Stephanie has a lovely wall that she'd like to style. She has a beautiful family and lots of photos to hang. This particular wall is visible from a side entrance and the kitchen that is open to their family room. Stephanie's question is where to hang the photos. Should they be at eye level from the main level, or should they be at eye level from the lower level? The pictures that were so thoughtfully taped up to show the scale of the wall are 4x6s.
I would like to point out a few things that I think will help determine the space to be used. First, that ledge is so tall, and I would guess incredibly useful, that I think hanging frames five feet off the floor of the lower level would be too low. I also think it would help make the area more transitional (ie, help draw your eye from one level to the other) to have multiple rows of pictures at various heights. I would love for the grouping to help break up the horizontal line of the architrave, or door header. I thought this 2nd Opinion would be the perfect time to reference a couple Gallery systems that are on the market.
This is the nicest and possibly the most famous version on the market today. It's called, The Perfect Picture Wall. This system comes in a variety of finishes and either a 1" frame or 2" frame. I've highlighted the option above because I think the wall could carry the weight of the 2" frame very well and I think this wood finish would look very warm. I also think it would hold up to color family photos if that's what Stephanie chooses. If you wanted to have a really large gallery wall they offer configurations where you group multiple sets together.
The above picture is of Michaels Hang Your Own Gallery. It's the same idea as it includes a template and frames, there are fewer finish options though. I would stick with the horizontal or full-scale wall option as opposed to the staircase template as the proportions would fit Stephanie's space a lot better. The wall itself is vast, but the stairs are few.
I hope you like these options. Now all that's left is to pick a system and admire your beautiful family!
-Andrea
-Andrea
