How to Create a Beautiful DIY Photo Wall with Thrifted Frames

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I have been on a thrifting spree lately! All with the aim of updating the wall over the tv in our front room. We’ve had our framed caricatures hanging there for years, but it just didn’t look how I wanted it to. So, my idea was to add more pictures and make a more polished photo wall.

I hung a gallery wall over our bed in the master bedroom and I absolutely love it! However, I didn’t want to wait to find all the different eclectic things that are needed to make a good gallery wall. So, I decided to keep this one strictly pictures (and the caricatures, of course).

Here’s how I put together the cutest photo wall:

How to make a photo wall with thrifted frames. — *(I mixed the picture frames with our caricatures.)*

Step 1: Thrift Your Frames

To keep it budget-friendly, I decided to thrift the frames. For my photo wall, I was specifically looking for wooden frames with mats.

Matted frames just look more ‘high-end’ to me. And to make the mismatched frames look more cohesive, I covered the picture mats with fabric. So, it didn’t matter what color the mats were or if they were yellowed/stained.

This was honestly my favorite step! It took me several trips to the thrift store to find what I needed for this project. However, it was worth it, as the frames cost $1.99 to $7.99. It was MUCH cheaper than buying them all brand new.

(I love thrifting, so making several trips didn’t bother me!)

Since I wasn’t completely sure what layout I was going to use, I thrifted a variety of sizes: 11×14, 8×10, 5×7, 4×6, and even one big 16×20.

Thrift old picture frames to make a beautiful photo wall. — *(I didn’t get a picture of the whole stack of frames, but here are two 11×14 frames.)*

Step 2: Figure Out the Layout

Once you have a stack of frames, it’s time to figure out the layout of your photo collage.

In hindsight, this probably should have been the first step. I ended up with 3 frames that I didn’t use in the collage. (I’m sure I’ll find a use for them somewhere.)

Initially, I tried to use the paper method to figure out the layout, but that was impossible for me. My visual brain NEEDED to see the frames laid out to know how I wanted to arrange them.

*(Trying to do it like this was a MESS.)*

The paper method works GREAT for hanging the frames, but it isn’t helpful for the layout (at least for me).

Once I laid the frames out on the floor (and got some help from Lyvi), I figured out the layout I wanted pretty quickly.

How to make a beautiful photo wall with cheap, thrifted picture frames. — *(Laying them out on the floor made this so much easier!)*

Step 3: Choose Your Pictures

This step is always so much harder than I think it will be!

If you’re anything like me, then you have THOUSANDS of pictures to choose from. And it’s so hard to narrow them down to just a few.

Once you have finally chosen the pictures you want, you have to decide which frame you want them to be a part of in your layout. Then print those pictures and go pick them up.

*(I mean…how could I not print this picture of my babies?)*

Step 4: Cover the Picture Mats with Fabric

The reason you want to figure out the layout first is so that you don’t put 2 matching fabrics right next to each other. I used 3 green and white fabrics in different patterns: toile, stripes, and gingham, and wanted to keep them evenly spread throughout the collage.

The idea is that the green and white keep everything cohesive, but the different patterns make it more interesting.

(Here’s the tutorial: DIY Picture Mats: An Easy Way to Update Old Frames.)

Pro Tip

While you have your frames taken apart, you might want to give them a good wash. The ones I thrifted were pretty grimy.

Washing thrifted frames before using them to make a photo wall. — *(Thrifted frames can be pretty gross. So, a good wash was necessary.)*

Step 5: Hang Your Frames

Once the picture mats are covered, it’s time to add your pictures and put the frames back together. Then, you can hang your frames!

Since we had the BIG caricature in the middle of our photo wall, we hung it first. So, we had to start by measuring the area over the tv, from the corner of the room to the vintage medicine cabinet on the side of the tv. Once we knew the length of the space, we divided it by 2 to find the center. We hung the big frame an equal distance from the ceiling and the top of the tv, so that it was centered vertically.

How to hang a photo wall. — *(We started with our center frame.)*

If you don’t have a big frame in the center, then hang one of the corner frames first and work from there.

Once the middle frame was hung, we hung a big frame next to it and lined the top of the frame up with the big one in the center.

Then we hung the caricature next, with the bottom of the frame lined up with the bottom of the center frame.

Once those were hung, we centered the smaller frames in the openings left behind.

Then repeat the process on the other side.

And enjoy!

Add a photo wall over the tv. — *(All done!)*

Photo wall made with thrifted picture frames.

I’m so happy with how this photo wall turned out! Adding more framed photos around our caricatures made the display feel much more intentional, and using coordinating fabrics on the picture mats helped tie everything together. It still has plenty of personality, but now it looks polished instead of pieced together.

The best part is that you don’t need to spend a fortune to create a beautiful photo wall. With a little patience while thrifting frames, a few favorite photos, and a few simple DIY updates, you can create a gallery that reflects your family’s memories and style. Whether you’re decorating a living room, bedroom, or hallway, I hope this photo wall inspires you to create a display you’ll love seeing every day.