On June 13th, 2014 we moved into a new house. Its something we have talked about and dreamed about for a long time – I mean who doesn’t love flipping through Zillow or Trulia and checking out everyone elses stuff. What we didn’t expect was to fall in love with a property that was perfect to keep…well…forever. I was excited about the backyard potential, the extra 1000 square feet, all of it!

Except now that we are here I have to be honest that this is a BIG house. Between cleaning out unnecessary items we didn’t want to transfer (otherwise known as the moving purge) and the extra space to spread out, we are finding we have a lot of walls, a lot of floor space, and pretty much very little money to fill it up.

This means we have to prioritize and in my case it came in two forms: Walls and Floors

With hardwood floors everywhere this place echos like you would not believe. Throw a 2 year old, a dog, and 5 cats into it…lets just say if someone so much as whispers a plot about leaving the house I can hear it. That means we have had to cover the floors with rugs and I am just now, two months later, even getting some into the space. I picked out a rug for the pass back between the kids rooms, a runner for the hallway to the master and a big 8×10 for the extra living space/dining area that still remains empty waiting for an idea.

These are the three new rugs, $49, $99, $159. Not bad and Target does a good job with matching pillows and curtains and all that jazz.

 

Now that it’s a tiny bit less “echo-y” in here, the walls really needed some help. While I would adore having this place painting professionally to bring in some of “us”, its just out of the cards till I sell my old home. Right now I have to settle for bring in personality and feeling like home with pictures of US.

 There are several things I have done.

First you may recognize these pictures here from Phoenyx’s baby nursery that won Parenting Magazine. I added two more matching frames (that still need pictures, I am getting there) and had them hung in the entry way. I love when my office doors are open and I can see all those smiling family members back to me.

I have to say that P isn’t as happy cause he wants them back in his room but in due time.

But one of my favorite parts of the house is slowly coming together and that is the pass back between the kids bedrooms. I have a large space that shares the doors to Charlotte’s room, Phoenyxs room, a bathroom and the guest room.

So Aluminyze offered to let me create some wall art in order to get my new home feeling a lot more “homey”. I was pretty excited and turns out Aluminyze has some pretty cool products. Unlike canvases that can tear, Aluminyze is a special process that puts your print or art work on an infused piece of aluminium using a hot press. I know that sounds fancy but what it equates to is your photos being vivid, beautiful and virtually indestructible. They are water proof, frame-less, and UV resistant. And with tons of product shapes like hearts, panoramic, squares, circles and even special letter designs, along with your choice of mounts, surface and finish, its easy to find a fit for your style.

I chose: 3/4″ wall float (Extra $3), “white” surface, and matte finish.

(this is the back)

Hanging our Aluminyze

First I have to tell you that I almost lost one of these. My parents came over and my mom said is that for me? I was like…no. She said you have three, I want one of those. I am like..no, these are mine. Then she asked if she could have the little one I had made for my office, again…no. HA! We went back and forth on them till I agreed to let her have the pictures disk to create her own. I am hoping to hold off long enough to just order her one for Christmas.

Chris and Phoenyx got to work with the laser leveler and very easily hung them up on the wall!

Results of our Aluminyze

I think the results are pretty fantastic. I love seeing the photos just walking by the hallway.

 

Its very hard to take pictures in this confined space so I had to use a fish-eye lens to get the room, but I hope you get an idea of how beautiful they look!

the view from the guest room into the hall

the view from Charlottes room into the hall

the view walking down the hall

I know you cannot tell taking a picture of the picture, but I uploaded huge copies of our family photos and these are crystal clear on the print.

Do I recommend Aluminyze?

Absolutely.

I think its clear that the quality is fantastic and having indestructible photos that wont fade or be destroyed-ever- have a huge appeal from grandma to art galleries, but they also give off so much classic appeal that they are sure to draw comments on anyone coming into that space. While I still have a long way to go in decorating my house and getting some of our normal back, hanging photos on the wall are making me feel so much more settled.

I think little by little things are coming together.

If you missed this in my Facebook feed, I also did this to my little built in desk.  Its a bit of personalization. I got this wall rub on at Target for about $10, although it was a bit of a pain in the rear on my texture walls.

Now if you are really excited about decorating, I have a treat for you but you will have to wait for tomorrow. Aluminyze is sending me a 40% code to share with everyone!  I am secretly hoping to get a giveaway too because these are really awesome. I asked and Ill report back, so please check back yourself!

What do you think? Is my house coming together? Suggestions welcome!

~Trisha