How to Create a Gallery Wall

A gallery wall is a collection of artwork that looks casually assembled; a perfectly haphazard mix of sizes and shapes. It's a great way to show off a collection of prints, photographs or even objects. It also makes a space look more personal and lived-in than a single piece of art. 

Some helpful tips to pulling off a great gallery wall that shows off your style: 
- Keep frames approximately 3" apart for more structured look...

... or space frames wider apart for a more bohemian vibe

via Little Green Notebook

Better Than Sliced Bread: Closet Rod Light

A great and inexpensive solution for those who don't have lighting in the closet. A closet rod with battery-operated lights integrated along the bottom. 

 via LA Closet Design

 
It attaches to a shelf above, similarly to a standard closet rod - no wiring required. The light portion uses an energy-efficient LED light instead of fluorescent bulbs and also has a motion sensor to turn the light off for you, further conserving the battery. Comes in 22” and 34” lengths. 

Not the right sizes to fit your needs? Rite Lite offers less sleek but just as convenient products like LED puck lights and LED strips that can be affixed inside your closet. Also wireless and energy-efficient. They use LED bulbs and have motion sensor or remote control options.

Spring Swishing

With spring around the corner, I know many of you are getting ready for spring cleaning. There's an amazing way to clean away clutter, organize your closet, go shopping and hang out with your friends at the same time: Host a clothing swap party!

photo via the-budgetista.com

  
The premise is simple: Each guest brings a few articles of clothing or accessories that they no longer have use for, and other guests can choose from among them. One person's unworn, ill-fitting or regretted purchase is another one's treasure. And it happens to be really fun.

Best of Brooklyn Flea

There is nothing I love more than a good flea market, and one of my absolute favorites is Brooklyn Flea. It takes place every single weekend. In the winter it is indoors at Hanson Place, the building directly next door to the every-single-train stop at Atlantic Terminal. In the warmer months it moves outdoors and turns into a sort of block party, at Fort Greene on Saturdays and Williamsburg waterfront on Sundays. If you're looking for something original, vintage, hand-made or delicious you're in luck.

Over embarrassingly many trips to the Flea (I'm there just about every other weekend) I've found a few amazing vendors for home goods. The following is a short list I recommend to anyone visiting for the first time:

Black Doors

One of the easiest and most rewarding things I have done since moving into my place is so simple that it is ridiculous how much apprehension went into it. Are you ready?

I painted the front door black.

I hear you laughing at me, so cut it out. It sounds like a trivial design choice, but gearing up to paint a door black can be incredibly intimidating. I’m here to tell you that you that it’s going to be OK. Black doors are gorgeous and elegant. Look:

via Elle Decor

Make Your Own Art: Rasterbator

Sounds dirty but isn't: Rasterbator. This great (free!) program allows you to blow up an image to any size and print it out in individual pages that you assemble into a giant poster or a even a mural. A great way to cover a whole wall without painting a thing and a cheap way to get a lot of look. 

via Flickr

 via Flickr

Better Than Sliced Bread: Instant Pendants

You know what’s better than sliced bread? A pendant light fixture that plugs right into the socket of a recessed light. It’s called an "instant pendant." Perfect for renters who don’t like their recessed lighting or owners who don’t want to bring in an electrician (or commit to permanently converting a recessed fixture into a pendant).

The bonus: it comes in a pretty decent array of styles. This one and the one pictured are comparable to pendants at West Elm and this one has a hint of Restoration Hardware to it. The bonus on top of the bonus: the whole thing costs less than a Franklin.