I have a fun home styling tip for you today.  One fun shopping activity that is really affordable is called, shopping your own house!  

After my ongoing house update the past several years, I had several pictures that were stacked up with no where to go, I had basically out grown them.  But, then I had an idea.  What if I just took the frames and inserted mirrors in them, and created a gallery wall.  I had wanted a gallery wall for years, but this old house didn’t really have any great wall space for that.  Ah-ha, the hall.

(photo by EKRWCREATIVE)

I measured each picture mat that fit perfectly in each frame, and my genius husband went to his trusty glass shop to order the mirrors.  He came home with perfectly cut glass, already cut to size, and inserted them to the frame.

(Photo by EKRWCREATIVE)

We then taped each mirror into the frame, for extra precaution, with heavy duty tape.  Because I had Jeff as my assistant, we measured and hung the mirrors.  You can trace each frame on craft paper, and place them on the wall with tape, and then hang, but when you have a Jeff you don’t need to.  I basically laid them on the floor, and played with the arrangement to my liking, and he did the math. Each frame had a different length due to the picture hangers, so there was a lot of math!

I tend to eye things when hanging pictures. But the rule of thumb is 60″ to the center of the picture.  Of course, this rule is meant to be broken, depending on your situation.  Dining rooms are one example – since you are sitting, the art should be at eye level. I also like the salon hanging technique which is place them how you like ~ not measured, by eye, and room to add more as you collect them.  I am learning to like a look that is a bit more in progress.  A bit more artistic and unexpected.

 

This was also a very economical project.  I thought the custom cut mirrors might be expensive, but they weren’t.  The mirrors were extra pieces from custom orders, therefore they were quite inexpensive.

I call this simple project a win!  Not only did I shop my house for some interesting and unique hall decor, using what I have, with minimal cost, but it is totally unique, and enviromentally friendly.  The extra bonus was that a kind of dark hall became an added focal point to my living room.  In the daytime it is almost as bright as my living room, with all of those mirrors reflecting the light, and at night it takes on a magical and moody feeling, with the relaxing sounds of water splashing and the light trickling in the garden feature.  Creating intregue and atmosphere that a regular wall gallery just wouldn’t provide.

Also, don’t you just love my new, colbalt blue, moravian star light?  We had to replace our ceiling light, due to a water leak.  Isn’t the colbalt blue just perfect with the stained glass window?  It was hand made in Mexco.  Little changes can make such a big impact in a tiny space!

Bonus tip:  This is a hall entry leading into my living room.  I chose this color, Forest Hills Green, by Benjamin Moore, to compliment my living room color, Herb Garden Green. As you can see the ceiling and the trim are the same color as the walls. I like this monochromatic theme because I think it makes the colbalt blue pop in the light, and in the stained glass window. I also love this in small spaces because it is less cluttered.  I see they are calling this a trend now, but I have always liked this when working with such a small space. The more I see this trend the more I want to do it in other areas too.

Thank you for coming by my blog today.  I hope I have inspired you to shop your own house !