A Gallery Wall...Finally

Remember when I said 'One room at a time'? This was my solution to being overwhelmed by a house in which every room must be touched. Finish one room before starting another. Uh huh. Right on it.

Well, my eat-in/breakfast room area has been languishing for a little while. 

It went from dark and wood paneled:

 

to a bright aqua

This light fixture got changed out (but not it's not ready for viewing just yet),

and this bench and pipe shelf thingee got built in that corner

The curtains are *mostly* changed out...

...which ones do you think I went with? 

Then summer hit and I was ready for some lake time...and a wind storm caused some damage in the living room...so everything was put on hold. Plus, I helped my sister paint her kitchen cabinets. Might or might not do a post on that, but I posted some pictures on FB.

But as the title of this post states, I finally have a gallery wall. After surfing Pinterest for awhile and creating a Gallery Wall board with lots of inspiration...it was time to gather up some frames and other things to make one for myself.

Some black frames, some black iron items, some other items that were painted black; everything but the record was found at a thrift shop or estate sale for pennies.

Here is my first go at it:

Kinda blah. Not really loving it. Needs more stuff.

It looks so easy; just arrange into an eye-pleasing arrangement...then the frustration/second guessing fun began. Maybe it would be easier if all my items were square, but after a gazillion switcheroos in the end, it all worked out with my fifty-eleventh next attempt.

From the above picture, you can see the new gray living room color that got carried into the foyer (post will follow as soon as it's finished being decorated), a little of the new breakfast room light fixture (and the brassy, soon-to-be changed fixture in the foyer), the new curtains, and my bike shop sign table that I painted for my husband.

*Disclaimer* This linoleum tile floor looks better (?) in pictures than in real life. It's easily scratched, impossible to clean, and some of the corners are coming up. It will not be staying...but that's a whole other project for another day.

Ready for some more pics? 

A little shelf, my own key painting, a small iron trivet, an ornate frame

One of my fave records from my own stash, made into a clock

This was a mirror in a horrible gold/black-glazed combo. The mirror part was the only thing that didn't survive our move to MD. I like it much better glossy black.

Lots of thrift store frames, painted black, and a license plate from the Great Lake State.

I did the paper cut outs taped to the wall in arranging, but honestly with a lot of the frames the same size, it was a hot mess. This whole project seriously could've qualified for a Pinstrosity post (if you haven't seen this blog, it's pretty funny...and for people like me who attempt something seen on Pinterest...with less-than-spectacular results).

Ok! One room done, right? Ummmm...not really. The old sheers need to be taken down and a new sheer solution put in their place. The bench and shelves still need some tweaking. A new table/seating solution needs to be found (did you notice there were no chairs??). Another corner that holds a desk and file cabinet needs an overhaul sprucing up. Got an idea for the garage entry door...seems like I might've picked the hardest room of all to start with, doesn't it?

Doesn't matter, I'm breaking my rule of one room at a time and have been hard at work in the living room. Amazing what having someone else paint the entire room will do for one's motivation :)

There will be posts on that and the entry way...as soon as I get around to finishing some projects. I should change the name of this blog to 'Don't Hold Your Breath'.

Until then, hope you're enjoying the last few days of summer. I know I am :)