Gallery walls are such an easy and cheap way of decorating your walls. Today I wanted to share how I used the Ikea Hovsta frames to create a beautiful family gallery wall in my bedroom.
Also, keep reading for some tips on how to take candid photos of your kids!
The Ikea Hovtsa birch frames are new at Ikea. They have a wood looking color to it, which I like it. I also have the Ikea Ribba frames, but choose the Hovsta for this space because I feel they bring a little warmth to the space.
If you love a good Ikea Hack, make sure to check my Ikea Kallax Hack, the super easy Ikea Vittsjo Coffee Table Hack and the Ikea Malm Dresser !
Where to print large photos
There are many places that print large photos like Staples, Shutterfly, etc. personally I have only used Mypix. I like that they have many options for photo sizes and finishes. For this gallery wall I used the 12×18 size on E-Surface. They are also pretty cheap!
How to make a gallery wall
For this gallery wall I used four 16×20″ Ikea Hovsta frames with 12X18 pictures. The frames already come with the borders, so all you need to do is attach the photos using some scotch tape.
Hanging your Ikea Hovsta frames
First, measure where you want your frames to go and the space in between. A good tip is to lay your frames on the floor before hanging to figure it out the spacing and also how you want to lay your photos.
Once you have figured the layout, use a level to mark where your nails will be.
Use nails to hang the frames to the wall and secure them in place with Command Strips. I actually tried hanging them just with Command strips but probably didn’t do it right and they all fell!!
I went back and used the old good “nails to the wall” method!
You can see my whole master bedroom and my beautiful Orian rug in this post
How to take candid photos of your kids – Candid Photography
Candid photos are photos where your subject it’s not posing. Or just being their beautiful natural self! I love this kind of photos.
To take candid photos of your kids, just try to catch your kids while they are playing around. I think one of the worst things we can do when taking pictures of kids it’s asking them to smile lol! Young kids will give you a full size fake smile when you ask them too.
So DON’T ask them to smile. Set up where you want to take the pictures. Make sure to have them in cute outfits and give them something to play with while you snap your pictures!
When taking candid photos, you want to be close to your subject. You can see that the headshot of the girls are pretty big, which means I was standing right in front of them.
For this family picture wall, I only used photos I took with my iPhone. I like to use the portrait mode on my iPhone when taking pictures of the girls. It’s just makes the photos look much nicer and add a little grain to it.
Choose a white background or wall when taking your pictures. You don’t want to have your kids in front of a lot of toys or things you don’t want to see in the picture. This will ensure that your subject it’s not competing with the background.
I hope this tips help and inspire you to create a beautiful family gallery wall of your own!
Xoxo,
Ceres
Ikea Kallax Hack |Ikea Vittsjo Table Hack |Ikea Malm Dresser Hack
Where is the white wood/tan chair from that is in front of your gallery wall?
Author
Hi Megan, it’s from Restoration Hardware 😘💕
I love this room! Where is the desk
From?
Author
Thank you Monica! It’s listed on the post (thumbnails) it’s from west elm! 😘
I’m looking to do something similar in our nursery. The frames online list “picture with mat” as 12.25 x 16.25. Did you have any gaps width wise with that? I would’ve thought I needed to order at least 13″ wide to make sure there are no gaps… Confused!
Author
No gaps, the mat it’s large enough for the photo size I ordered 😘
Sorry, I might have missed it. Where is the curtains from?
Author
Hi Antonia! They are listed on the thumbnails right under the first picture 😘
Hey! I tried clicking on the pic in thumbnail and it’s saying error… would you be able to let me know where the curtains are from?
Author
Yes, I think they sold out! Let me see if I find them somewhere else 😘
Author
https://rstyle.me/cz-n/dn6xyfb48gx
Author
Try this link!
Where are the nightstands from?
Do you print your photos glossy or matte?
Author
I always do matte!
The frames come without glass, where did you get your glass from?
Author
Hi Jenna, I just used the plastic that comes w the frames.
Hope that helps!!