Hallway Wall Mural

Well y’all with the completion of my mini pallet the hallway is FINALLY complete! That’s right… we’ve only been working on hallway related projects for the last… three months? Two months? Four Months? I don’t have a specific day but rest assured this little hallway was started a LONG time ago! I am so glad it is finally finished! It’s a weird little hallway because it is soooo small. Really it’s the teeniest hallway ever… although we didn’t even have room for a hallway at the apartment so… I guess it’s an upgrade! I thought about leaving it completely naked for this very reason, but then I thought of the scandal. The outrage. What would people say? “A naked hallway… preposterous! It needs to be covered! The whole thing is completely indecent!”

Ha!

No the real reason I decided to move ahead with project hallway wall mural is because of the hallways proximity. Our bedroom is the last door down this little hallway… which means we walk it several times a day. In the morning on our way to the kitchen, at night when we get home from work and want to change clothes. In order to reach my office to work on a certain blog… so even though it’s small it gets a lot of traffic from my hubby and I. Plus the left side of the wall mural is completely viable from our bed. Which means that even if we aren’t IN the hallway it is still having an impact on us any time we are in our room.

Plus I like to hang pretty things.

So here are my tips to create a fabulous gallery wall!

1) Pick items with dimension,  to add visual interest try using different items. Instead of 10 identical frames use frames of varying heights and weights, canvas, or three dimensional items.

2) Think outside the box: my glitter deer is actually a small Christmas ornament.

3) Frames are great but try 3m washi tape for added interest… tape a picture or item directly to the wall.

4) For extra added interest use items with varying textures, smooth picture frames, rough wood, aged paper, glitter… visual differences help the eye move from piece to piece.

5) You can never go wrong with sentimental pieces: photos of loved ones, mementos from family trips, that map your husband found for you… anything that makes you smile!

6) Use a common theme or color to unite your pieces. Pick one or two colors to carry through each piece, or if you like colorful pieces let that be your theme! The point is that each piece should relate to at least one other piece is some small way.

I found this adorable sign at Kirklands… and I fell in love with it! The rustic wood, the blue paint color, and the saying. Simply adorable. I HAD to have it! Luckily it was only a couple bucks… so I snapped it up and made room for it in the gallery! I absolutely love seeing it every day… it reminds me that I am always my best self when it’s just me and my hubby!

Let’s take inventory shall we? The little canvas directly above, the one that reads “Wherever you go, Go with all your heart” is from TJMaxx. I believe I shared a sneak peak of this particular canvas all the way back in one of my Found It posts! I love how it turned out, the colors are perfect and the map background is the perfect tie in to the rest of the gallery.

Of course you remember my perky little glitter wall deer Darla… she’s still my favorite addition to this space. Plus she has a prime spot that I can see right from our room. The canvas print of our wedding is self-explanatory… I used a groupon to purchase two for $5 a piece! Such a great deal… I love this shot since it is the only picture out of thousands that even resembles a shot of my hubby and I (alone) together!

The large map in the center of the gallery was a find by my hubby at an antique store in Colorado… when we were still dating. It was the perfect find since it was only a DOLLAR, pictured FRANCE, and wouldn’t be a complete waste of money if my idea to hang a map with washi tape completely backfired. Luckily it didn’t and the tape held… I’ve sense used the 3m teal washi tape to hang several other pieces around the house! Even though my mother thinks I’m crazy and shouldn’t use washi tape to attach things to walls! Don’t get me wrong I love a beautiful frame as much as the next girl but sometimes I just like the simple look of tape better. Hint: depending on the size of your art piece you may need poster tape on the back of your piece in addition to washi tape. Poster tape is strong and may rip the piece when you remove it from the wall… so if this bugs you go ahead and skip this idea.

I bought this ES at Hobby Lobby back when I was in college… I loved the filigree intertwined within the script! Luckily when I got married Shaffer turned into Smith… so I was able to keep these lovely letters!

Of course I still love my DIY String Art piece… that silhouette of a little Yorkie gets me every time! Plus it was so quick and easy… which makes me feel ridiculous since it took me almost 3 years to complete that one little project!

The “Here Comes the Love of your Life Sign” is especially important around here. My best friend and maid of honor hand painted it for my little ring-bearer to carry down the aisle at our wedding! It was one of many surprises I had planned for my hubby… he never knew it was coming! Plus my cousin’s son looked absolutely adorable carrying it!

Aren’t they cute?!

My mom found this Smith premier typewriter ad on ebay! It was an amazing find for two reasons: My hubby’s last name is Smith (which you already knew) and he has an OBSESSION with antique typewriters. In fact for our first Valentines day together I bought him a Smith Typewriter!

Of course you recognize the puppy paw print shadow box I made for my hubby! Another sentimental piece… I love being able to see those sweet paw prints every day instead of every once in a while.

These adorable little polar bears were a steal from my childhood. They use to hang in my childhood home but were a gift when I moved out! I have always had a soft spot for polar bears… probably because my mama loves them. Well not polar bears specifically but she has plenty of pictures depicting life in Alaska… where I was born.

I’m so glad the hallway is DONE! It started as a hodge podge of random junk and slowly came together.  Now it is a collection of memories… and that’s just the way I like it!

What do you think? Do you love my hallway wall mural as much as I do? Or do you like a more clean streamlined look?

Linking up with: Creative K Kids