Saturday was rainy and disgusting here in Atlanta, which made a perfect day for an indoor home improvement project.

Chris and I have been wanting to create a wall of frames in our living room, we’ve just always been too indecisive to actually go through with it.

This weekend we changed things.

We pulled out frames and pictures and began fitting the pieces together like a puzzle. There were so many options! But we finally settled on one and snapped a picture so we didn’t forget (since we’d already tried about 20 other arrangements).

Next came a tip I learned from Young House Love. Using newspaper, I cut out placeholders that matched the size of each frame. From there I taped the templates onto the wall where I thought I wanted each frame to go. I took a step back and rearranged as necessary.

As you can see above, the lamp was getting in the way of one picture. I shifted the frame templates up a bit but I could only go so high since pictures are supposed to hang at eye-level.

Eventually we decided that lamp wasn’t going to cut it. I made a run to Target for a new, shorter lamp, while Chris got to work hanging pictures. He hammered nails right into each newspaper template, ripped the template off, and then hung each frame. As simple as that.

A new lamp and some redecorating.

I removed a couple table-top picture frames, and an old collector’s Coke bottle from a Georgia Tech football championship. In their place I added a pitcher (wedding present) filled with my dried wedding bouquet, as well as a hand-carved wooden zebra that was gifted to me by locals on a mission trip to Kenya.

Also laying on the bookshelf is a vintage globe we bought through Craigslist and a wedding album Chris’ uncle made for us. I love that there are a lot of meaningful items to go along with the pictures, which also have sentimental value.

In the zig-zag frame is a picture of the sunset taken on our wedding night at the beautiful reception venue on the river.

We also have a couple pictures I took in Paris during our honeymoon as well as some pieces we’ve collected over the years. My favorite has to be the big wooden frame, which holds a wedding picture of Chris and I in the historic church we got married in.

All in all, our rainy day project turned out great!

Before:

In progress:

After:

What sentimental items do you use to decorate?