DIY design | photo mat

Our photo wall used to be a simple grid of black and white photos in large black gallery frames. But over Christmas, I decided our walls downstairs needed an overhaul, so I borrowed a couple of the gallery frames for other spots around the house, which necessitated an update of our family room photo wall. Now it's a mix of frames, sizes, photo ledges, prints and pictures. 

I had a 5x7 frame to fill, but I was too impatient to get a print to fill it, so I improvised with a 4x6 family shot. I taped the photo onto a piece of black and white striped paper.

I made sure the striped paper was large enough to cover the opening, and now it creates a little mat and adds some interest.

I liked how the frame looked so much that I never ended up ordering that 5x7 print!

All of the frames on our wall are from Target, Pottery Barn and Ikea. The ledges are from Ikea. This project is part of a series on complete, my one little word for twenty-thirteen. You can read more about it HERE.