I’m on a bit of a photo wall burnout in my house right now. We have a collage wall in our living room, photos going up our stairway (well, I’ve yet to put those back up since moving our new mattress up the stairs), and I’m putting a wall of photos & art in the new home office.
The thing is, I LOVE the way floor to ceiling photo walls can look. They tell a story. They show your personality by what you put up. They are unique to you. But as I began thinking about our entryway I knew that another photo wall was the last thing this house needs. Thus began my brainstorm for ways to have visual interest on a wall without the use of photos/frames/art.
Here is what our entry looks like as of this morning. Excuse the poor quality pics…they’re straight off my phone.
That table and mirror were both freebies from various locations. I can’t wait to change them out!
This was the first area in the entire house that I decided to paint, and from the second I painted it I’ve loathed my color and sheen choice. But I have to admit, I secretly love it as well because it is the best example of how far I’ve come and how much I’ve learned about home remodeling.
I love that throwback picture. That wallpaper was hands down the EASIEST in the entire house to remove (thank God!). It was very thick paper that was already loose and practically fell off once I applied the magic potion to it.
So back to how the entry way is now–empty, naked, & shiny. The only thing on the walls is the sign that we had made for our wedding.
Other than that there’s just the supposed to be gray, but really it’s blueish-purple SEMI-GLOSS paint. What was I thinking? Obviously I didn’t know that semi-gloss really shouldn’t go on walls. Especially walls with imperfections. The light coming in from outside bounces off the glossy wall and makes the worst reflection.
So after much browsing and brainstorming I found some great options to add interest to the wall without adding a bajillion picture frames. Here are some examples of what I’m contemplating doing.


I’ll be honest with you, I’d love to put up some gorgeous wallpaper in the hall, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I know that this house is most likely not our forever home & I can’t imagine leaving wallpaper on the walls for someone else to sweat over taking off. Or maybe it ends up being our forever home, I get sick of the wallpaper, and the I have to go through that whole annoying, labor-intensive process again. To that I say, “No thank you!”.






Sarah Ward
February 17, 2013what about one big statement piece? like here: http://truebluemeandyou.tumblr.com/post/13900642533/diy-headboard-using-popular-tree-shower-curtain
Emily
February 17, 2013I like that a lot!!
Kristi
February 19, 2013I really like the stencil idea! I’ve been contemplating doing a stencil on one wall in our family room – it has cathedral ceilings so it would definitely be a statement wall. I also like the two different paint finishes that Beth used over at Sawdust and Embryos. http://www.sawdustandembryos.com/
I am sure whatever you choose will look great!
harlie
February 22, 2013Hi, Emily!
I just wanted to let you know I’ve selected your blog for the Liebster Award. You can get more details on my blog at http://loveofsunshine.com/blog when it posts on Friday 2/22/13. The award was passed along to me by another blogger so I hope you’ll join in the fun!
[email protected]
Ada (new york)
February 26, 2013That sharpie wall is cRaZy cool! Congrats on how far you have gone w/the remodel wooohooooo!
Amber
February 17, 2014Hi! Love your blog! I was wondering what color and brand blue paint you used for your chevron wall with the gold mirror. I have been looking everywhere for that color for my nursery! Thanks