In case you missed it over the weekend at Kristens, we recently added a tall galley wall to the last landing going upstairs.
When I first saw this 12 wall, it was just screaming to be a gallery wall! After collecting frames from various places, we decided paint them with a subtle ombre from white to dark gray. I love how it unifies the different frames, but adds a little visual interest. We recently had family photos taken by the talented David Pascolla, so this was the perfect place to hang them! David was super easy to work with and I just love his style! Be sure to take a look his gorgeous portfolio.
To start, we used a combination of frames from my stash (mostly Ikea), and slightly damaged frames on clearance at our local craft store.
After lightly sanding them, we laid them out on brown kraft paper (the height and width of the wall) and sprayed the frames with primer.
We picked up a sample of BM Amherst Gray and also a sample of white to make a few lighter shades.
Then starting with the lightest shade at the top, we used our airbrush to make a gradual transition to the darkest shade at the bottom. Weve purchased our airbrush a few years ago for another project and use it pretty frequently now. It is good for coloring smaller surfaces but for larger areas it takes choice too long! This went pretty fast (considering the area to be covered), probably about 2 hours.
I know using an airbrush isnt practical for a lot of people. For those without an airbrush, a similar effect could be achieved by brushing on and blending as you go. A subtle color transition would probably be easiest.
Once dry, we finished with a few light coats of water based polyurethane for extra protection. Spraying on the kraft paper was perfect because the frame outlines were already there. We just made a mark for the nail placement, attached the paper to the wall with painters tape, hammered the nails and then took down the paper. So much easier than measuring each individual frame! Taking photos with Annabelle was challenging because she is SO active, but we got a few great ones! I also like mixing prints in to break up the photos. I made a few new ones for this project. Like a Pismo Beach CA state outline. and a large scale Love print.
I love this shot of Annabelle jumping, it really captures her happy spirit!
Im loving the new addition to our rental, I was hesitant to make a gallery wall that was so big because it will be a lot to take down/patch when we move out, but I couldnt resist! Im thinking that it was worth it :) We made a stop at Ikea this weekend to prep for some new projects, cant wait to start! Check back soon for updates!