gallery wall – Dust Bunnies and Dog Toys

If you’ve been around the blog for a little while you know I’m slowly curating our gallery wall around the TV in the Family Room. Today I’m sharing a few recent additions I added over the weekend. The first is a rustic mirror I got from Michaels for free thanks to a great BOGO sale when I purchased the frame for my whale breach collage. It originally came with a rope hanger attached to the sides, which I liked but not in this grouping. So I removed it and will re-use it on another project I hope to wrap up this weekend.

MirrorClose

The whitewash creates a weathered patina that immediately drew me to the piece. I placed the mirror on the side near the fireplace where it can reflect natural light from the windows. I think it also helps balance some of the bigger items in the whole collection and I love that the round shape breaks up all the square corners.

I also added this lovely rusty cross votive holder I scored on the local buy/sell page for $15. I had planned to use it on the deck, but didn’t want to constantly be emptying the votive holder when it rains, so I decided to find it a spot inside and am in love with it here. Next to it I added a freebie frame I got on the same Michaels BOGO order. I filled it with a free chalkboard printable I found online. I might change the chalkboard print seasonally, but I like that this one can transition from season to season if I opt not to. Plus I love the simplicity and thought behind the quote. 🙂

I plan to DIY a long narrow Alaskan themed sign to fill the space just above the cross and chalkboard print and a shorter narrow piece to fill the space between the fireplace switch and the stone, but it might be a while before those happen. I also have a piece of family history on the hub’s side that I want to add under the metal 7, but need to figure out how to make sure it’s secure because it’s pretty darn heavy. Stay tuned to see how this space continues to evolve!

Shared on Knick of Time’s Vintage Inspiration Party #209!

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the weekend and did something special to honor those who have paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we enjoy. We tackled several projects over the long weekend and have plenty of complaining muscles to prove it! We were so busy that I didn’t even have time to edit the photos yet, but I plan to get to that tonight so I can start sharing them tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s a little project I did last week. Remember back in January when we hung our massive new TV on the wall and I mentioned I planned to do a gallery wall around it? Well I finally did.

Although I originally had a layout all figured out it didn’t fit quite the way I anticipated, so I rolled with it and just hung things in a similar pattern. I could have done the Pinterest trick of cutting out templates for each piece to test it all before I committed, but I wasn’t feeling patient enough for all that. And it seems to have turned out ok without the extra effort. I’m enjoying the Pottery Barn look it gives the Family Room and the fact that most of the pieces hold a special memory for the hubs and I is even better.

On the right is a pencil sketch of me with my horse done by a friend and a wooden arrow pointing to a photo of the hub’s mom and dad in Italy on their last trip together. I love that that the arrow points to their photo as if it’s pointing it out. Can you believe I found it on a daily deal website, stained and ready to hang, for just $12? Talk about a great bargain! And the wood tones fit perfectly with the rest of the pieces in the gallery.

Here’s a full shot of the pencil sketch. It’s nice to have it out on display again after it’s been packed away for so long.

Next to the sketch is a metal star I picked up a while back, but can’t remember where and Sangria’s paw print plaque. I added a small saw-tooth hanger on the back with heavy duty industrial glue and let it cure overnight to make sure it had a good seal.

The left side includes a framed postcard from our trip to Tucson for a friend’s wedding, where we saw the world’s largest rose bush alongside a photo of my kitty before Luna, Kitty Meow. Below that is a watercolor portrait of the hub’s previous dog, Kenai as a puppy. I had it commissioned as a gift shortly after we were married by the same artist friend who did the sketch of me and my horse . Next to that is a Bruce Nelson print, which was the first artwork the hubs and I bought together after getting married. And a lovely rusty metal D rounds out this section.

Here’s a close-up of the watercolor portrait, which was done from a photo the hubs loved.

And here’s a good look at that metal D. I was totally giddy when I found this gem at a local antique trunk show for just $20! The rusty patina adds so much character and ties into the other browns in the other pieces.

It’s still a work in progress, as I plan to continue adding to the collection by making a wood slice chalkboard sign with some of my favorite song lyrics and an industrial looking 907. Eventually, it will probably take up the whole wall, but for now, having room to grow is just fine. 🙂