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I obsessed over gallery walls since I first discovered them on Pinterest. I loved the way they could turn a room from casual into home magazine status. The gallery wall in my bedroom really makes the ceilings look much taller than they actually are. My only problem? I had no idea that frames were so expensive! A quick search on Amazon showed me that an average, a quality frame would easily run over $15 dollars, EACH. A whole gallery wall could be upwards of one hundred dollars or more!
After my sobering search, I started thinking of ways to complete the gallery wall while staying in budget. My first trip, logically, was Marshalls (HomeGoods was a bit too out of my way for this one). Anytime I want purchase a few pieces of decor without breaking the bank, I hit up either Marshal’s, T.J. Maxx, or HomeGoods. I’m particularly taken with scouring their clearance section every time I’m there. My trip was successful! I found the two largest pieces of my gallery wall for $6 and $8. Their original prices were about $16 for the smaller one and $23 for the larger one. A pretty good score! The frames didn’t match, so I bought some gold spray paint and got to work. Spray paint is in my opinion, a lifesaver. One $5 can will last you a long way. If you’re not into gold accents, don’t worry! Rust-Oleum makes a beautiful metallic line that includes brass, silver, and a new personal favorite, copper! It’s practically rose gold!
The last place to look in is Goodwill, but honestly I wish I would have looked here first. I don’t know why it took me so long to discover consignment stores, especially for home improvement projects. I found a beautiful french dresser in good shape, and after some TLC, it looks better than any store bought piece I could have ever found in my price range (more on that soon!). Goodwill usually has a whole section for photo frames, and after several trips, I found all the frames I needed to complete the gallery wall. One quick spray of gold spray paint later, the wall was complete. The results speak for themselves!
The total cost for me was around $30, but it’s only because I hadn’t discovered the joys of Goodwill earlier. Oh well! Lesson learned. Always start searching at consignment shops. The worst that can happen is leaving empty handed. Or with a whole new decor project. Whoops.
