mount light (DIY tutorial)
- Rug (similar – ours is discontinued)
Our family, our hearts, and this wall just keep on growing, and I can’t think of anything that could make me happier. Because a house becomes a home by the people in it.
I’m also curious… do you have any special way that you display family photos? Truthfully though, ANY way you display them is a special way.
Wow, that corner of photos is so inspiring! I have sooo many photos waiting to be printed and hanged, this post makes me a bit more determined (finally), to do the right thing and frame them
Love the B&W. Let’s you use any image, and it all looks cohesive. Perfect!
Thank you, Shannon!!
Do you use anything to keep the frames hanging straight? (tape behind them?) I haven’t found anything that works well!
Hi, Heather! I do not have any tricks for keeping pictures straight but I have found a link to a post that may help you. https://www.framedestination.com/blog/picture-frames/how-to-keep-picture-frames-straight
I love your dining room wall of mirrors. Also, the stairwell gallery is spot on. I’ve read your blog for a few years now, and you have taken a tired house with great bones and turned it into a beautiful home. You always have good ideas to share. Thanks!
Lauren I just heard about your blog yesterday and I am thrilled as we are closing on our Colonial home tomorrow! It by the way is an exact replica of yours. I am so inspired! I love your home and the things you have warmed it up with and I know I will be copying many of your looks and ideas! I love the black doors I don’t know if I have the nerve to do them-its a lot of doors for one thing! I love what you did to the brick! Perhaps someday….we are putting on a new black roof(ours is green with green shutters and a sun porch to the to the right that was added on has big green awnings that we are removing). Ours has a garage on the left side and we are putting on a new garage door. Lots to do so maybe someday we can consider whitewashing the brick. It looks lovely whitewashed! I am so excited to find your blog!
Kathryn, this is so exciting. Congratulations on your new home. I wish you all the best as you begin to settle and make it yours. 🙂