Take Photo

Dipped Frame Gallery Wall

I have been collecting picture frames over the past year or two, in hopes to update our hallway gallery wall with something a little more playful and substantial than our previous attempt.  I wasn't quite sure what I would land on in terms of an "after", I just knew I wanted something a smidge different than just the typical white gallery wall.  Something that would fit our playful family style and carry a little added color to the most traveled area of our home.


To get started, I gathered a few of the frames I have been collecting over the past numerous months (picking up a couple with each trip to IKEA®).  I also used ScotchBlue™ Painter's Tape Delicate Surfaces with Advanced Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector 2080EL and Multi-Surface with Advanced Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector 2093EL, Behr® Marquee™ Paint in Ocean Storm #MQ5-61D and Adonis MQ4-51M, and my favorite Wooster® Brushes.


Based on the frames I had on hand, I did some measuring of the wall and created a layout plan on the floor.  This is what I had come up with.


In our garage, I placed four of the frames out on a piece of wood, and gave them a quick coat of primer.  You would not typically need primer with the Behr® Marquee™ Paint (it has primer built-in), however, IKEA® frames are quite glossy and I wanted to add an extra coat just to ensure a good stick.


Once the primer was dry, the fun began!  I measured down about 1/4 of the way down the frame, made a small mark with my pencil, and taped off the frame with my painter's tape.


Using my Wooster® Pro 1” Nylon Thin Angle Sash Brush, I painted the lower portion of the frame with the Marquee™ Ocean Storm Paint.  It went on like butta!  Smooth and quick with beautiful one coat coverage!  I have been a Behr® user for many years, and their new Marquee™ line takes the cake. So good.


Quick tip: Pull the tape while the paint is still wet for the crispest paint lines. 

While the frames were drying and curing, I measured down to the exact same point on the photo mat, and taped that off as well.  Because I wanted all of the mats to be bright white at the top (vs. the typical creamy ivory color), I used my pal Cassie's tip and flipped 'em over.


Using the wider Wooster® Pro 2” Nylon Thin Angle Sash Brush, I brushed in a downward motion directly onto the mat, with the Marquee™ Adonis Paint.


The paint self leveled really nicely and one coat later, there were no streaks and everything was looking quite pretty! I pulled the tape and because I used the ScotchBlue™ Painter's Tape Delicate Surfaces with Advanced Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector, it didn't pull away any of the paper on the mat. 

Using our per-determined plan, we used the painter's tape to create a center line between the two doors in our hallway.  The line was a base line to build up and down from, we also used the tape to ensure each frame was spaced evenly.


Once all of the frames were hung using my favorite picture hanging hooks, the final step was to pull the tape...


Stand back and admire!


I really love how the dipped colors add vibrancy and drama to the black and white photos and frames.


And the colors I selected tie in the painted hutch in our adjoining dining room to the navy in the hallway runner and stool at the end of the hallway.


I only opted to do four random frames in the group, which allows each one to really shine, yet prevents the entire grouping from becoming too busy or overwhelming.

And a final up close peek at the impact the colorful dipped effect has on the framed image.


This project was very quick and simple and I love catching everyone in the family stopping in their tracks to check out the new wall of images.  Impactful, playful, colorful, us.





I am proud to be a 3M, Behr®, and Wooster® - sponsored blogger, and, as part of my responsibilities, I get the opportunity to evaluate products. Opinions are my own and additional product used in the project were selected by me.