On our walls: Instagram posters

Whenever I visit someone's home, I am always fascinated to see what they choose to hang on their walls. There's something so personal and revealing about the art and images people choose to surround themselves with, and I just enjoy that little glimpse into who people are and what they value. Maybe it's a holdover from being an art history student, and maybe I'm just a Nosey Nose Nosington. Either way, the art we have in our homes is really interesting to me. 

Posters in situ - more to come next year!

It might not come as a surprise to you that I put quite a lot of thought into the things that go onto our own walls. I want them to have significance, look good in the space I have in mind, and have a lot of staying power. I don't put anything up unless I know it's going to stay there, and I don't put anything up that doesn't make me smile or feel something that I want to feel.

2012 - see itty bitty newborn Gwen?  And Espen's second birthday!
Sigh, where did time go?!?

Our house has a long hallway with a lot of blank wall space upstairs, and I debated for a long time what I wanted to hang up there. I thought about vintage travel posters from some of our favorite destinations, I thought about a wall filled with framed photos of family and friends, I even debated some sort of mural or fancy-pantsed paint job to liven up the space a bit. At the same time, I was looking at all of these great photos I had amassed on Instagram, and realizing that they were really a record of our everyday life and something that should be preserved somehow. 

I hit on the idea of making a poster with a calendar year's worth of  favorite Instagram posts, and found a company called Printstagram* that were able to give me what I was looking for. I got one grid of 10 x 15 photos on a 20x30 print for each poster, which fit perfectly into a standard frame (thank you, Michael's 40% off coupon!). I really like how clean and simple the posters look, especially considering it's essentially a 150 photo collage. Then we hung them side by side in the upstairs hallway, where they filled and brightened the space quite nicely, thank you very much! And we still have room for more posters as the years go by. (Please don't go out of business, Instagram or Printstagram!)

2013 - lots and lots of good times. 

I pass these pictures on my way to and from the laundry room (so pretty often!), and I like to stop and indulge in the occasional nostalgic mom moment (sniff!). It's a pretty private space, so only our nearest and dearest get to see it, and they are honestly the ones who would appreciate something like this. And our kids enjoy it too! Espen likes to talk about the people and places in the photos, and Gwen likes to point out all the people she knows. Mostly her Daddy, who is the best person in her little world.

So, it's not high art by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a little slice of our family history, and maybe even something that the kids will enjoy looking at with their own kids in years to come. It tells a little bit about our story,  adds some color and is visually interesting to look at.

So, what's on your walls?

* This is not at all a paid plug for Printstagram. I think they're a great company, and would definitely recommend them, but am pretty sure they don't even know I'm alive!