A Gallery Wall for Under $50 with Ikea and Shutterfly!

Our house is still in shambles after moving.  I feel like it's actually messier.

And yes, I know we moved 3 months ago but in that time frame we also had a small child and I'm lucky to find time to shower with two children, never mind organize. I do make plenty of time to look for home improvement and home decor ideas on Pinterest.

Now, I have unpacked.  And organized but I'm not loving it. And if this is my forever home, I should love it, right?

I know there are a few furniture pieces I want to switch out before I hang things in the living room but I knew this hallway wall that goes to the bedrooms was just perfect for a DIY wall art treament. After looking at tons of decorating ideas, I decided it would be the perfect spot for all of our favorite family pictures. 

It's just blank and empty and needs some love.
It's practically begging to be a gallery wall, right?

At our most recent Ikea trip, we grabbed a handful 15 frames, not all the same.  We wanted to be able to add more in later even if one particular frame was no longer available.

The fifteen picture frames from Ikea rang in at a very do-able $32, rather than the $5-$12 per frame at other  retailers. The frames we picked up included the RIBBA, the HAVERDAL, and the NYTTJA.

Next was ordering images from Shutterfly. I literally order about 100 every other month so I have no idea how I pared it down! The total for the 12 images (Sounds like I'm missing 3... hold on...) plus shipping was less than $5.

To break up just pictures of our family, I went deep into the boxes of unpacked goodies in the basement and pulled out some gorgeous watercolors of Plymouth where I grew up, and where hubs and I met.
Because each image is of a beach town store front or the ocean, it really lends a nautical vibe.

With a $4 package of nails from Target (or anywhere you buy that type of stuff) and a hammer we already owned, I was ready to hang.  Unlike most people, I did NOT map it out first! I wanted to be free flowing and organic so I can continue to add more frames as I want without worrying about having 2 vertical pictures so it stays balanced.

I love the way it came out.

 Grand total time:

$32 on Ikea Frames
$5 on Shutterfly pictures
$4 for nails from Target

$41 dollars total.

The most time consuming part was actually walking through Ikea and picking my images!
Putting pictures in every frame and hanging only took an hour!

What home project should I work on next?