Today I’m excited to show you what I’ve been working on in our family room. In the past I’ve showed you the seating area (here and here), mantel (here and here) and even the desk area of the room. However I have completely avoided showing you the TV wall since this post in 2010. Yeah, four years. Here’s what it looked like then. (Just excuse the flash photography of the early days)
Back then we had a massive big screen TV and an even more massive entertainment center in the family room. The large scale of the TV and associated furniture paired with a set of DIY canvases adequately filled the space on the two story wall.
Since then our style has totally evolved AND we have switched out both the TV and entertainment center for something more modern. The next step in the room’s evolution looked like this.
I scored this vintage Henredon dresser FOR FREE on Craigslist. We simply popped out the top drawer and runner then drilled a few holes in the back to accommodate our TV component wires. Finally we caved to the new fangled technology and bought a flat screen TV as well. But how do you like that huge, honkin’ blank expanse of wall?
I took my time devising a solution to the blank wall problem. It was obvious that a gallery wall was the answer but I had to wait for the right inspiration to find me. One Saturday at the flea market I stumbled upon this Eames chair print for $5 and that was it! I searched online and the print is available here. Um, “I want to lounge with you” perfect for a family room right?
With the lounge print as the centerpiece, the gallery wall evolved to include collected items from the thrift store, flea market and family as well as a few DIY painted canvases. Here’s the completed gallery wall.
I made an effort to balance the black and white, gold and rustic wood elements in the arrangement from side to side and top to bottom. I also wanted the gallery to frame the TV and compliment the A shape of the wall without being too symmetrical. It’s possible I may go back and fill in a few areas as I acquire new thrifted treasures though.
I used cheap canvases from Walmart to help fill all that wall space. First they were painted with a coat of General Finishes Snow white. For the large one, I taped off the chevron shape and painted on gold Rub n’ Buff with a brush. The little squares got the same treatment but then I used GF Lamp Black to sketch the arrow pattern with a chunky brush.
The transom window came from a Baltimore row house that my father in law renovated. I rescued it from his attic and am happy to have a little piece of Baltimore history in our home. The turtle was a flea market find by Cassie. I sprayed it gold and set it off with a thrifted frame.
The bushel basket tops were only .25 cents at the flea and the Mid Century chair print was a thrift store find. I think it’s a nice compliment to the Eames print.
Bear with me for just a few more beauty shots.
I am in love with the combination of thrifted, flea market, hand me down and DIY elements that helped create an eclectic and unique gallery wall. It took a bit of time to accumulate all the pieces but the total price was less than $100! It was well worth that investment to fill that large blank space!