DIY Dining Nook Photo Ledge

Picture shelves: Wayfair (they have SO many to choose from! They’re just two sets put together in the corners!) Picture frames: Wayfair picture frames (also love white frames!) Cowskin rug: Similar cowskin rug, Dining table: West Elm table–it’s expandable! I also love their walnut version! Wayfair Black Bistro Chairs, Vintage Rattan Chairs: Beehive Chicago, (but these are a similar look!) Candlestick holders: vintage (so many available on Etsy! You can buy them in bulk!), Wood platter: similar acacia wood platter, Coffee pot: old from Target, Sheepskin rug: IKEA–Similar here and here!

GUYS!!!

Our picture wall is finally complete!

(I only put it up like 6 months ago and then just never got around to replacing the stock photos 😂) I’m REALLY GOOD AT LIFE.

Admittedly, they’d still be stock photos if not for my friend Cassandra helping me with this project. Thank you Cass!

ANNNYWAYY, this little corner is where I spend about 10 hours of my day. Our dining table is my desk, so you could say I spend more time in this area than every other area of our house combined.

I always wanted to do something with the blank walls in the corners and originally wanted a traditional gallery wall, but then Kira suggested doing a photo ledge wall coming out of the corners (something I NEVER would’ve come up with on my own!) and I can’t believe I finally got around to bringing it to life! If you live in Chicago and need an interior designer, I can’t recommend her enough!

I can’t believe how much homier the whole room looks now–I absolutely love it.

How my taste has changed over the past year:

In the past year or so, I’ve definitely noticed my style becoming more streamlined and “grown up”–almost. My taste has always been very eclectic–I love a mix of old and new and a hodge-podge of styles all mixed together (I think that results in the most character!) and while a few years ago, I probably would’ve chosen a mix of different frames, artwork, and photos, I wanted this to be a simple–all black and white color scheme. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

When we first put the photo shelves up, I didn’t have enough frames to fill the space, so I pulled some black and white album covers from our record collection to pop up there to fill up the space–originally I just did it as a placeholder but we absolutely loved the effect and it felt very “us”–so we kept them! I think it’s such a cool way to display your favorite records–even if you didn’t have any picture frames!

Get the look for yourself:

I love Wayfair (it’s kind of my go-to for home decor) and they make it really easy to do this in any room you’d like! That’s where the shelves and the frames are from. It was so easy!

All you have to do is choose your picture shelves, then pick your favorite picture frame set. I did a LOT of research on where to get the best bang for your buck with picture frames (why are they SO expensive?!) and Wayfair was the cheapest I found.

You can get a full set of frames for about $100–which is tough to beat! You can go with a mixture of different sizes, or if you want an even more streamlined look, go with one size (I’d recommend going with a larger size like 8 x 10 if you went this route!)

Put your own spin on it:

You could go with wood shelves like these or these for a more rustic feel, or metal shelves for a sleeker feel! You can also do white frames for a lighter more minimalist feel, or these cute white wedge floating shelves for a more modern look!