Mini Wall Makeover

When we got married, almost five years ago, we were given a beautiful set of picture frames. And they have been on our living room wall for almost five years. Beautiful, but not made for hanging on the wall because they have that stand attached to the back for setting them up on table tops. So for almost five years they have been hanging, crooked, on our wall.

And I have this one dear friend that every time she comes over says, "I am so sorry, but this is bothering me...can I fix your picture frames?" And I laugh and reply, "You can but they will go askew again by tomorrow." I know, because they have been bothering me for five years and I've straightened, re-straightened and finally gave up!

I never changed the frames or did much redecorating to the wall because every year I thought this would be our last year in the apartment. Why put a lot of effort into something that will change in just a few months? Then we would sign the lease again, get busy again and I wouldn't think about the wall until I once again was ready, hoping, thinking of change...

Now, I have no idea when we will move out and I am fine with that. But those picture frames still bother me. So I decided to give myself a birthday treat, get creative, be crafty and turn our apartment into a space I love all over again.

I found two different-sized, but matching, photo frames at almost half-price that go perfectly with the espresso and mochas in our new sectional. Inspired by Pinterest, I got some 12x12 mirror tiles to turn into decor. And to balance the arrangement, I found a wooden "J" for some simplified monogramming.

The mirrors were the fun part. I decided to use three tiles and "inscribe" them with the words FAITH, HOPE and LOVE. Very fitting words for our little family's journey so far.

Here is how I did it...

1) I measured out where I wanted the words to go on each tile and placed vinyl sticker letters in the exact spots. Then I spray painted the mirrors entirely.

I used a paint that looks kinda metallic - the same paint I recently used to "upgrade" a floor lamp from my freshman year of college. (It didn't match a thing before being royal blue and silver, but now it looks like it belongs. Hooray for spray paint!) Anyways, because of the nature and color of the paint, I didn't worry about evenly coating the mirrors. The varying depths of color work well on the glass.

 
2) After the tiles dried, I pulled the letters off.

3) Then to mount them to the wall, I stuck four foam sticky wall mounts on the back.

4) For the wooden "J", I painted it to match the dark brown in the photo frames. 

And the final reveal....

Hooray for a new wall! I love how clean and simple it looks. Everything is straight. It matches the furniture and lamps. So much better.

I still need to replace the image in the center frame. My friend will be doing a photo shoot of Adam & I for our 5th anniversary and that photo will go in there.

And the other frames I have sprinkled throughout the rest of the apartment on top the piano, desk and dresser. So I still get to enjoy the many photos that were on the wall and I still get to enjoy the beautiful frames.

And now I get to enjoy a fresh living space too.