What Do You Put on Your Walls? — Power of Moms Community Round Up

We asked our community what they put on their walls–because the photos, words, and images that our families see on a daily basis impact us in powerful ways. Here’s what we learned.

(Thank you everyone for participating! And if you’d like to leave comments here on the post or add your photos to the Facebook post, we’d love it!)

Jodi said, “A little out of the box, but sometimes I just want my walls to speak “calm” and “peace” rather than “busy.” I wish these ferns were real, but they’re from Hobby Lobby…hung with binder clips from twine and a teensy tack at each end holding it all up.”

Here is her simple, yet beautiful wall:

 

Melissa created a gallery wall along her stairwell like this:

 

Here are a few more samples of gallery walls from our community of mothers:

 

 

Jeanine created a family heirloom wall complete with old family photos and relics from the past:

 

 

Danielle mentioned that she loves to include photos of the everyday on her walls, in addition to more formal photos:

 

Several moms mentioned they love to find inspirational quotes to put on their walls such as this:

 

 

 

Emily said she likes to include furniture and big art!

 

Katie made a superstar hallway. She said, “Each of my four kids picked out some wrapping paper to hang up. Then they covered it with things they love: quotes, monthly goals, papers, etc. We hung these up in the hall between the kids’ rooms. They are not done yet, but the kids just lit up when I told them about this idea.”

 

Laurie loves this simple look:

 

Katie shared her family tree wall and her library wall:

 

Sarah has made amazing use of the space on her wall! She shared this idea: “The clothesline holds all our expectations of our kids and us in various areas of our lives according to what God says. They are typed and mounted and then laminated for longevity. The clip boards change. They hold a number of ‘came home from somewhere papers’ as well as anything else paper that needs to be kept for a time (i.e. permission forms, swim schedules, etc.). The baskets on the floor are a catch all for each kid. They can dump whatever I have asked them to put away in their rooms throughout the day into these baskets; but they must be emptied each night before bed. Attached to each basket with a binder ring is each child’s flip chart of chores.”

 

Lori made a super creative “C” wall. She said, “I love my ‘C’ wall. I’ve slowly collected Cs, for our last name and made a collage. I’ve bought some, made some and received others as gifts.”

 

Paula’s wall is so sweet. She shared, “I have a triple frame of each kid’s baby photo shoot (which are nothing compared to the fancy shots they do now but I still love them). Then we have a collage frame for each of them with 5 or 6 of their school photos. They get to pick which ones they want to display: sometimes their favorites or their most awful—just for fun. It’s cool to see the progress of them growing up all together on the wall.”

 

Michelle likes to print photos from her phone at home or at Costco and display them right away by using clips. This way she can always keep their photos up to date. She says, “I found frames with clips at Walmart, JoAnn, and Hobby Lobby. Some I added clips to, and the giant frame for the 11×14 family photo, (which are only $4.99 at Costco), I made myself with 1×3 scrap wood. This is fast and easy, and my family LOVES it!”

Several moms shared practical tips on how to plan the layout ahead of time, what to use to hang frames (so you don’t panic about holes in the wall!), and other helpful ideas!

• My advice is to trace whatever pieces you choose on butcher paper, then use sticky tack (or painter’s tape), to arrange (and rearrange) the papers on the wall until you like it. That helps me visualize and assess sizes, shapes, and layouts before nailing a ton of holes.
• Many moms recommend using 3M Command Hooks and velcro strips for hanging photo frames. (Follow the instructions—we have had a couple of things fall, especially on walls that have lots of humidity & temperature fluctuation, but honestly they work great and keep your walls intact. No nail holes necessary, or at least fewer holes (or the really have stuff). And it’s less permanent so you can easily put things up even if it isn’t perfect.)
• I recommend reading The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith if you want encouragement and practical home tips. Its like half devotional, half decorating–two of my favorite things!
• I’ve found often that ONE BIG PIECE is much better use of space/money than lots of small things that don’t make as much of an impact.
• Find frames at Hobby Lobby, Target, Costco, and IKEA.
• I LOVE this idea for creating a canvas watercolor image of your favorite family photo! https://www.mommypotamus.com/photo-to-watercolor-canvas
• The best thing EVER are picture rails. These can easily be fitted to all walls and the you hang your pictures by wire and picture hooks on to the rail. That way you can ring the changes, by season, be event. Great for when you are just plain bored with the pictures in their current location. We have rails in all our rooms and it is amazing how quickly you can change the feel of the room by switching pictures around.
• Use “Easy Canvas Prints” to print pictures on canvas.
• Love this website with beautiful artwork. I especially love Brian Kershisnik’s print called “Climbing Mother.” It epitomizes motherhood to me 🙂 https://www.newvisionart.com
• I like mixing round and square things with varying heights. Gallery walls are great. Also to bring more light and create the illusion of another window, I use mirrors.
• I like to shop at TJ Maxx and Home Goods for beautiful, affordable art. The canvases are my favorite.

Note from April: I SO appreciate all the time that our community members spent putting together these ideas and sharing them with all of us! I have started hanging up my very favorite pieces of art on my walls (and giving away/storing those things I don’t love), and now I have lots of great ideas to think about, plan, and prepare. My walls won’t be “finished” right away, but I feel like I can actually DO this now. Thank you, thank you!!!

About Power of Moms

Power of Moms is all about moms helping other moms become the mothers and people they really want to be. We're a gathering place for deliberate mothers interested in growing through motherhood – not just going through motherhood. Our overall vision is to offer moms around the world the chance to “network” with other moms who share their same values, motivations, hopes and dreams. We aim to help moms take care of the person inside the mom, while taking care of their families.