Photo Finish

Weddings, new babies, family gatherings – many of life’s most important moments are often captured on film, or more likely, digital media. Yet the fate of those photographs varies from one family to the next. Some homes proudly display photos for all to see while others, even with the best intentions, may leave photos sitting in a box or worse yet, the shots may remain stuck on the memory card indefinitely. The beginning of the year is a great time to do a refresh on your home’s décor, and design elements featuring personal images of your family and loved ones can be an exceptional way to dress up a home.

Sticking a few of your favorite snapshots in frames is far from the only way to decorate your home with photographs. These days you can get your most beloved photos printed on just about anything – wall canvases, posters, throw blankets, toss pillows, even coasters. The possibilities are as limitless as your imagination and the different kinds of pictures you can take. When you find that you’ve captured an especially meaningful photo, or perhaps your favorite photo of all time, you can take the next step by converting that photo into more functional artwork.

Let your mind run wild as you think of clever ways to display your favorite photographs as artwork throughout your home.

Photographic Art for Large Spaces

Large open walls can serve as the perfect canvas for a decorative element involving photographs. No matter what your personal style, you can design a lovely and emotion-filled atmosphere in each room of your home that you desire. Create your own photo canvas wall art with a favorite photo or an artistic embellishment of one. Wall canvases look especially nice when the photo wraps around the edges of the canvas, giving you a lovely view from all angles.

A gallery wall of framed images can be an exquisite way to improve the design of your home by lovingly displaying family photos in a visually appealing arrangement. Look online for inspiration on arrangement options or play around with a set of gallery frames yourself, asking for your family members’ input. You can also choose to have very large images reproduced in a mosaic format, where the image is broken across multiple canvases or creative wall elements. The mosaic style adds a more modern look and feel to the room while preserving the emotion of the shot
you choose.

If you aren’t opposed to the thought of wallpaper, you can even turn your favorite image into custom wallpaper for your home. Imagine the different looks you could create for your finished basement, a modern kitchen, or any room, really. From traditional photos to stylized and artistically edited shots, the possibilities are virtually endless.

If you are decorating for a special event, like a child’s first birthday, a retirement party, graduation, or an anniversary party, you may wish to create your own banners featuring favorite photos of the guest of honor over the past year or more. You can use cardstock, string, miniature clothespins, and your own printed photos to design a lovely birthday banner, anniversary streamer, or other special decoration to help folks enjoy a trip down memory lane.

Sweet Snapshots for Small Spaces

If you want to decorate a smaller part of your home, such as a partial wall or area above existing furniture or furnishings, think in terms of the space you’ve got. A skinny but tall wall area can benefit greatly from a vertical picture frame or series of frames positioned just right. You can also find frames that are connected by decorative ribbons or ropes, creating an interesting effect in even the most unlikely spaces of the house.

Adding framed photos to the walls of your staircase can be a nice touch to an area that is well traveled. Choose an arrangement of frames that is geometrically pleasing to the eye. You might also save some photographs for the hallway leading to each family member’s bedroom. Consider long frames or a collection of several images framed separately.

When space is extremely limited, it can be helpful to think outside of the walls. Look around for different surfaces in your home. A simple glass or plastic template applied over a coffee table, desk, or end table can create the perfect canvas for a collage of your favorite photos over the years. Get the glass or plastic cut to the exact dimensions of the surface you wish to cover and then have fun arranging lots of your favorite images. You can always swap out photos in time, but this array of images will be a fast favorite when you have company over to visit.

You can also brighten up your mantle, end tables or nightstand with classy frames and photos that match the vibe you are striving to create. As the seasons change, feel free to swap out the photos for something new to keep things exciting. You can likely store several additional photos in the frame behind the image on display, making it easy to rotate the images as often as desired.

Photos remind us of the people, places and activities we love. Many people keep photos in their homes, in their office, or in their wallet, and happy families tend to display large numbers of photos at home. -Huffington Post, January 26, 2015

More Creative Photo Accents

If you want to make your home a little cozier, consider getting your favorite photo printed onto a throw pillow or a set of pillowcases. The subject of the photos doesn’t necessarily have to be a person – you can create a pillow of a family pet or your favorite vacation scene – mountaintops, a waterfall, the most romantic beach at sunset.

Numerous other trinkets, knickknacks and decorative items make it easy to place accent pieces on your furniture, shelving and walls. Photos engraved on crystal can be a nice gift for someone you love, but they can also be a cherished aspect of your home’s décor. Place photo crystal blocks in a highly visible area where the sunlight can also reflect brilliantly. Three-dimensional group photos can be a fun element for the whole family to enjoy, especially the kids. These may be a nice addition to the office, den or family room.

If your budget is fairly forgiving, you can consider other artistic renderings of your favorite photos. One idea is to commission an artist to use a beloved snapshot as inspiration in painting a mural in your den or crafting an oil painting for your wall. You can have your family’s photo professionally taken (or even just your pet’s photo) in such an artistic manner that one, if not several, of the shots would make a wonderful wall hanging in some of your more frequented rooms.

Let your mind run wild as you think of clever ways to display your favorite photographs as artwork throughout your home. The photo market, along with technology, both continue to change and evolve, giving us even more options in photo processing and display. Embrace the chance to show off your loved ones while making your house feel more like a home.