In my eyes walls are a piece of art in themselves. How they stand up straight, hold the house together, keep us warm in winter, and can be painted in the prettiest colors of the rainbow. But they tend to shine even more when they are dressed with some beautiful pieces of wall art. Things that give the eye a focal point, that make a plain wall seem more cozy and less structural, things that bring the whole room together and to life. May it be a mural, pictures, photos, wallpaper, or random items. Here are some of my favorite pinteresting ideas for wall art:

1. Glue pretty scrapbook paper on 1x1foot MDF boards.

2. Arrange paint chips in a gradient pattern. Looks like a pixelated photo.

3. Collect a bunch of white frames with randomly collected art on wall ledges.

4. Use fluffy paint on canvas and then spray-paint the whole thing white.

5. Roll up strips of magazine paper and glue on a wood board. Something for people who need to keep their fingers busy.

6. Tape off a pattern or design on woad boards, paint over it, and then remove the tape.

7. Screw a bunch of withered boards to each other and stain them with a thin coat of any leftover paint.

And then there is this secret I discovered just recently: Pictures look better if they are hung to the wall in groups with some empty wall around them rather than spreading them all over the entire wall. Ideally they should all be in frames of the same color group, texture, or style and then arranged in a seemingly random but coordinated way:

Doesn’t look too complicated, right? Personally, I believe that hanging pictures on the wall is the first step to making a house a home and yet sometimes it is the last thing we get to. I have learned my lesson from the past when I would finally hang picture son the wall and then moving out again shortly after. So, let’s get to it. Shall we?

Please feel free to share any wall dressings that you have hung or made recently. Do you prefer photos, paintings, or other art? Are you an empty wall person or put up all your favorite memories?

So, recently I made this framed piece of wisdom to hang over the suitcase nightstand in the guest bedroom. I have never really been into hanging words onto walls just because they are so literal and usually I find pictures more subtle in expressing what I want to say. But then again, words are way more specific and why not contribute a little bit to keep the lost art of reading alive.

When it comes to creating wall art, I don’t like my handwriting enough nor do I trust the steadiness of my hand. Therefore I gladly take on the help of internet and computer for matters like these. I guess I don’t have to go too much into detail about how to print on paper, but I don’t want to miss this opportunity to share with you one of my favorite internet pages besides Pinterest and Kuler when it comes to design stuff: Dafont! You can download thousands of funky, pretty, exotic, or stylish fonts for free and will for sure find the right “handwriting” for your project. The one I used for my travel words is called FFF Tusj. Here are just a few samples of what else is out there:

There are certain things that can only be done when Milo is not asleep, but stays out of the way. Like vacuuming, drilling holes, or banging nails into the wall. Such moments are rare and therefore that kind of stuff usually takes forever to get done.
Today when I got home from work the guys were out shopping and I seized the moment: ran to the living room, fished for the picture that had been hiding behind the sofa forever, banged a nail into the wall, and hung it up like no tomorrow. Just in time before Milo came back home and could push his toys back into the picture.
Here is a photo of the current living corner:

The sofa is from Macy’s and the only thing we really splurged on so far. With the pillows in different shades of green and blue I was trying to set the color scheme for the room and then realized that some more warmth is needed. So instead of going for some neutral curtains, I got this cozy honey colored fabric and sewed up three panels. We really only need them for a little privacy, not to block the sun out. At some we just have to fix the curtain rods that the previous owners hung so narrow that it is impossible to fully spread out the curtains and cover the windows.
And now the picture that I got for $7 at Hobby Lobby really ties it all together.
The next task is to find some sort of coffee table that is stylish and kids friendly. Probably something more in the ottoman direction. Will keep you posted.