The NEW Home Office – Gallery Frames on a Ledge

As the days progress, our home is becoming more of a home. Once May 1st hits, it will officially be one year. My goal is to have everything in order by then. Then off to bigger and better things such as finishing our basement to be a home entertainment center along with a studio work space for production of any work that I do for my clients.

Another progression to show you all is our loft/office space that I have been tackling for the past 2 weeks. My husband has a huge collection of memorabilia that he has collected over the past years, and he got them all professionally framed. And of course, I had to showcase them all off somehow in his office and that's what I did. See the transformation from before.

Previous owners – loft/office space:

Our home today! – loft/office space:

When we first painted this accent wall a dark navy blue, I knew I was going to do something over-the-top to really heighten the look of the space and make this wall pop.

I have always liked the idea of leaning gallery frames or art against a wall on a ledge, but what I truly loved about the linear shelving is the fact you can have other artifacts on it too beyond frames (e.g., books, little knick-knacks/chotchkies). All I know is, the end product turned out great, and the hubby can't stop admiring the space and loves to hang out in it. It's quite funny; he's like a little kid in a candy shop. :)

If you plan on creating a space with such drama like this, make sure you have enough contrast to help the frames/art standout from a dark wall. I made sure that we framed a lot of the pieces in silver frames in different styles so they will separate from the dark wall background, and the color of the mattes make a difference too.

To make it a really clean, high-end look, do all similar style frames in different sizes with white chunky, gallery style frames, and it can look really sleek! Obviously this space was specifically for my husband, and he had an eclectic mix of sports memorabilia to awards to significant moments in history that he wanted to showcase.

The key to making this space successful is layering and balancing the space with varying heights. I played around with this space for at least an hour or two making sure all the pieces fit visually together. It's almost like a puzzle. It's a tricky thing, because it can look very cluttered and messy looking if you don't adjust the space accordingly. And I wanted to make sure that every piece that sat on the shelf gained a significant amount of attention.

If you're looking where to find the design goods, I am your inside source to finding it. The picture ledges seen in our loft space is from Exposures online, and I went with the Invisible Display Ledge in Aluminum so the frames would look like they are floating. See below for other links to make your space happen. Make comments, or email me with questions!

Where to find cool ledge shelving:
- Room & Board: Frames and Ledges
- West Elm: Wall Shelving
- Pottery Barn: Bookcases and Shelves
- CB2: Wall Decor
- Crate and Barrel: Wall Decor

Where to find gallery style frames:
- Room & Board: Frames and Ledges
- West Elm: Frames and Wall Art
- Pottery Barn: Frames
- CB2: Frames
- Crate and Barrel: Picture Frames