by design episode #7: Body Image & Gallery Walls

Today we chat about surviving the summer with our kids home… {can I get an amen?!} and how much stock we put into our body image. Lyn discusses her struggles with overcoming anorexia, and we talk thru how our thoughts on our negative appearance can skew our view of God and who he has designed us to be. We also talk about not living a checklist faith, but living for the audience of One.

Hopefully this encourages you today to love yourself and the way God made you and those around you as well. We also talk gallery walls and share some thoughts on how to pull what you have together and get them up on the wall 🙂

Make sure to follow us on Instagram… It’s our favorite!

@lynfelsman @dannettegora and @bydesignpodcast

We’d love to connect with you there!

xo,

Lyn & Dannette

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LINKS TO THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT

Undaunted by Christine Caine

Simply Tuesday by Emily P. Freeman

Read the story of Esther here

The towelettes Lyn loves to wash her face with at night! { Burt’s Bees }

Our post about the Influence Conference with Jess Connolly

This book is a wealth of goodness & encouragement for your home: The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith { www.thenester.com }

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DESIGN CHAT: Gallery Walls & Collages

START BY PICKING THE WALL

Try to choose a wall that will make a great focal point in your room.
We also like to “ground” our gallery walls. Which means hanging them above a table or sofa or a piece of furniture. So if you find that something isn’t quite right about one of your gallery walls, try moving a piece of furniture under to see if that helps.
You can also build a gallery wall that goes all the way to floor, and in that case, you obviously wouldn’t need furniture under it!

LAYOUT YOUR COLLAGE OUT ON THE FLOOR FIRST

Go grab all the items you plan to use in your collage.
- You may want it to be an eclectic mix of different frames & objects, or more streamlined using all the same size frames & matting.
Clear a large space on the floor and start laying out all of your items in front of the wall you’ve chosen.

This will help you determine the length and height in relation to what is below it or next to it where it will actually hang.
Move things around until you feel like it’s balanced. Once you find a layout you like, TAKE A PICTURE!
- This will help you remember what was working. A lot of times you end up swapping something out or making slight modifications as you go and it’s hard to get back to the layout you started with and liked without this picture. Don’t skip this part! It’s so helpful.
Create paper templates of your frames & items.
- Take newspaper, craft paper or old magazines and cut & tape them together if necessary, to match the size of each frame or item that you’ve laid out on the floor.
- I basically turn the frames over, lay the paper on the backs and cut it to fit.
- Then I mark a small circle where the mounting hooks are on the paper so I know where to nail.
Hang the paper gallery wall
- Take all your paper templates and start taping them to the wall, basically mirroring the layout of frames that is on the floor.
- Now you can start to see how it will actually look on the wall. Move the paper templates as needed to get the spacing right and make any adjustments.
Grab your hammer and start nailing!

A FEW RANDOM TIPS

Put heavier/larger items on the bottom. It’s better to have the weightier feeling items towards the bottom (in most cases).
Don’t put too much space between things. Keep it cozy!
Try to keep the general center of your gallery wall at 60″ (57″ is the supposed standard). Whatever height you choose, try to mount everything at the approx. same height thru-out your home; this will help it flow and feel harmonious.

WHAT TO USE IN YOUR COLLAGE

Shop the thrift stores. Find some frames or lovely used trinkets and paint them!
Rope and twine. You can use different ways to mount and hang your items.