My Office Gallery Wall + Tips

After months of thinking of whether or not I should do a gallery wall in my office, I have officially taken the plunge. I admit, I was inspired by Michelle Adams & her gorgeous NYC bedroom (last photo) and so that led to removing the large piece I had, & incorporating the gallery wall.  For the wall, I used mostly MADE BY GIRL (my own) pieces & some other random photography.  The figure drawings are by Chance Lee - a fantastic artist from Taiwan that I love ......& Kate Moss, well, it was a gift. All the frames you see below can be purchased via my shop. We have gorgeous shiny gold, matte gold, black matte frames & more!

The Kate Moss gold-corner frame was a DIY project we did, which we'll add onto the blog soon!

If you're looking to install a gallery wall,  here's a good way to start:

/// SELECT ART YOU LIKE ///

I decided to add most of my own art, because it inspires me & reminds me to keep creating. You should be able to know what kind of art you'd enjoy looking at everyday. This wall is in my office so it's a wall I look at pretty much ever single day. So, yes, I will be looking at Kate's face on a daily basis...oh well, she's gorgeous right? I find that mixing word art with photographic ones gives the space a lot of interest. You may want to do something similar or just choose to add personal photos of your family & so on. For me, I'm  not big on personal photos all over our apartment & neither is my husband. We prefer random art over personal shots. We tend to keep those to a minimum. But remember, select art that inspires, makes you smile, and that you love.

/// SELECT YOUR FRAMES /// 

MADE BY GIRL offers a variety of gorgeous custom frames. You can order them on their own from my shop or add it to the artwork before checkout. Custom framing looks amazing & is pricier, but if you're on a budget - you can always try IKEA.  They have a variety of sizes for under $200.
 

/// PLAN IT OUT ///

Think about where you want to place each piece of art.  See what pieces look good next to each other & try not to place all similar colors & styles together. As you can see, both my black prints are away from each other. This creates a more balanced look. Also, the higher you place the gallery on the wall, the taller the space will feel. Drawing a diagram with proper measurements on a piece of paper will really help keep you organized. Feel free to play around with different arrangements, that's what we did. You can cut-out shapes of each frame by using poster board and tape each one onto the wall where you will place the artwork.  This is a great way to move the shapes around & get an idea of what it will look like before committing to anything. Remember, you don't want a bunch of extra holes in the wall. Have fun!

 Ta da! The close-up.

Here's the roundup of most of the art featured on my wall. You can purchase them via MADE BY GIRL. 

And here is my husband helping put everything up - so sweet!

-top 3 images by jen ramos

-last image by patrick cline

Cocoa & Hearts

Thanks to Cassidy for sharing this gorgeous pic of her workspace - that happens to include one of my Cocoa & Hearts paintings! Love it!  I will be adding more new pieces this month stay tuned!!

Do you have a photo you'd like to share with your Cocoa & Hearts painting?? I'd love to see it!  Email me.

Design: Office Inspiration

Hello, hello!  It's Sam from The Peak of Très Chic, back with another lovely dose of decor.  I recently participated in the One Room Challenge with 20 other design bloggers across the country.  We were each given the task of designing a room within a tight 6 week timeline, and sharing our gradual progress with readers each week.  

I chose to design a home office, and in the process of research became quite inspired by chic desktops and desktop accessories:

Although the office I designed for the challenge was quite bold and textured, I've recently become more drawn to streamlined, less-cluttered offices, with just a few pops of color:

Shop This Office:

Colored Pencil Set with Brass Holder $82/Lola Donahue Fashion Illustration $30/Gem Lamp in Steel Blue $165/Z-Gallerie Lacquer Desk $499/Clayton Home Lucite Chair $380/Green Leopard Lumbar $165

I've been eyeing that leopard lumbar for weeks now.  It would be such a fun pop of color when paired with a lacquered desk and lucite chair, don't you think?

{All office images above via Lonny Magazine}