Entryway Gallery Wall

Months later, I am happy to share I finally found a solution I love for our entryway.  I have tried at least five different things, repainted the walls, and dealt with ten thousand nail holes...but all the work paid off.  An entryway I love...that tells our story as guests enter our home.

My main concern with our hallway is that it is pretty narrow, has a lower ceiling than the main living spaces of our home, and it is the first and only thing you see until you turn the corner to open up to the rest of the house.

I wanted guests to get a glimpse into our home and into our life when they first stepped through our front door...

I recently read a post at Thrifty Decor Chick where she redid a wall using these matted Ikea frames.  We already have a bunch of these on our "love story" gallery wall...but until I read Sarah's post did I realize how much these frames can ground a gallery wall.  It gives it weight and uniformity that really pulls it all together.  It was the solution to my mismatched frame mess.

I previously had decorations on the opposite side of the wall but realized that this side is the side you see from the rest of our living space as well as the wall you see when you come through the front door.  The opposite wall has a row of hooks to hang jackets and bags...which I forgot to take a picture of...but it is full and cluttered...because we actually hang stuff on it besides pretty baskets!

I also took out our bench that used to be in the hallway.  Between the frames and the bench, something was always getting ran into between my nephew's stroller going out the door or someone coming home with way too many things in their hands.  Having the bench proved to be less practical for how narrow and how much stuff we carry in and out of the house {we don't have a garage to come through}!

Most of these pictures are some of my favorites from the last two years...so we now have more than just wedding and engagement photos hung!  Since getting a nicer camera, I have become much more picky about how "frame-able" a photo is.  But I was able to edit some of my older photos that were taken on my old point and shoot to give it a more "professional" quality that I like as well as giving them all a "warm tone" to create uniformity between the images.

A few months ago, I bought this "engagement map" from Circle Prints via Heartsy {crafty Groupon like site}.  It shows the date and city we got engaged.  I LOVE it! 

And my metal heart I got from Old Soul Studios, now serves as a photo holder...

All that worked paid off...it is now my favorite wall in the house!

What is your entryway like?