A Happy Kitchen Wall Collage: Etsy Artwork & Rustic Touches

One of the things I love about our kitchen is all the wall space. I think sometimes, it's easy for kitchens to feel less cozy and homey than the rest of the house, despite how much the space gets used for family gathering. Once our walls were painted, I was itching to start hanging things. Coming from the world's tiniest galley kitchen in our old apartment, however, I didn't have a lot of things to actually hang. So I turned to Etsy. I looked through some old photography prints I had favorited over the years, and also stumbled upon some illustration prints that made me happy just looking at them. I was never really a fan of illustrations as wall art - I've always been a straight-up photography kind of girl - but illustrations have really started to grow on me lately, and I ended up ordering some. The ones I ordered were all instant downloads for around $4-$5, and then getting them printed online and mailed to me only added about $1 each. So, creating a little wall gallery wouldn't be as expensive as I thought.

One morning while eating breakfast, I just got an image in my head (as per usual) for a little photo gallery on our wall that connects the kitchen, mudroom and dining room. I had been stuck on this space for a while because it needed to tie all three spaces together somehow, and I just decided to go with the idea that came to me. For this plan, I needed a rustic-y looking picture ledge, some illustrations, maybe a photo or two and a few frames. I also decided to incorporate a purchase I made over the summer from the Country Living Fair. Put all that together, and you get something like this:

You'll have to excuse the light switches that are currently naked. Our switch plate for that one is on order and not yet in our possession. And we're replacing the doorway moulding, so we kind of don't care that it presently has paint all over it. 

Because this is an area I pass by everyday when I leave the house and come back home for the day, I loved the idea of simple sayings I remind myself of every day: Be Kind & Be Happy. When I found the two bee illustrations on Etsy, I knew it was meant to, well ... bee. That pun was so, SO NOT intended. But anyway.

The photo of the clementines on the tree was one that I had been saving in my Etsy Favorites list for a few months, and I thought that it worked really well in the space. The rustic frame that houses it is an older purchase from my hoarding days that I found at Homegoods. Besides the fact that it's a beautiful photograph, I loved how warm the photo was, which ties nicely into our dining room which will eventually be painted a warm Tuscan peach color.

When I found the print of the succulent wreath surrounding the word Home, I realized it was exactly what I needed to finish off the gallery wall because the colors and overall design worked perfectly with the colors in our kitchen, and still worked with the dining room color palette. Plus, I just really liked it, so there's that.

The ledge was also an Etsy purchase, and the shop was so customizable that I was able to get it built at exactly 34 inches, which was the perfect length for this wall. Our plan is to use rustic-y or reclaimed wood for the moulding around our doorways in this space, so the ledge here will pair wonderfully with that once it's all done.

Finally, I found a home for this cute little mason jar wall art thing that I bought (for cheap!) at the Country Living Fair this past June. I know that mason jars are almost over-done these days, and some people are like, "Oh my gawwwwwd if I see one more rustic mason jar decoration I'm going to literally stab my eyeballs out!" but I still love them, and I can't deny that. I'm currently on the hunt for some fall-y faux leaves or flowers or something to put in there, and then I can change them out seasonally. I'm hoping that eventually, we'll have big gardens filled with flowers that I can pick and put in these guys every week, but that's still a ways away. For now, fake will have to suffice.

And that, my friends, is the happy little corner of our house that brightens my day, and always reminds me to bee happy, bee kind and appreciate my home.

Details of everything mentioned

White Frames: Pottery Barn*

Ledge: Rustic Creation Too

Bee Kind Print: The Printable Planners

Bee Happy Print: JustABirdPrintables

Home Wreath Print: Moss and Twig

Clementine Print: JennDiGuglielmo

*I work for the Williams-Sonoma brand and received an employee discount on these items.