Hey everyone! Ali here, from Gimme Some Oven, and today I’m stoked to finally (3 months late!) be sharing all about my new Instagram wall.
As some of you might know, I moved into a new loft in December and remodeled a new white kitchen, which I adore. But the entryway right next to the kitchen was a bit of an eyesore. You’ll have to check out the photos below to see, but basically, the guys before me who designed the loft thought it would be a great idea to make two gaps in the entryway wall (right as you walk in) so that you can see into the bedroom. So basically, there’s just a big panel of wall with two vertical gaps on each side. Awkward. But still, a decent space to display something.
I initially thought about just putting a big mirror there, but it seems like every entry way has a mirror. Then I thought about doing a random art wall, but I wanted to do that in my living room. Then the idea came to me — an Instagram wall!
Ever since I began snapping all of those square photos, I have wanted to have a place to display them. (And a reason to make myself actually print them!) So I started searching online to see if I could find some simple white square frames, which proved to be harder than I thought. Finally I stumbled across a site called Tiny Might Frames, which had the exact frames I was picturing in my mind. So I ordered a bunch and set to work. Here’s the story and how-to!
(Photo from Tiny Mighty Frames)
STEP 1: ORDERING THE FRAMES
I have to admit I was a little shocked that tons of websites weren’t capitalizing on Instagram and making cute square frames. I expected there to be tons of them on the market! But thankfully Tiny Might Framesis on it. Their website has all sorts of different options for buying Instagram-sized square frames. They come in black or white, matted or non-matted, 4×4 or 6×6, singles, 3-packs, 9-packs, 16-packs or 20-packs. So many options to create your custom Instagram wall!
I ended up ordering three of the 20-pack white 4×4 frames, although I ended up just using 48 of them on the Instagram wall and spread out the others in different parts of my loft.
STEP 2: ORDERING THE PHOTOS
You can order Instagram photos all sorts of places nowadays. But my favorite place to print them (quickly) is at Walgreens. I like the quality of their prints. Plus they have an app I’ve used for years that helps you print photos from your phone. There’s even an option now to print directly from your Instagram feed — brilliant!
If you end up printing from Walgreens, be sure to also check their website beforehand for coupon codes. There’s almost always some sort of discount you can get with photos.
STEP 3: ASSEMBLING THE PHOTO FRAMES
I had to admit I was downright giddy when the boxes arrived in the mail from Tiny Mighty Frames. I couldn’t wait to get started!
Thankfully I ended up having a bit of help on the project. My parents drove into town after I moved for a day to help with house projects (best Christmas gift ever!), and the Instagram wall was at the top of my list. So my mom and I got to work popping photos in frames, and my dad started measuring and making plans for how to hang them.
As always with photos, there are so many fun memories that go along with them. So I highly recommend grabbing a friend or family member to help you assemble. It’s all the more fun!
*Also, for those using Tiny Might Frames, be sure to check out their FAQ page for quick tips on getting the glass out of the frame. A few of them were a little tight, so the trick is to push the glass very carefully from the front of the frame to loosen it.
STEP 4: MAKING A PLAN TO HANG THE FRAMES
Note that I didn’t skip right to hanging the frames. You absolutely must take the time to plan and measure how you’re going to hang them beforehand. As you can see by our notes above, this process included quite a bit of trial and error and indecisiveness (on my part). But the process that worked for us in the end was to:
1) Measure the your overall wall space
2) Decide how many frames you want to use, and how you want to arrange them
3) Decide exactly how much space you want between frames (both vertically and horizontally)
4) Decide how much or a border you want to have on the wall around the frames
5) Work backwards measuring from there
6) Make pencil marks on the wall for where your nails should go, using a level to double-check that they are level
2) Decide how many frames you want to use, and how you want to arrange them
3) Decide exactly how much space you want between frames (both vertically and horizontally)
4) Decide how much or a border you want to have on the wall around the frames
5) Work backwards measuring from there
6) Make pencil marks on the wall for where your nails should go, using a level to double-check that they are level
This step definitely takes the longest out of all of them, but good ol’ prior planning will prevent poor (uneven frame) performance. ;)
STEP 5: HANGING THE FRAMES
Once you’ve made your marks for the nails, this part is easy! Hammer a small nail into each pencil mark you’ve made for the hole, and hang your frames so that they are flush against the wall.
STEP 6: STABILIZING THE FRAMES (OPTIONAL)
Your frames may hang perfectly straight. But if they don’t, or if yours (like mine) are near a door that could slam and shake them up, I highly recommend stabilizing them.
You can use just about any tacky solution that won’t rip off the paint. I ended up liking these Command strips, which I hid behind the frames. But go with whatever works for you.
STEP 7: ENJOY IT!!!
I won’t lie — this project takes a chunk of time and work, especially to be sure that the frames are evenly spaced and level. But I thought it was totally worth it. I love-love-love having a place to display so many photos, I love the clean modern look of the frames, and I love the conversations that the wall inevitably inspires when people walk in the door.
The other fun thing is that you can totally swap out photos once your Instagram wall is hung. You can add new photos, you can pop in cute quotes, or you can even sub in seasonal decor for different times of the year. Whatever floats your boat.
Huge thanks to my parents for helping me assemble my wall, and to Tiny Mighty Frames for helping sponsor the project. If you want to make one of your own, be sure to check out their website, Facebook, Twitter,Pinterest and (of course!) Instagram for more details.
And you have to promise me that if you make one of your own, you’ll send me a photo! I want to see!!! :D
Disclaimer: Big thanks to Tiny Mighty Frames for sponsoring the cost of the frames for me to experiment with this project. They did not compensate me for this review and all opinions are 100% my own as always. But I totally recommend them and am thrilled that the frames worked out so well!
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