DIY Wall Photos

Following our trip to London and Paris in 2012, I was inspired to create wall art with some of the photos we took on our trip. I further decided that I didn't want the art to be limited to our European photos since we have captured beautiful shots of landscapes in our other travels as well. So my husband and I sorted through all of the vacation photos from some of our favorite trips including London, Oxford, Paris, Niagara Falls, Lake Ontario, Colorado, Maine and Michigan and narrowed it down.

After the photos were chosen, I had to determine the best way to display them ... I found an inspiration image of a living room online that I have used as one of my inspirations for re-designing my living room, and there was an art collage on the wall in the inspiration photo that I chose to mimic (inspiration image below).

As a designer, I tend to adhere to the "Rule of Thirds" in graphic design and photography. This concept also pertains to interior design where the standard rule is that information and objects that appear in threes are more appealing, memorable, and effective than other numbers of objects. So ... the inspiration photo of the eight frames in two rows kind of threw me for a loop - though after much analysis, I determined that this grouping was quit nice and felt modern to me so I went for it!

To begin my photo project, I purchased eight 8X10 wood frames from Michael's. I then purchased poster board that I cut with a X-Acto knife to create custom-sized mats. For the photos, I pulled each photo into Adobe Photoshop, cropped them to 8X10" and added a dry brush artistic filter effect (below). I liked the way the dry brush technique turned the photos into paintings. It seemed to increase the visual interest. I printed each photo on regular printer paper, cut to size, assembled and hung on the wall. There are a number of photo editing programs out there that cater to all experience levels - Photoshop is the program I design in but any photo filtering type program can help you choose the right aesthetic for your photos!

The end result (below) is a colorful, personalized wall of art that reminds us daily of the great experiences we have had in the past. I love the way each picture turned out. I also like the contrast of the white mat and the solid brown wood frames against the landscapes and architecture of the photos. The photo collage helps add to the contemporary design of my living room, AND it is one-of-a-kind art just as is all of the art in my home. Surrounding myself with the beauty and memories of our experiences brings a smile to my face!

We liked the way this turned out so much that we plan to add to the photo collection as we continue to travel ... The trouble is, I am beginning to run out of wall space!

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