This space is slowly but surely coming together. I am excited to say we’ve got one of the four walls completed! Feeling like that is absolutely worth celebrating! Now, we’ve just got a little less than two weeks to compete the other 3 and we will be good to go.
If you found us for the first time through the ORC, holler! We’re Danielle and Michael Gutelli. A husband and wife design to build team based in Plymouth, Michigan. You can learn more about us as a brand here and see some of our client projects here, here and here. Just in case you missed the last three weeks post don’t worry we got you: week 1 here (Project concept + Mood board), week 2 here ( Demo + Project planning), week 3 here (setbacks + custom mantle build).
This week has been nothing short of progress, just not as quickly as we’d like to see it. We ran into a few setbacks unrelated to this project but around our brand that were unexpected and needed our attention. Therefore putting this project on hold for a bit. When you run a business, your personal projects always take a back seat…but we never miss a deadline! Needless to say we are working quickly to catch up and are happy to showcase our family photo wall + our tiny entryway that finally feels like a purposeful spot in our home.
Our entryway has been a spot I have felt needed some actual purpose ever since we moved in. Since getting new exterior doors earlier this year I haven’t been able to let this area rest in my mind. I added this round mirror to help create a larger feel to the space with the reflection. Below the mirror we hung this rad coat rack and I am loving how it has made this space have an actual purpose. We’ll make sure not to allow it to collect too much stuff.
HOW TO MAKE OVERSIZED PRINTS
Statement Family Photos
I like to consider them statement photos but I am pretty sure the internet and pinterest like to refer to them as engineered prints. Technically ours are not engineered prints because they are actual photographs and they are not printed on plott printers. We first saw this ideas on Chris Loves Julia’s site several years ago. I absolutely loved the idea of having our kids become the focal point of our living space. While we didn’t follow the exact same steps as them we used their concept to draw our inspiration! I didn’t want to mess with the background of our images so we used the outside of our house with the white brick. From there we set the kids up one at a time. I basically took anywhere from 50-100 images of each kid and our dog to ensure I had one that I liked. Make sure you are taking your photos vertically.
Because we wanted the boys to look natural we started with having them stand and just started shooting. We then made them laugh, used bribery and hoped for the best! We used our camera and shot in raw form, but in all honesty the new cameras on phones are freakin’ amazing. Actually for this post we shot everything from the new iPhone Pro! It has been our go to ever since we got them a month or so ago, and trust me when I say they are worth their weight in gold!
When it comes to image editing we used Adobe Lightroom to do all our edits on our computer, creating the black and white prints you see. I have a set of presets I love to work with to keep consistency within my images. But what’s so great about today is there are about a million different apps that you can use to create a beautiful black and white image and they all have presets ready for you. A few of my favorites include color story, vsco and lightroom.
Sizing + Framing
The major impact on these image is the size. These images are printed in 24×36. We had ours printed at Walgreens. That was the most affordable we found and we could get it printed that day. And the quality is spot on! Our frames are from Framed + Matted. They are the Muir with no matt. What I love so much about this online framing and matting site is you not only get to build your frame and matt but you can upload your image to see it in real time. We have Framed & Matted throughout our entire home, because I clearly love them that much!
How To Hang The Family Photos
This might just be as important to the process as taking the pictures and editing them down to black and white.
Prepping the frame
When you purchase any ready to hang frame online, or in store, it’s not really ready to hang. You need to peel away the film on the plexi or plastic front and clean it. We like to lay a large bath towel down on our dining table as a prep surface. Then we peel away the film and clean each side using glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth. We’ve been using Invisible Glass Cleaner for years and highly recommend it. Once both sides are clean it’s time to pop in your matt (or not), your print, then insert the backing. We always do a final cleaning once the frame is hung.
Prepping the wall
We always start by holding the frame up on the wall and finding the height. Michael always holds and adjusts, I find the right height and one of us marks the top based on how heavy the frame is. Once we have the height it is time to mark a centerline, followed by a side line that will be used to mark where the D rings are. Michael always starts from the left, making his marks and squaring them with a level. Once the hooks are in place we always clean up the pencil marks with a magic eraser!
Hanging oversized images
We always like to follow the rule of the eye – meaning we center the image where our eye hits. Obviously this can vary based on the size of the space, height of a wall, etc. but it is a general rule of thumb to go by as you are placing art and images. When you’re hanging two or more together, space them apart according to the size of your space. Trust yourself and find what is just right for you.
Make sure to follow us on instagram and tune into our stories. We also have a new client project beginning at the start of Week 4, so plenty of action happening for your viewing pleasure! AND be sure to check out all of the amazing spaces being created for the One Room Challenge! Seriously, there are some absolutely stunning spaces being created!
Clark + Aldine | Danielle | Michael
Week 5 here we come!
-much love
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