Empty Staircase = New Gallery Wall

See that wall?  BOOOOOORING!  We've been in this house for two years now...and this wall needed something but I didn't know where to start.  So...I went to blog land.  There are SO many cute things I could do...and I narrowed it down to some sort of gallery wall.  I LOVED a wall filled with mirrors, but I knew it would take WAY longer to accumulate fun and unique pieces.  Plus...I have little ones, and I didn't want to have fingerprints on the mirrors that were hung lower.  That means more cleaning for me.  NO THANKS!

Frames were the way to go for me!  I had a bunch already so I could start right away!  I traced each one on paper then started taping it to the wall.  It's not the BEST visual but it works.  And I didn't have to put lots of nail holes in the wall if I wasn't pleased with the placement of them all.  :)

After gathering a bunch of things I had around the house and stuff I've found at thrift stores, on CL and FB...I finally did it.  This is how it turned out:

The placement of everything works GREAT....the colors, not so much.  It was just too busy -- and I don't have bright aqua or hot pink anywhere in the house except in Rylie's room.  The wall looked like this for a few months so I could figure out what to do next.  Then one day I just went for it...it wasn't gonna get finished by itself.  HA!  Browns, creams, whites and blacks.  Neutral colors that made them stand out...but not make you go "WOAH!"

I even re-stained the bannister!  I absolutely HATE that orange-y oak that builders throw in houses.  It looks cheap to me.  Thank goodness for Minwax Gel Stain.  It was SO easy.  A light sanding with 220-grit sand paper, a quick wipe down and one coat of the stain.  DONE!