HOMEROOM: Minted Wall Gallery {the blues}

Hello, hello friends. I’ve been on a little break but I’m so excited my first fresh post of the year is all about a room refresh. While I was taking a little blog break, the good folks over at MINTED invited me to pick out a few pieces of artwork from their amazing selection. I think I could have scrolled through the prints for days. Good thing you can sort by theme and color.

Since we live in Southern California and near the coast, I knew I wanted at least one beach print. This gorgeous, simple water color called Playa One by Emily Magone caught me eye. I chose this piece as the focal point and then selected other prints to complement this one.

I just love how it turned out. Talk about lightening and brighten the room. The wall I hung the prints on is the first wall you see when you walk into the house and into the living room. I smile every time I walk past these prints. So, how do you even begin to choose prints and create a gallery? Start with one main piece and choose other prints that work with that print. Vary the sizes and choose some horizontal and some vertical prints. You can mix and match frames or choose the same frame for each piece like I did.

Once you receive your prints – which come well packaged with certificates of authenticity, you need to decide how you’re going to group your prints. I played around with several arrangements on my dining room table and snapped pictures with my phone so I could remember the groupings. Once I was satisfied, I cut out templates from plain paper.

Don’t laugh at my uneven templates – they don’t have to be perfect. Use painter’s tape to adhere the templates to the wall. Again, start with your focal piece and refer to the picture you snapped. I wanted about 3 inches between each print and used a ruler to make sure I was in that range.

Find the center of the paper template and draw a line. Then measure where the nail should go. You’ll need to measure the back of the print to see how low the wire hanger is. If the wire hanger is 2 inches from the top of the frame, measure 2 inches on your template and draw a line where it intersects with the middle line you’ve already drawn. This is where you put your nail. I nailed right through the paper and then carefully tore the paper template away.

As always Sammy had to get in the pictures. I promise, I don’t pose her. Whenever I’m working on a room, she jumps in. Silly girl!