Spiffing up an Over-Sized Wall

Guest post from Christina Lang

When we moved into our new home last year I was overwhelmed by the amount of space that needed to be filled.  All of the decor that I had brought from our last home only filled in about 1/3 of the walls.  After talking with the neighbors about how they filled their over-sized walls I got a few ideas.

The most practical idea (and also budget friendly) was a large shelf that could hold canvas pictures of our children.  Now that the shelf is finished it is my favorite wall in the house.

We had to special order the piece of wood  (4x8x12) that would become the shelf from our local home store.  I specifically ordered a rough cut so that it looked like a beam from an old barn.  We stained it and let it dry overnight.

Once the stain was dried it was time to hang.  This was the most time consuming part due to the size of the shelf.  My husband used wrought iron brackets which complete the look and are strong enough to support the weight of the wood.  I ordered photos on canvas for each of my kids in black and white, added a few things from clearance aisles, and a splash of color with flowers in a vase.

The result is our “trophy wall” that features beautiful photos of our children (lizziebeephotography.com) and becomes a topic of conversation whenever guests are visiting.  I have the canvas sitting right on the shelf, so as the kids grow I can easily replace them with updated photos.

What do you do to spiff up your walls? Any tips you’d like to share?