No-spend office gallery wall

Perhaps you’ll recall our upstairs office/music/guest room got a makeover awhile back which included paint, new curtains and pillows, and an organized desk space.

After that, my husband sort of claimed that space as his office, so I created a makeshift office downstairs for myself. Well, now the hubs has been doing most of his work downstairs on his laptop, which means I’ve slowly and stealthily re-claimed the upstairs office as mine again. 😉

My first order of (new) business has been putting together a little gallery wall above the desk that can offer inspiration to both of us. I wanted to do it without spending any money, so that meant hitting up the basement art stash.

Office-gallery-wall-My gallery wall includes two framed butterflies from my aunt and uncle, a signed copy of the Resolution, a “With God, Nothing will be Impossible” print, and an easy, DIY art piece reminding us of Proverbs 16:3.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. – Proverbs 16:3

To create the Proverbs 16:3 piece, I started with this print (found in the basement collecting dust, of course).

DIY-gallery-wall-art-before

I used Frog Tape around the edges, then gave the whole thing a base coat of blue/silver acrylic paint.

DIY-gallery-wall-art

After that, I free-handed a landscape, using colors similar to those found in the curtains in the room. My goal was to sort of create an abstract sea, sand then grass idea.

Office-gallery-wall-DIY-art

I used my Silhouette electronic cutting tool to print out the verse reference on adhesive black vinyl. Then I stuck it on the canvas.

Office-gallery-wall-closeup

I used Command strips to hang all the art on the wall. I prefer using Command strips and hanging hooks because they don’t damage your walls. And since I change my artwork out a lot, it’s best if I don’t go around hammering a bunch of holes in my walls all the time.

Tip: When I have trouble getting my adhesive backs lined up, I use a touch of lipstick on the wall strips. Then I push the back of the artwork against it and it marks where I need to add the other side of the strips.

Trick-for-lining-up-photos

Here’s another view of the office space with my new, inspirational gallery wall.

Office-gallery-wall-environmental

And lest you think I’m incredibly neat and organized, let me show you what was going on behind the scenes of this photo shoot.

Home-office-behind-the-scenesThe little booger you see innocently eating his snacks managed to empty all the bookshelves he could reach, completely ransack the TV console, and leave a trail of Cheerios behind as evidence of where he’d been. Unfortunately, I can’t blame him for that hot mess of a closet or the stacks of papers and books on the tabletop (hanging head in shame).

Oh well, at least one corner of the room is clean and organized, right?

Office-gallery-wall-What do your rooms look like “behind the scenes?”

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14 Responses

  1. Bunny says:

    Funny to see your idea for hanging the pictures using lipstick because a friend posted a call for help yesterday on how to hang things exactly where she wanted them. One of her friends suggested the same technique but used toothpaste instead.

  2. Sheila Moore says:

    You don’t even want to see my computer room upstairs…a total mess…there is a pathway to the computer and very little room to move around in the chair…lol…I hear you sister!

  3. Looks great! I especially LOVE the curtain panels…I have the same pattern on some pillows in my living room!!

  4. Donna Gibson says:

    Cute and cozy! I think I would add a small bulliten board on the wall to the right with pushpins and put a small potted plant on the corner of the desk or a small stand at the window with a green potted plant, but sure the baby would get into it too, lol.
    I would bring the curtain hem up 1/2 inch from the floor too and add a splash of something in the open space on the wall under the smaller photos like an angel or 2 or 3 butterflies in a golden color, or something with a red heart to pop some color into the look or a red or dark blue waste basket, which you could paint some flowers with bright colors on. It would add a pop of color to the entire corner. But do love what you did.

  5. Lluvia says:

    Great project! Love the curtains. Where did you get them??

  6. Pamela says:

    Nice. I love the lipstick trick. Definitely will try that the next time I need to hang something.

  7. Joen says:

    Pretty much the same as yours! LOL But at least we have a little corner of heaven somewhere in the house!

  8. Gail K says:

    Thank you for being transparent and showing the entire room. I like the corner very much, but it’s affirming to see the rest of the room!

    • Susan says:

      You’re welcome, Gail. That is pretty much how it looks behind the scenes of all my photo shoots, so that should make you feel really good. 🙂

  9. Wendy says:

    love the idea for my office .. can tell me the wall color name ?..

  1. October 31, 2013

    […] No-spend office gallery wall […]

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