Picture Ledges

Today I’m linking up with the Nester and many other lovely ladies to show that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. When she announced this link party, I immediately thought of my wall decor. I’ve been wanting to post it here, but I’m always tweaking and never satisfied that it’s just right. Too many ideas in this brain, not enough time or money!

Let’s start with the two three-foot picture ledges above my sofa…

I bought all of the frames at the Aaron Brothers “buy one get one for a penny” sale, which I believe they have every year after Christmas and then again in July. I’ve had those two stars up there since Christmas. I like them and am not ready to put them away yet. Maybe when summer hits.

Every time a visitor looks at these photos, I wince inside, remembering that I need to have one reprinted, because the printer chopped off the top of Chase’s head. One of these days I will get to it! Until then, it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. 🙂

In my dreams I have a new tufted linen sofa and sprawling rug to cover the mauve carpet, but in real life I have a couch that “the wild boys” (as my brother-in-law calls them) can play on and carpet that hides much more than it shows. For now, it’s not such a bad tradeoff. I’ve made it bright and happy with the white and teal.

This wall is around the corner, in our entryway. I have ideas of what could be added, but for now, it’s a small, cheerful gallery that reminds us of who we are. Our family motto and a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge occupy two West Elm frames. The large family photo is on canvas; winkflash occasionally does 60% off sales. The chalkboard is a semi-homemade gift I convinced Ryan to buy for my birthday. 🙂

Great framed chalkboards can be expensive, so I bought this frame (actually made of wood) without glass or backing at Cheap Pete’s Frames, and I ordered an 18×24 chalkboard from amazon. It took two seconds to assemble and cost significantly less than my favorites on etsy. I’m excited to have a place to rotate meaningful quotes and scriptures.

As I’ve said before, seeing inspiring words and art day after day helps me become the woman I so want to become, and I deeply hope it will have the same subtle effect on my children as they grow. Besides, even if our walls are smudged with little handprints and the couch serves more as a jungle gym than a resting place, at least the wall decor stays out of the tornados’ path! (I say plural “tornados because I have at least two tornados in this house, sometimes more, if you count the adults!)

As always, thanks for reading Let Why Lead. I love to write just for the sake of writing, but it’s definitely more fun when you know people are reading!