decorating with photos : a custom cork board

Happy Monday, Lovelies!

We hope this happy/crazy monday finds you well! We spent this weekend working on a super fun project that we can’t wait to share with you, and in the meantime, I thought I’d share a topic that is near and dear to our hearts.

A must-have in every home… Kind of like bangs can make your eyes pop and hide those forehead wrinkles (uh, I mean I don’t have those) photos just add instant warmth and personality to your home in any room.

It’s easy, affordable art unique to only you. Photography in your home.

From our friends’ home, to just about anything you find in ours… It’s one of my very favorite things.

If you have littles, what better way to adorn your walls than with them – your best ever, ultimate home made projects? ;} I gotta say, my three are kind of my ultimate faves.

I know you guys have seen our home, like, a bazillionquarduple times now, but I thought I’d highlight some of the ways we’ve found to work our favorite faces into the decor of our home.

We make our frames. Anything you see on our wall, we’ve done to try to bring that super personal aspect in. I guess you could say it all started because I was tired of seeing frames with painfully high price tags everywhere and that mass produced look. I also wanted certain colors and sizes for a specific space… so we decided to take matters into our own hands, and create some frames for our home.

It added such instant fun, there was no turning back.

Walking into our home, you’re bombarded with photos. I’m all, check out my kids! Aren’t they lovely?! Say they’re beautiful! (Cue scary over the top mom face with questionable issues.)

In our dining room, We designed this large and in charge frame to switch out our photos. It holds them easily, and keeps things simple when we’re ready to update. I even use shelving as an opportunity to showcase my favorite faces.

Just about anywhere you look in our home, you’ll see photos of our kiddos. Whether a trio of subtly bold on display in the playroom…

Or simple and scaled back with a unifying black and white look on our (former) veranda...  (see current teepee status) It’s amazing how quickly a little thought into what goes on your walls can tell a story about those who live there. I think that’s my very favorite part about creating a space.

Our living room was once a little dull, with much to be desired in the wow department. I found myself shopping my house to find a lot of frames that had similar shapes (dated + plain Jane) and gave them punches of color to use them in groupings.

We took this particular problem area with the TV into fun mode by decking it out with some of our favorite photos. We unified all kinds of different frames by simply adding stripes in similar colors to the mattes, and edges. A little bit of paint and planning can give you an instant gallery with your own custom artwork.

You guys have totally seen the our polarinstagram frame. I was in love with all of our Instagram photos, and they were such a tragedy floating around in cyber space. Some of my favorite photos of our family are those sweet, candid moments captured with my phone. I’m actually not a camera snob (surprise!) though I adore my canon, a moment is a moment, and I love framing whatever I can get my hands on.

It was a great alternative to having it in pixelated form forever. From spaghetti covered hands to lego men, merry go rounds and spilled fruit loops, all of the little photos brought a real punch to our space with depth and warmth and fun color. They’re those real life moments. An action packed, ever changing piece of art that our children and guests alike, love. My favorite part: We catch our kids on a regular basis standing on the couch to get a better view of themselves. They love reminiscing those moments, as well.

One of my favorite areas in our home is this project in the kitchen. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never shared a little how-to with you guys. It’s simple and doable for just about anyone, especially if you’re new to trying your hand at a little DIY.

This was one of our first projects we ever took on for the kitchen, and that was nearly six years ago. It was so easy and I’m still in love because it’s timeless, classic and simple to maintain. As you can see, we never really grew tired of it.

It’s a basic cork board we use to display photos with fabric covered thumbtacks.

We took some cork that we found online (Amcork has an amazing selection of natural tiles of cork with beautiful patterns) and after measuring, ordered enough tiles to cover this area. Be sure you speak to their representatives about the depth of your cork – you will probably need backing, too. This will ensure that your cork board will hold any tacks you use to display your photos.

See what a beautiful, natural pattern it has? I love cork and love to see it used in great ways with spaces and interiors.

Using their adhesive, we measured to make sure it was level, then mounted the first layer of plain underlying cork (see photo below). Once it was dry, we added the cork tiles to the first layer of cork with another thin layer of adhesive. We even went back in a few areas later with tiny nails to secure little corners that occasionally wanted to flip up.

Our cork board was ready to use, but it still needed a little extra umph.

Taking some trim (the super light, pre-primed foam-filled stuff in the trim section of your local hardware store – did you enjoy my super accurate description?) we measured, and then cut the pieces to fit.

We gave them a nice coat of paint (Chantilly Lace as my trusty go-to white – yes, I am an addict) and (wait for it…) hot glued the separate pieces to the wall around that fab cork.

When the glue was dry and the frame was situated, we went back with (cheater’s alert!) some wood filler.

And when that was dry, a small amount of camouflaging paint in the tell-tale cracks. A few of the corners weren’t perfect, but not once has anyone ever asked why our cork board was a little lacking in the utter perfection department.

They’re too busy chasing crazy kids around like us.

And for me, it’s the little imperfections that keep it real and make it fun.

It was that easy.

Tada! Instant character, and a great way to quickly change out your photos as your little ones grow. They can be hard to keep up with, after all. Though I can’t seem to find it in me to take down the old ones, either… I guess I’m a not-so-closeted photo hoarder. ;}

This is a project I highly recommend for simple switcharoos in your home!

Decorating with photos – it’s kind of my obsession. And sometimes I wish I had more walls. ;}

How do you use photos around your home? Do you find that they instantly warm a space, and add character to each room? We’d love to see!

PSSST! PS – Be sure to check our our ebook, Handmade Walls (insert shameless plug here) for detailed how-to’s on a few of the projects above!

Have an inspired day, everyone!