Decorating Your Home with Photos – Why?

His voice almost turns into a squeal as he says, “That’s Mommy and Daddy and Bubba!” It’s the same routine everyday as we walk down the hallway from nap time or first thing on weekend mornings when they get to snuggle in Mommy & Daddy’s bed. They point to the photos on the walls and identify everyone in them Grandma, Sam, Sadie, Cara, Uncle Alex, Aunt Michelle etc. As we walk down the stairs to breakfast I hear them giggle and point, Will saying it’s me and Rob pointing and saying Daddy. That right there is the entire reason I print our photos and display them in our home. Sure it’s nice to show off to guests and give them a peek at our family moments but it’s seeing the joy on my boy’s faces as they stare at the photos and identify who is in them. They love it and those moments have become some of my most cherished memories.

I hear from clients all the time we just want digital files and we will print later. Guess what happens though…….they never print anything. It’s not that they don’t love the photos it’s just that life gets busy. Finding time to pick out frames, figure out where to hang them and then order the prints in the right sizes becomes a chore. Something else on the To Do list and it’s no longer fun. I want to bring the fun back! When I walk around my home and see my boys smiling faces in the photos it makes me smile. It makes me happy and puts me in a better mood. I recently read an article “How Family Portraits Boost Your Child’s Self Esteem” which talked about the importance for kids of seeing their family as a unit in photos and how touching the prints on the walls can be nurturing. While it sounds like a bit of pyscho-babble I can totally see it with my boys. They love to touch our photos and point themselves and each other out.

My why for decorating your home with photos is simple, it’s happiness. I truly believe that seeing a beautiful photo of a wonderful moment in your life everyday can improve your happiness. Think about your wedding photos, imagine you have a beautiful portrait of you guys walking back up the aisle with wide smiles because you just said I Do! You look amazing in your dress and your hair was perfect, your groom is so handsome in his suit and you think back to how you felt at that moment to finally be his wife. You pass by that photo every day and remember those feelings and it strengthens your love for him. It sets your mood for the day so when you find a sink full of dirty coffee cups and Tupperware containers from his lunches you feel less likely to want to kill him ;). No portrait on the wall and no happy memory to put a smile on your face and suddenly you start losing that loving feeling over the small stuff. I’m not saying a happy wedding photo can save your marriage but it certainly couldn’t hurt to try.

I remember as a kid my parents had a formal wedding photo hanging on the wall in the living room. I looked at it every day and even now I still pay attention to it. To me it represented their love and it made me feel secure that they would always love each other just like that day. As an adult I realize there were a lot of days where they probably didn’t love each other like that but as a child I felt secure. It’s the same security I want my boys to feel as they look at our family photos.

Since I’m a big encourager to print your photos and I thought it was time to not just talk the talk but walk the walk and show you guys how I display our family photos. I could talk for hours on end about all things photo related so I figured it would be better to break things down into smaller posts that are easier to digest and hopefully for you to implement! I’m going to walk you through my home and talk to you all about the how’s and why’s for our photo displays! Each week a new room and a peek into our lives. The best part is that I’m not done with our displays and things aren’t completely perfect so you get to see how I plan to evolve them as our kids grow. The photos here are just a sneak peek of some of the displays in our home!

Check back each Wednesday for the next installment in this series – Decorating Your Home with Photos

In the series:

My Staircase
Mixing Frames – Formally
My Hallway
Mixing Frames – Informally
My Family Room
Displaying Your Iphoneography
My Foyer
Hanging Your Display
My Master Bedroom
Frames vs Canvas
My Nursery
Evolution of your Photos
My Landing
Traditional vs Lifestyle
Wall Display Ideas

p.s. – Do you have a beautiful empty space in your home begging to be filled with gorgeous photos but you don’t know where to start? Contact me today and let’s chat about what would work perfectly in your space!