For all of us, family photos are among our most treasured possessions, yet we often keep them tucked away in a box or cupboard. Isn’t it time you took them out and placed them on display?
A customer arrived on our doorstep late last year asking for a Box Frame with a double mat. She was worried we wouldn’t carry them any longer. We assured her we did, and found the colour she wanted. “Oh, thank goodness for that!” she sighed and explained how she already had 5 Double Box Frames hanging down the hallway displaying school photos taken annually of her two children. “I want to have one for every year of their primary school days,” she said, “they carry so many memories for all of us.”
We all treasure memories often captured in a photograph of a special event, a new born, a first birthday, a wedding or twenty-first, grandma when she was little, dad in his first car, a skiing holiday or simply a fabulous picture of people who are special. Photos are a snapshot of a moment in time, they hold meaning and significance, and putting them out on display reminds us of that moment in time. So where do you begin?
Sorting out your photos on a table is a good start. Decide which are best to go in a frame and which are best put in an album where you can keep all the photos related to that event. Select photos that are black and white or coloured, new and old. For example, you might include a black and white of your grandparents, a coloured photo of your daughter’s wedding, a snapshot of camping 10 years ago and so on. Mixing old and new makes your photo grouping more interesting and invites discussion from visitors. For more ideas about a location visit www.hp.com and look for ‘Creative ways to display your family photos’.
Selecting a location is just as important as selecting the photo itself. While family photos add warmth to a home, they are usually not works of art, so grouping them in a cluster allows for glimpses as you pass rather than requiring a full frontal appraisal of, say dad’s oversized tummy or your wiggly hair part in your old school photo. So a location that will comfortably house 6 to 8 photos, where the cat won’t knock them down, is ideal. In my house I have selected the hall table that greets visitors when they come in the front door. It is glass, hence the cats don’t like to sit on it!
So now to choosing a frame: using Corban & Blair frames provides a number of great options and alternatives. You might choose frames with a mat to make your photo stand out more, or select Box Frames that stand alone, or Beauty frames to give that extra note of sophistication. Or, you might choose a simple Slim Box frame with no mat. Most photographs are developed to standard sizes such as 4x6”, 5x7”, 10x8” and it is for these photograph sizes that Corban & Blair produce most of their photo frames. Added to this is the ease with which you can insert the photo, so updating the image as the children grow and the family changes is easy.
When you have matched your photo to each frame place the frames in the location and check the collection works. Now undo the shrinkwrap and insert your photos! Keep the backing paper, put a double-sided sticker in the middle to secure your photo and place both back into the frame. Corban & Blair have a video on You Tube that provides assistance.
Some interior decorators like to choose frames all in the same colour giving them a unifying element. The location I have chosen can carry black frames and white frames, so I have mixed them up. This was helpful as my old black and white images do look better in a black frame! So to get a unifying element with my different sized frames, I have chosen to arrange then in a pyramid style. This structure pulls the eye to the centre where all the pictures can be seen at one glance, as a unit. Other unifying elements are choosing all coloured photos, keeping to one profile style, and so on.
When you have placed your pictures in the frames and arranged them, you will be delighted, just as I was, to see just how exciting it is to bring all those photos to life!
For a great reference on how to make a wall display look professional see http://markcutlerdesign.blogspot.com/2007
Other locations in your home might be by way of secreting away some great snaps in the bookcase! Using Corban & Blair Box Frames or Slim Box Frames makes it easy to do this.
For that most precious memory you might like to use a stylish frame such as Beauty and place it on your bedside table. In a simple location this frame really gives meaning and significance to an adored photograph. Adding your own items personalises the setting. The bedside table is from www.ikea.com.au ; the table lamp can be found at www.freedom.com.au; the books are from Berkelouw Books second hand section www.berkelouw.com.au; and the beads by Zoe Bonbon from Stem in Balmain.
