Wall Collage in Progress

Funny how we can live in our house so long we forget to make it a home.  At least I have. Between raising kids, cleaning, laundry and life, I have become accustomed to things in my house that leave it cold.  Take the wall above my couch.  

Hang in with me.  Here is a long story to talk about the wall above my couch!

We had a fireplace and mantle....that we never used.  I didn't realize how few times I took pictures of my mantle...like never!  So I do not have a before.

When we purchased the house, there was a leak in the chimney that had not been disclosed. We discovered the leak while stripping wallpaper  and found the previous owners would just put up another layer of wallpaper when  it leaked through.  I did not know at the time that we could go back to the sellers and require them to fix an existing, known structural issue, but we were not aware of this. 

 It has taken us several tries (expensive tries) to finally fix the problem but the leak is finally fixed.

So, what did we have to do?

This.

And this. My hard little worker!

To make it this.

Then my awesome husband did some framing and we drywalled in the fireplace.  We made this decision for a couple reasons.  First, the damper was broken and made it really difficult to keep heat in. Secondly, we didn't use it but a couple times in the last 14 years. And finally, we needed the wall space.  

This is the layout of our living room.

We had very little room to sit!  With the chimney, the three doors going through (basically making a hallway), two windows and a cold air return that cannot be covered....  Well as you can see, we have a hard time putting in a couch, chair, tv, and anything else we needed to live!  That is why we decided to cover the fireplace.

Shwew!  Are you still with me?  So this left me with a blank wall where the chimney used to be and we now put our couch.  I have pinned many things like these because I think they add so much charm and texture to a room.  However, I have kept a blank wall for well over a year.

  

So I had to do my own collage to make my plain wall add character to my home.  Since we will be putting the house on the market, I am not adding personal touches like pictures.

First I took newspaper and traced all the items I have been collecting for a couple months.  I then taped the images up and lined it all on how I thought it would look best.

Next, I started to hang things up using a level.  A major OCD of mine is crooked pictures.

Finally, this is what I ended with. 

 Now I need to add things in these places to fill it out.

So keep watching for part two.  After I scour thrift and antique stores I can't wait to show you the final product!