Hi! My Name is Lisa and I'm Addicted to Photos and Art

It's true. The minute you walk into our house you are surrounded by either art, photos or mirrors. I can't help it. I come from an art background and I have always loved being surrounded by photos and art that make me smile or remind me of a certain memory or time. So when we made our latest gallery wall in the guest room, it was no surprise that I would fill it with the things I love.

By what exactly did I hang in that wall?

Well the gallery wall started with this art canvas that my brother in law got us.

It's great because not only does it remind me of a great vacation we had in Munich but it also is a piece of art. The best of both worlds. Let's see what other pieces made it to the wall.

Above is a wonderful print I received for Christmas from the Artistic Rebuttal Project that I spoke about last year. I loved the quote, colors and look so I took an old broken frame that I got from the thrift store and added it to the wall.

For the next piece of art I used a Virginia map that I had from college. I went to VCU (GO RAMS!) so Richmond will always hold a special place in my heart. I cut out a small square and added it to a frame that I got on clearance on AC Moore awhile ago. Another easy example of free art!

But my gallery wall also need some great photos for our guests to oggle (is that how you spell that?)over so we added a great bridal party shot from our wedding and another moment from Oktoberfest with one of our closest friends to tie into our large focal piece.

Another piece of my art is actually a two parter. Tim and I got these pieces from the AAGA Annual Art Auction we go to every year. I loved the colors and how simple they are. This is the first piece. (I plan on painting some of these frames BTW)

The other half lives diagonally from it with another cluster of pieces.

I kept them separate so your mind would travel over the whole wall and connect them back to each other. In my mind it helped tie everything together. Finally I have a picture of my grandmother and I. She taught me everything I know about Italian cooking and I love her to pieces. I look up to her so much. The last picture to the right is a beautiful castle shot that I look in Bellinzona, Switzerland. It is right by the border of Italy so it has a large influence from there. It was one of my favorite places we traveled and it makes me smile when I look at it.

One of these days I will give a breakdown of the other pieces we hung up. The only thing I wanted to convey here is that in my mind, a gallery doesn't need to all be matchy matchy. I mean, don't get me wrong- it will look great if you decide to do that. I even did it with this collection of family wedding pictures.

The point is I don't really think there are any particular rules you have to follow. I would just go with what you think balances out and ties into each other and it will work.

So there is my two cents. Do you have any rules that you like to follow when it comes to hanging art or photos? Do you prefer matching frames or do you live to rebel?