How I Decorate my Home with Photographs

Photography

Jan 20

I don’t believe you should ever sell something that you don’t actually use yourself. Personally speaking, photography is not only important in my life for my profession, but it’s also front and center in my own home. Now, that doesn’t mean that my house is covered in photographs from top to bottom. In fact, every image that’s on my walls is curated not only to convey meaning but also to fit into the interior. And I love large artwork, used sparingly.. which means I’m a lot more intentional with everything that I choose to display than you might think!

Below is a little sneak peek behind the scenes at my home and how I choose to use photography to decorate and enjoy the interiors where I spend most of my time.

Small framed photograph of Iceland on top of a bookshelf. Image by N. Lalor Photography and part of the photographer’s home decor.

Open shelving decorated with books, a vintage camera, and a small framed photograph of the Matterhorn in Zermatt Switzerland taken during our honeymoon. Image by N. Lalor Photography and part of the photographer’s home decor.

Small frames in built-in open shelves

When we moved into our new home just over 2 years ago, it had a lot of open shelving and built-ins, which are super charming but also require some intentional decorating. I ended up significantly reducing our book collection and pairing interesting objects with photographs from our travels. Travel photography made sense for this area because each shelf had a bit of a color theme.. plus it reminds us of what we enjoy most in our family life.. visiting new places!

These little areas of photography create interest and break up the solid blocks of color of stacked books. I have also been adding more objects to the shelves - ones that have meaning, like a bunch of old cameras I’ve collected over the years that literally never got unwrapped after our move.. and some pretty geodes that we bought during our visit to Quebec City. You will notice that the frames that hold the images aren’t the same, and that’s intentional. I truly believe that these spaces grow and change over time and that sticking to a strict theme stifles the liveliness of the room. This is a space that we hang out in as a family - the shelves are curated, but are also overflowing with board games and puzzles. This is where we can have fun, and I want the photographs and decor to reflect that!

Large 20x30” framed print above an oversized historic fireplace in a cape cod style house with low ceilings. Image by N. Lalor Photography and part of the photographer’s home decor.

Large statement framed portrait

I sometimes get clients who are afraid of going BIG with wall art. They usually have gorgeous homes with lots of wall space and tall ceilings - the perfect interior for big statement framed portraits! My own house doesn’t quite fit into that criteria (we went the charming with lots of history route), but a large 20x30” framed portrait is still right at home above our oversized fireplace. If I can have a gorgeously large piece of art with my sub-8-foot ceilings, so can you! And yes, I absolutely LOVE seeing it every day and had many comments from my boys, who are in the photo, which spark lovely conversations all the time.

This is a portrait that will also be updated as they grow older. There’s a very important reason why I love these frames - the ability to open up the back and change the photograph without damaging anything. The frames are an investment that will last for the rest of our life (if not longer!), while the image in the frame is meant to be enjoyed for a shorter period of time.. and that’s ok! There’s a lot of stress out there about committing to wall art forever, and I don’t think it’s necessary at all.

Mounted baby print of my second son. Image by N. Lalor Photography and part of the photographer’s home decor.

Everyday prints on display from Artifact Uprising. Image by N. Lalor Photography and part of the photographer’s home decor.

Casual prints in each child’s room

While I do invest in heirloom quality whenever I can, that doesn’t mean that everything in my house is expensively printed and framed! The kid’s rooms contain printed photographs that are meant to be enjoyed right now, but aren’t going to cause me lost sleep over the fact that little sticky fingers might ruin them.

Elliot’s baby picture (first image above) has been in his room since he was just a few months old. He still looks at it and comments on how he was so cute as a baby. It’s a mounted print, so it’s solid and can stand on his own, which requires no framing.

Graham’s bookcase contains a stack of photographs from when he was 4 years old. It’s a mix of 20 photos from Artifact Uprising, so he can rotate them as he likes, but mostly it’s a great way to decorate his shelves and add a personal touch to the stacks of books and finished legos he’s currently enjoying. And yes, there’s a mix of stuff on his bookshelf! Including some truly garish items that hold sentimental value.. and that’s ok! His room is a collaboration since he’s now old enough to have some strong opinions.

Small 10x10” canvas print on a white wall. Image by N. Lalor Photography and part of the photographer’s home decor.

So what about you? How do you like to display photographs in your home? Do you prefer large frames on the wall or smaller ones sprinkled throughout the house? Do you have children and struggle with deciding between having expensive nice things or going the cheap route and not worry about them getting ruined? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think!