How To Create A Photo Accent Wall

Start with an Accent Color

Painting the wall behind your cherished memories will really make them pop.  Take a look at the other colors in your room. Most accent walls look their best when they adjoin walls in a light to medium shade. You want to make sure you balance the strong accent wall color with neutral paint colors on the other walls, such as gray, beige, "greige", cream, and tan.

Consider what kinds of photos you will display. Are they black and white, or full of vibrant colors? If you have a lots of bright, bold colors in the photos, it might be a good idea to print them out and put them against various color chips so you can see how the accent all color highlights your pictures.

Experiment Different Layouts

There are a number of ways you can plan your picture frame arrangement, but actually seeing the wall blocked out is the best way to visualize the space. By using painter’s tape, you have the flexibility to not only adjust and create any size that fits best, but it’s easy to remove and not cause damage to the paint.

You can also lay your frames out on the floor and arrange until you're happy, then replicate the arrangement on the wall.

Hanging Pictures

Once you have your pictures in the spot you want, you can start hanging!

First you need to measure the distance of the hanging wire (on the back of the frame) from the top of the frame.  Then go back to the painter taped squares you planned on the wall and measure this same distance from the top edge of your painter’s tape (with the corresponding location of each frame), make a small pencil mark in the center, and hammer in your nail.

If you do not want to use nails, temporary mounting hooks and hanging strips are great alternatives.

Add Lighting

Here’s my last tip; add some light! Pictures with lights above them make it stand out like an art gallery. If you are worried about running cords and electrical, puck lights are a great solution. You can get puck lights that are battery operated with a timer or a remote. Just install the light fixture without the cord and then adhere these lights where the socket is. Viola! Light without a messy electrical project.