12 Affordable Tricks to Originally Bring Photography into Your Home

Jenny Dettrick / Getty Images

We all appreciate meaningful stories and hang on to valuable moments in day to day life. Which is probably why we often get the urge to turn our home into a miniature photo gallery. There are many ways to achieve this tastefully, but people usually go for the classic method: buying simple photo frames and placing them around the house.And while we agree that this approach is the easiest, it is not always the solution that best highlights the photos, or the “photography corner” of the room. For today we gathered some tricks on how to creatively bring photography into your home, at a fair price. If you know any other similar ideas, please leave a comment below.

• • #1. The Stylish Vintage Photo Frame

We found this really absorbing idea here. Simple, witty and with a magical aesthetic effect, this original photo frame can accommodate  as many of your favorite photos as you want it to. Just grab some wood strips, sand them or use some paint for color and make the photo frame using nails and staples. Once you are done, fasten twines on the empty frame and hang photos using wooden clothespins, For a special effect, print them in sepia.The cost for such a creative frame depends on the number of photos you print, but it should not exceed 30$.

• • #2. Recycling Jars

Need an alternative use for those jars long forgotten in the kitchen cupboards? Place some photos inside and you got yourself an innovative picture frame. For a striking effect, use some vegetable oil to completely fill the jar and add some dry flowers. This will give it a genuine vintage look. [cost: under 10$]

• • #3. Using Metallic Clips and a Wire

For a more elegant effect, you can consider printing black&white photos and hanging them using metallic clips on an interesting looking wire. You can do this by adding a neutral white photo canvas (in a digital processing computer program) like in the example above or by printing the photos as they come out of the camera. With minimum costs, as you can imagine. [costs: under $50]

• • #4. Colorful Photo Borders

This colorful arrangement comes from Martha Stewart and has a powerful visual impact. By using a strong color for each of the pictures displayed, the result is playful and elegant at the same time. You can choose a black frame for the photos or simply hang them on the wall in their colorful canvases, in order to save some money, Either way, the effect is great. [cost: under 40$ without individual glass framing]

• • #5. Using Ceramic Tiles

This is another affordable DIY project that we really love. You will need ceramic tiles, glue, scissors and printed photos. Use double-sided heavy-duty sticky tape squares to place the photos on the walls or your fridge. You will find step by step instructions here. The result? You will probably not want to buy photo frames again. [cost: $0.13 each tile + photo printing and glue]

• • #6. Hanging Photos on Strings Horizontally
    

This idea could be implemented in the childrens’ room or in outdoor spaces, during various events. Use some clothespins to hang the photos or make tiny perforations with a needle through all the photos you would like exhibited. For a more powerful visual effect, use a neutral background. [costs: under 3$0]

• • #7. The Photo Wheel

We stumbled across the photo wheel on Pinterest and decided to feature it in this post. Aside from being a creative way of unusually displaying photos, we figured the round frame is not so difficult to improvise at home. The photos can then be added by using clips or clothespins.

• • #8. The Magnetic Photo Rope

This simple and interesting looking 58″ cable comes with 8 magnets you can use to attach photos, postcards, birthday cards and so on. The bottom of the cable is weighted to keep it straight, and a loop of cable at the top lets you hang the rope anywhere you want. An original and easy to use method, keeping your photos organized and originally at sight. The magnetic photo can be purchased online here. [cost: 3 strings for $28]

• • #9. Using Wooden Photo Boards

Here is an interesting DIY project that caught our attention. By simply using some wooden boards as support for your photos, wires, bulldog clips and hooks, you can put together an original and surprising project. The photos can be grouped in various ways and placed anywhere around the house. You can read about the step by step operation (which shouldn’t take more than half a day) and get help on successfully implementing this idea here. [cost: under 50$ for 10 photos]

• • #10. The Corner Frame 

Featured a while back on Freshome, the corner frame and angled corner frame take advantage of a wall part that is usually neglected. The frames are available for purchase online, but taking the idea and improvising at home would probably reduce the costs.

• • #11. The Wall Clock

For this particular idea you would need a clock kit plus 12 or 4 pictures of your choice. It is a simple and elegant idea, which also leaves room for improvising. You can also create this clock by using photo frames. You will find elaborate instructions on this cool DIY project on Photojojo.

• • #12. The Photo Wall

Bree Hester from the Creative Mama envisioned (and did!) this amazing photo collage, perfect for displaying in a family home. By using photoclips or thumbtacks (simple or colorful) )you can connect the photos together, opting for a small batch or a large one, like in the example above. [cost: under $50]