Author: Staci

Staci blogs about travel at TheVoyageer.com.

Our Gallery Wall

So,our apartment is long and narrow. It has one long wall that extends all the way from the front door to the end of the unit. With no walls, doors, windows or other architectural details on it to make it more interesting, this wall has the potential to be a major snooze-fest.

Luckily, we had a variety of pictures (that already had black frames) leaning against the wall in the bedroom waiting to be hung. With the addition of our 70-year old magazine prints from Paris, the collection was shaping up rather nicely. I decided that a gallery wall (which is when frames are clumped together in an interesting and balanced way) would be the best way to add interest to the loooong wall. So I cleared a space in the living room and laid the photos out on the floor until I found an arrangement that, to me, felt balanced by way of shape, mass, and color. Then I snapped a photo of it on my iPhone to reference when it came time to hang them.

The People For Peace framed poster is both a lively dose of color and an idea that Doug and I both believe in, however the process of hanging said poster does not lend itself to peaceful cooperation between spouses. Luckily for us, this is the fourth time we’ve had to hang it and knew what we were getting into. Since the nails on the wall have to go into two little triangle hooks on the back of the frame just so, we know that careful measuring (the hooks are 14 inches apart) and use of the level is key. Luckily, this time the poster went up smoothly without calling to mind a warlike atmosphere.

Here is a tip for those hanging their first gallery wall: start with the largest frame first because this is the foundation you will build out from. Since it carries the most visual mass, it will probably be close to the center of your arrangement. The second frame to go up on our gallery wall was the square one with our wedding photos in it–not coincidentally, it is the second largest. This is important because the smaller ones are easier to “tweak” if you hang them up and find yourself needing to nudge them one way or the other. Speaking of nudging one way or the other, I am currently debating about moving the dresser sideboard about six inches to the right. But it’s heavy. Le sigh.

Notice the way that the gallery is balanced without being symmetrical. The teal Lennon poster is balanced out by the dark photograph at the top right and the more densely-colored Renault ad at the bottom-right. The wedding pictures and white bicycle frame are balanced by the black-and-white Morocco ad on the left. Imagine if the Renault ad and Morocco ad had been swapped–the whole thing would seem a little heavy on the left side, don’t you think?

Here’s what the apartment looks like, now, from the entryway. Behind the couch is another area where we are planning on hanging art, but haven’t decided what to put yet.

Now that the gallery is up, I can really envision it continuing at least four feet in both directions. What can I say? The wall is long. It would be cool for the gallery to take up a full third of the wall’s total length. I have a few pieces of art I could use… but need to save up a bit to buy about three more frames. If I do end up adding to this grouping, you can be sure I’ll update about it here!

Here’s one more shot because Mosey was sitting for me so nicely.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone! I’m off to go exercise. Yes, you read that right. For the past week I’ve been working out 30-60 minutes a day! Whew! 

Art from the Marché aux Puces (Paris)

Has it really been four months since we got back from our summer vacation to Europe?.

My number one priority (aside from showing Doug the best that the City of Lights has to offer) was making it to the famous Paris flea market, the Marché aux Puces de Clignancourt. While there are several famous flea markets in Paris, this one is the most well-revered by insiders. It is the largest, which means there is something for everybody–ephemera from every era at both high and low price points.

If you find yourself in Paris and would like to visit, don’t fool yourself (like I did) into thinking that just because your hotel is on Rue de Clignancourt (in Montmartre) that you’re close by. Sorry, you’ll be out of luck. It is easy to get to, though. Take the Métro 4 (fuchsia) north to Porte de Clignancourt, cross a street, and go under a bridge and you’ll be there. Sorry for the lack of detail, but it is large, follow the masses, and there are directional signs.

Clearly, I couldn’t afford (or transport) the incredible inlaid mirrors above, nor did I come away with a bargain on a perfectly aged Turkish rug (which was my secret hope), but I did leaf through one vendor’s extensive collection of magazine advertisements from the 1920s through the 1940s and two stole my heart. They were reasonably priced, in protective plastic, and would fit in the suitcase. WIN! We sandwiched them between a few layers of corrugated cardboard for the trip home to the USA.

You’re probably saying to yourself, well this is awesome, Staci, but why are you sharing this with us now, mid-October, when you bought them in June? 

Well, the good news is that Wednesday night I finally framed the magazine ads I bought at Les Puces, oh so many months later.

The first poster reads “Winter and Spring in Morocco.” If you lived in cold France in the 1920s, wouldn’t you dream of vacationing in one of your warmer colonies? I would too! The chunky and graphic line work first drew me to this, piece, and if you add the fact that I did my study abroad in Morocco, I would be a fool not to buy it. Not everybody can say they own something from 1929!

The second one is for a famous French-made car brand, Renault. This snowy Christmas ad contrasts nicely against the promise of warm weather in Morocco, and the color palette here is right up my alley. I love the blues and greens.

Next week I’ll show you where these ended up hanging in our new apartment!

If you’re like me, and love checking out other people’s vacation photos (it’s true!), check out my Eurotrip posts here, here, and here.

Pssst… just in case you didn’t know… I really love comments. 

The Patio

Back in Kansas, our friends had an awesome backyard that everybody simply referred to as, “The Patio.” Café lights were strung up at the beginning of March and it became the go-to spot for all gatherings throughout the spring and summer.

When living in a small space, taking advantage of every square inch is totally important. This applies to any and all outdoor spaces at your disposal, as well. We are lucky enough to have a decently-sized (9-ish x 5-ish feet) balcony that overlooks the courtyard and pool. It was important to me that we create a comfortable, livable, fabulous “outdoor room” here, and I feel like that goal has been met! Read on for details…

In an effort to bring a little bit of “The Patio” to our new balcony, we strung up café lights the day we arrived (I was extremely proud of myself for being able to swiftly locate them in the jungle of to-be-unpacked boxes) and put our folding chairs up outside. The chairs are not the greatest in quality, in fact we picked them up around this time last year at Target, clearanced for $4 each. I am not a fan of those ubiquitous plastic backyard chairs nor have I ever been a fan of the fold-up camping chair (comfortable, sure, but they look ugly to me). So, although our chairs might threaten to fold up with you still seated inside, they look iconic and remind me of childhood summers. Perhaps later this fall as summer items continue to get clearanced, we may upgrade. But for now, I like these little guys.

The World Market rug that has followed me from place to place since 2006 may have found its final resting place here on the patio. We will see how the (admittedly mild) weather treats it. While we have an awning over the balcony, the rug did get rained on for the first time ever last week.

The day I put my reservation deposit in on this apartment, I set foot in West Elm for the first time (after spending countless hours poring over their catalog and website) and grabbed the blue dipped pot on sale. I am still trying to think of the perfect plant to put in it. The pot has no drainage hole in the bottom, so recommendations are much-appreciated.

Additionally, we hung up the nautical souvenir we got on our honeymoon in Maine, a Moroccan-inspired lantern (full disclosure: purchased in Dallas) and the Tibetan prayer flags Doug picked up for me at a flea market in London. These little bits and baubles were secured using zip-ties, much like the chicken wire that eases my neurotic mind (in regards to Mosey poking his head out underneath the rails). Looking up from a distance (usually from the hot tub) and seeing these efforts at personalizing our space makes me smile.

Although the company is different, at night, with the lights on, it does bring to mind The Patio back in Kansas. And the memories are good.