Living Room Wall Makeover + Free Printable Quote

Moving into our new house has been a decorating challenge. The new space is so wildly different from the last few we’ve been in, nothing seems to fit here quite right. After no small amount of frustration I’ve put a stop to trying to shove a square peg into a round hole and went shopping for a few new pieces to put around the house. For the walls? Shutterfly to the rescue! I think I’ve professed my love for Shutterfly before with champagne and celebrations with a few less traditional photo uses, but I’m seriously infatuated with their new Design-A-Wall products.

The front rooms of our new house get the most light, so they’ve (once again) been claimed as my studio. Since our living room is what you step into when you enter the house, I decided that it was probably time i make them look less like a blank canvas, and more like a nice, welcoming space.

Literally, the front room was a blank canvas. All white, and this canvas has been hanging here awhile–it’s been named “Possibilities.”  I’ve finally given up that I’m actually going to paint something on it, so away it went and I started combing through the 25,000 (no joke) pictures in my files to hunt down some that might make some nice wall art.

My kids really are full of personality, and I’ve gotten a few lucky shots in that really capture them. Lucky for me, most of the images I really love of my little scamps hang nicely together . The grouping worked great with a single side chair as well as over the couch–really, I’m still trying to decide how I’m going to leave it.

Coincidentally, the photos I used were all either taken on or by the beach and really lend themselves to metal prints.I love the bit of sparkle and shine they add to the room. The beachy photos also inspired the color and theme of what the rest of the room will become.

Since I was on a roll with the redecorating, I picked up a few new accessories — pillows, new lamps and a crazy sort of  coral for some color pop.

And putting up that cool spiral display? Such a cinch. It was literally a 10 minute job with everything Shutterfly provided with their Design-A-Wall template to get it done.

To make it super easy, Shutterfly sends a full size paper template, complete with level. And markings for my particular medium–which was incredibly helpful, as i used wood wall art and metal prints in my display.

I taped the template to my wall, marked holes where the nails went, and minutes later…. I had a gorgeous display. In going through my 25,000 photos to find just the right ones for the wall, I had a chance to look through a lot of old pictures. A LOT of them. It made me a bit teary to think about how much time has slipped by with these two. And that they really won’t be mine for much longer before they’re out on their own. As a reminder to myself–that I now see every time I go through the front door–I also make a graphic print to anchor my display that says “Enjoy the Little Things.”

If you’re at all familiar this quote, you’ll know that it actually says “Enjoy the little things, for one day you will realize they were the big things.” So much truth in that! It looks pretty fabulous printed to wood; this one is 12×12. I love the natural look it gives and how is the perfect foil to the metal prints.

I’m making this free printable quote available to you in a few sizes so you can get a print of your own made:

• “Enjoy the Little Things” 12×12 free printable
• “Enjoy the Little Things” 8×10 free printable
• “Enjoy the Little Things” 5×7 free printable

The front room of my house now looks fresh and clean and so much more warm and personal. Thanks, Shutterfly, for providing the prints for this post!

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