Ideas for Blank Walls

If you are anything like me, you struggle with what to do with blank walls. This is especially frustrating when moving into a brand new space. Unfortunately, most of us tend to throw something up that works and then get used to it even though we don’t love it. The wall art section beckons me in every store I go in, but I don’t like the idea of having prints that are “popular” or that lots of other people have in their homes too. I once saw a picture in a magazine that had a wall full of blank frames. That image stuck with me and when we painted our bedroom a deep blue, I decided to grab several frames of different sizes and colors to experiment. I simply took off the back covers and glass, played around with the layout and nailed them up. I started with the three above and decided it needed more for the space.Five frames looked much better and I loved how it turned out! I was also glad to have them up on the walls rather than stuffed in drawers collecting dust. It’s funny because each of these frames has a distinct story behind it. For instance, we received the frame with the crosses as a wedding gift and I remember thinking, “This is not my style at all, what in the world are we going to do with this?” (no offense to whoever gave it to us). The ornate silver frame in the upper left used to hold our wedding vows that I printed off and gave to Ben as an anniversary present one year (one of those thoughtful mushy gifts that didn’t go over well that I referred to in my last post).I’m always insanely jealous when I watch HGTV designers just “throw together” an art project or mural like in the pic above. I do not possess the artistic talent to create something like this or my house would be full of them! Those sticky wall art things just aren’t the same. I am giddy with the idea of having a one-of-a-kind piece like this. If you or your significant other are an artist, you are breaking a design law if it isn’t being reflected in your home!Another one of my favorite ideas are picture frame montages that host different items than just photos. These homeowners took a magazine article that began with a “P” (the first letter in their last name) and simply blew it up 300% at Kinko’s. They also used maps of their area, postcards and art in addition to a few black and white photos – great creativity!

There are a few ideas if the thought of purchasing art at a big name store makes you cringe or you’re just in the mood for a change. Anyone have any other outside-the-box ideas for void walls – floating shelves, hanging plates, framed fabric? Did I make you artists feel guilty for not using your skills? How do you incorporate a framed Tom Petty poster into the design of a room (seriously, I’ve been trying to figure this one out for awhile now)?

Mural image found here, and picture frame montage found here.