This week, our resident Organizing Oracle, Julie Montgomery, explains how personal photos can make a house a home.

I began to address this by stating: Your photos sound very special to your family and should be hung where YOU like them. The ‘feeling’ you have in a space is more important than any rules for design. Now, photos and frames can look dated, or date a room – so consider how you display them. I’d like to share more on this.

So, more on this…Hallways and stairways can be can be overlooked, dull areas. However, you can stylize them with the appropriate layout and lighting.  I do have a long hallway that leads from the main living space to a guest bathroom. This is where I have a traditional line of 8X10 photos of my boys and a hanging rod gallery frame in the adjacent wall. All the frames are black with white matting. The key for the hallway is good lighting. We have recessed lighting which really illuminates the photos. It’s a high traffic hallway, so it works for us.  Now, I also keep framed photos on built-in shelves in the main living room. I do not prefer photos in all rooms of the home, but in designated areas and in groupings. I believe that photo placement depends on the scale of the pictures and finding the appropriate wall.  A couple of things for you to consider:

• Personal photos should be flexible. Photos become dated when they remain in the same frame and in the same location. They become forgotten and should be swapped out periodically as your family grows. You can eventually move each of these to their bedrooms and create a special memory wall that’s unique to them.

• Not all photos need to be hung. Placing them on shelves adds casual interest, dimension, and provides an updated impact. You may want to consider two shelves (top and bottom) with the frames spaced separtely, overlapped with individual photo pictures, and paired with vessels, or other decor items. Take clutter caution!

• Your challenge is to give a collage set of frames deserving attention. They can be busy and loose photo focus. You may consider keeping collage frames in a play space or girls’ room and take the favorite ‘star’ pictures of your girls and create a wall gallery. This could include a mixture of photos, places, trips, and objects; such as, a mirror or a shadow box with their first pair of dance shoes.

• Consider keeping meaningful family photos in a location your family can enjoy daily; such as, above a landing zone, entryway, or vignette. This adds warmth, and showcases your adored photos.

• Whether it is a dining room, hallway, stairway, or family living space, gallery walls are updated, modern, and make a strong impact. By grouping photos on one wall, you create purpose and add a focal point to your space.

• Consider this – if it seems obvious, is it interesting? Step outside of what you might normally do. Your home should be a symbol of your family and their artistic personalities.

Read more about Julie, as well as her organizing and decorating philosophies at GoSimplySavvy.com.

(Photo from iheartorganizing.com.)