apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i like to have some pictures of the people i love around. i picked one small wall and that is my "friends/family/special pictures gallery". i don't want to use more space.. sometimes it is just too much. :)

I think what needs to be kept in mind is: Why?

Why are you displaying these pictures?

Is it a few cherished, candid shots to remind you of some great times, or funny pictures that may bring to mind a story or show the progression of growth of the kids?

Or........is it simply to show off how magnificent, thrilling and beautiful YOU think your family is? Guess what.....

I like to have family photos around my apartment, but I rotate them so that they aren't all out on display at once, and looking cluttered.

But it's my house, stt64. Of course I think my family is magnificent, thrilling, and beautiful (and I don't even have kids). I take a lot of photos, and I'd rather have the pictures hanging on the walls than sitting in shoeboxes or filling up hard drives.

Why not? It's my house, where I live, and I like to see pictures of the people I love the walls.

I actually don't have any family photos on my walls but I have to say I don't really get the sarcasm here. What's wrong with thinking your family is magnificent, thrilling and beautiful and displaying lots of pictures of them WITHIN YOUR OWN HOME?

I like these ideas - I would love to do a stairway display but our only stairway is an entry stairway up to the apartment... would that be weird?

I like most of the galleries here, except the hallway gallery. I have a long dark hallway in my house, but I think that it would feel oppressive to line it with pictures like in that photo. It makes the hallway feel even narrower than it is.

I've had a hard time deciding how to make my hallway feel lighter and wider, but I don't think that dozens of large photos is the way to do it.

I too find this debate odd. It's YOUR house, display what you want in whatever fashion you choose. Although I've visited plenty of homes with design schemes that contrast with mine, who am I to be miffed by someone else's design prerogative? So what if a homeowner has a room upon room of family picture walls. It's not my house and I don't find it showy in the least because I don't really care what someone else does in their home. Even if you do find it showy, who cares? It's still not your house.

If it bothers you that much, leave.

aabbbiee, robinm: agreed.

"Or........is it simply to show off how magnificent, thrilling and beautiful YOU think your family is? Guess what....."

really?...what an odd thing to think that anyone would have to justify thinking that your family is magnificent, beautiful and interesting enough to display pictures of them in your own home. Do you choose all your decor based on what total strangers will like and think is interesting?

Wow... I have a single wall completely dedicated to framed, matted photos. Frankly, only a few are black & whites of people/family members - most are from my travels around the world. But what's the difference between buying crappy fat french chef wall decor and deciding to decorate your home with things that are important to you? Last time I checked, I'm not running a museum here. I surround myself with things that are functional and that please me. I don't have time, nor do I want to sift through boxes of photographs when I want to remember a particular moment - those moments are available to me when I walk around the corner in my living room. I shouldn't have to apologize to anyone for that.

What a strange comment, stt64...

My family *is* magnificent, thrilling and beautiful...and you can add funny, fabulous, super duper, and fan-frigging-tastic to the list. I love my family more than my house and career combined & I want to be reminded of how lucky I am. I don't really care if anyone else thinks my family is great - but damn it, they're pretty special to me. :-)

I agree with stt64. I don't mind a photograph or two but clusters of photographs seem odd to me. You can cherish and honor your family without having dozens of photographs.

This reminds of of a line from the Breakfast Club: "I don't think the kind of friends I have would mind."

I have had them grouped in galleries and themed: In a 1950 black and white kitchen with a crappy (rusted) fridge, I used black and white pictures in little clear plastic frames, mainly with funny childhood and sports related pictures. In the same 1950 house, had black and white old vintage ancestral pictures in a hallway, all in vintage gold frames.

In my modern, high ceilinged condo, I have pictures I took of buildings in Europe grouped, in similar frames, in the dining room. Also have some pictures of a trip to France near our wine bar.

I think pictures like anything and look better grouped and themed. I've heard some people think they are tacky in the living room, then have their fridge covered with them. A matter of preference, but I did always think my friends whose parents had all of their school pictures over every surface of their living room were kind of embarassing.

LOL, wow, I didn't mean to elicit such a strong negative response! Completely misunderstood, but that's ok, things in writing are often and easily misunderstood. There is no tone or clue of intent by the writer.

Of course, display and share photos of your loved ones, including pets and all, that is a wonderful thing to be able to do.

I've had some experiences where I've felt manipulated to comment on some very in your face items in peoples homes which fall into a category of what I refer to as "I'm better than you". Things that people display for comments to feed their egos. Personally it makes me uncomfortable and my opinion is it more appropriate in the homes private spaces.

In other words, a photo of Grandma at Thanksgiving in front of a lavish meal is something to be cherished for all to see and remember. A picture of your 10 year old getting out of a Lear Jet in St. Barts carrying a Louis Vuitton bag, not so special a moment and clearly meant to give the viewer a certain feeling.

That's all. Not harm meant. Then again, being my opinion I'm entitled to it, attack as you will. I can take it.

I personally think only one wall should have family photos. Otherwise it starts to look a little narcissistic, like the person who has a gazillion photos on facebook or myspace.

I always figured people who put only hung family photos are not very creative. It's very "safe" if you ask me and in comparison to the cost of collecting original art pieces, it's cheap also. My mother in law has a ton of family photos around in dollar store frames and it's super gag-o-matic. But whatever, she's not into her home and decor obviously. I do like the first to third examples above. All of those layouts have artistic qualities.

How wonderful to be surrounded by images and memories of your life and your family. I can't think of anything that says "home" more than that.

stt64: although no one should make you feel as if you have to comment on photos of loved ones, it seems like the real problem is the rude behavior of your friends/acquaintances, and not the actual pictures themselves, no?

tifacola stated: "My mother in law has a ton of family photos around in dollar store frames and it's super gag-o-matic. But whatever, she's not into her home and decor obviously."

so what if the mother-in-law isn't "into her home" when she is clearly "into her family"? perhaps for this woman, a strong sense of family trumps design aesthetic?

what a trippy set of comments.

I have a few family photos throughout my home, and they're all grouped with art and other meaningful artifacts. I prefer that to having a dedicated area for family photos.

Yes, J i, exactly.

Nail hit on head!

Frankly, I think anyone who has a problem with someone displaying family photos in their own home either A) Is overly consumed with homes as "showpieces" or B) Has a damn ugly family themselves.

I like to see people's family and friends photos displayed when I visit their homes. Some are displayed better than others but if the love is there it does not matter.

I personally do not like most of my family so I would rather have a gallery wall of my dog and former dogs and friends but I am just too rigid to make it look interesting.

I do like it when there is some art or sketches mixed in like the first picture.

this is just the old christmas letter debate rehashed... how dare you love and cherish your family if it doesn't fit the design aesthetic i have selected for you. i think its pretty self centered to think people should select what they hang on their own walls based on how guests may feel about the handbag little bitsy was carrying in the photo

I don't understand why there's any controversy over displaying pictures of your family, friends, etc. in your own home. Where else should they be displayed?

These are very helpful ideas for display. I think the problem with family portrait galleries is that most people don't try to get interesting shots to begin with, and then slap them haphazardly into cheap frames.

Why not give your loved ones' images the same treatment you'd give a piece of art? Get nice frames, mat them and display them artfully so that they end up drawing attention rather than blending into generic wall o' photos chaos.

I have to say there is something about the giant display of school photos from the 60's, 70's, and 80's with those goofy hairdo's and unflattering plastic eyeglasses displayed on cheap panelling over a nice plush orangey wall to wall carpet that brings me back to the rec rooms of yore and all that took place there. (all the formative wonderful and icky and awkward things of early adolescence) The person displaying them is clearly more interested in the people in the photos than any outsider can be, but the apparent lack of interest in aesthetics adds to the sense that something deeper is going on. That in fact, parents love their children more than anyone else can understand. Which leads me to people color coding their books...why why why? Although my parents did arrange me and my brothers in size order in some family photos...

great ideas shown here!

my wife and i are both photographers with two kiddos...needless to say, we have a gabillion pictures of our family and travels!!! picking our absolute favorites to make big framed or canvas prints can be so daunting so we came up with a fun use for magnet boards as displays in areas of our home. we love being able to constantly switch in and out our favorite pictures WAY more often that we would with framed prints :) check out our magnet board solution here!

My Mom has pictures of all of us, and relatives too sprinkled throughout her house and some of them ARE themed, such as in the bathroom, she has pics of us in swimming pools or in the ocean etc, in the kitchen are some additional photos, not in any grouping or theme but of one lanky 13 YO goofy looking kid holding onto a stick w/ the dog hanging on for he would not let go (it was a game) - and that kid? Me, taken around the late 70's at the beach, a fantastic photo of my youngest sister in a contemplative pose, looking up in a deep red sweater at our favorite picinic spot at Mt Rainier, taken some 18 years ago and some images of grand kids in more recent years in the living room.

I have a few family photos, not too many sprinkled around the main living/dining room of my place and one b&w photo is my Mom at 14 and is a small school photo in a nice dark green frame and one image of my middle sister and I that was photocopied from the original color photo in b&w and she hand colored it in w/ colored pencils and frames as a Christmas gift about 15 years ago and a B&W photo of my best friend and his wife when they were married in 1994, but the way they were and how it was shot, it looked like something out of the 50's.

Otherwise I don't plaster every surface w/ pics of family. I like to have variety of subjects on my walls, including art.

Great thread of comments. I loved stt64's comment--the 2nd one that is because he/she came back (not attacking) to explain the orig post.

This is what good discussion should be about. I dont agree with stt4 but I like and defend their right to hate that we love our family pictures. Stt4, what do you hang on your walls or arrange on your bookshelves? How do you remember special places and people? Thanks, in advance for sharing.

the groupings are nice but doesn't make much sense if some pictures are too high up for anyone to see clearly.

I like the ideas for placing family photographes, but allmost all the pictures you show are just too full for my taste. There are so many pictures up on the wall, how about just a hand full of your closest relatives instead of a whole hall way plastered with pictures.

Hello Peter K, and thanks for your support. Picture me covered with bandaids from yesterdays discussion. It's ok, I'm tough.

I have in the past had surfaces with many framed photographs for my own personal remembrances. It seemed the more I had out the less important each was. I put most away, and I rotate now and again as I think of someone or a certain place. They are there for me when I need them.

Was a time I had pictures I had taken of Paris and Hong Kong out. I discovered through a little self examination, they were more to show off I had been there than for me to remember. I put them away.

I've had a very old "black and white" picture of bath time at age 3 up in my bathroom. I would enjoy seeing it as I exited the shower. I've taken it down and am looking forward to missing it so it will again have the meaning it did when I first put it up.

On my walls now, not that much, some art, paintings, this I rotate as well, many items in storage.

I like to mix etsy prints, travel photos and candid family photos. I don't mind going into a home with a million family photos plastered on the wall. It's their home, they can do what they want, imho.

I like the look of the photos hung in a grid, but if they weren't always perfectly straight, it would drive me crazy!

I love the white frames and mats, and I love the chock-a-block over-the-daybed arrangement. The mantel? If you can't actually get close enough to those top ones to look at them, then I think they're kind of wasted, even though the pattern should seem nice. I just don't think it ends up as quite a rousing success.

I think that if the photos don't end up really presented well, then it's kind of an insult to the people in the photos.

Does anybody know if the 24 photo frame pictured above the bed is one frame? If so, do you know where it is available to buy?

The only nice presentation of personal photos is the white matted ones with teeny photos inside. The rest are just a cacaphony of cheap frames and low-quality prints. I'm of the school that if you're gonna do it, do it right. Just don't throw it up on a wall in a stairwell because you can, right?

I'm just not a personal photo display person. I collect fine art photography and spend my pennies on stylish mat and frame scenarios for each piece. I prefer to keep the personal pictures in albums, like they're a secret, and pull them out so I can pour over the pages and enjoy.

Thanks for listening!!!!

I don't get why people have to have photos of everyone they know up on display. Just not crazy about how it looks. I prefer to decorate with artwork myself.

I have a feeling you would all hate my mother's beach house. in the dining room there is a large wall that spans "life on the front steps" from 1970 to the present. every summer my mother would line us up on the front porch and take a family photo. the rules are simple, no parents and no dates. the "no parents" rule came about because my mom wanted the photos to continue on even after they were gone and the "no dates" is because of my fighter pilot brother's active social life! LOL

after dating my hubs for 7 years he was beyond overjoyed to finally be able to be "in" the photo. it's a pretty funny annual event, even the neighbors come out to watch. we went from a group of 6 with a dog to sometimes 30 people all crammed onto the front porch. there have been numerous dogs, cats hamsters even a guinea pig or two.

she takes the picture with whatever camera has film, often they are disposable ones from a not to recent wedding she'd been too. 1998 has her thumb in it.

the photos are then put into any frame my mom might have around at the time and the date inscribed in black sharpie on the front. it is the worst assemblage of photos, crooked, out of focus, poor lighting etc but it is always the first thing people comment on and talk about after they've left. it is the most memorable part of the beach house.

I do believe what makes it so successful and memorable is they are confined (crammed onto) to one wall. (that and the hairstyles of the 80's!)

so when it comes to family photos I don't think it matters how they are displayed but what the photograph means to you. the memories are priceless.

I have one friend who keeps a Polaroid camera full of film handy. When she has a party or group of friends over, you get your photo taken with whoever you showed up with, or whoever happens to be in the same room. These have all been lined up around the molding in the kitchen (I don't know what the technical term is - it's basically a high chair rail - about 4 feet off the ground). It's so fun to see who's been there, who was dating who at the time, and who's been there since the last time! I did the same thing at a party, these are taped up around the doorjamb to my kitchen. Had everyone scrawl their names in Sharpie around the white edge, and it's a conversation piece and happily reminds me of a great party. If Polaroid film wasn't so darned expensive, I'd do it for every party!

larchgirl, that is beautiful! I'm going to do that with my kids. I can only imagine how nice it is to see those photos every summer. (Yes, I am the sentimental type...)

sadelah,

that photo I think is from domino. It was a whole bunch of small frames duct taped together at the back and hung as one piece.

hb

I wonder if there is a solution to that Domino photo that is a single frame, and that enables easy photo switching. I would buy several of them.

I also love the pillow in that pictures - does anyone know where that's from?