Photographer, Tali Schiffer (who you may remember from this post) and her sweetie have been working on quite a few home projects since they moved in to their apartment a few short months ago.

I really love what they’ve been up to, so with Tali’s permission, I’ll be sharing a handful of their home projects in the coming weeks, starting with the first today:  creating a cozy reading area.

This space is comprised of two main decor components: an art wall and storage for all those books. So, let’s start with the art wall, since it is my absolute favorite way to display art.

Cluster art walls like the one Tali created can be a bit tricky, but if you do the prep work you’ll breeze right through it. Here’s what you need to do…

Gather all of the frames you plan on using and fill them with the appropriate artwork first. I love Tali’s eclectic mix of artwork. Don’t  be afraid to mix and match frames, and media. There is no right or wrong here. Just use what you’ve got.

And then comes the most important step before hanging: the layout. Use the floor to map out the placement of each piece. It will make things a lot easier when you’re nailing holes in the wall.

Once you have a layout you are happy with, you are ready to begin hanging. I always recommend starting from the center and working your way out. And also leaving a couple of inches of wall space around each frame. But again there’s no right or wrong here- just do what you feel works best and you’ll have a decorative focal point that everyone will admire.

But we’re not done yet. Remember I said, this space had two components. And you can’t have a cozy reading room without books, right? So, Tali and her man used a combination of IKEA floating shelves and a storage system to house their book collection along with a few decorative items. So here’s a little more background on that, straight from Tali…

“We had two Ikea floating shelves and an Ikea Expedit shelving unit that used to stand upright in my someone’s old apartment. We decided to try placing it here laying horizontally instead of standing, right beneath the two shelves. The idea was to create a whole area for reading, which meant placing books on the shelves, as well as on the top of the unit, but leaving space at the end for seating. My someone was in-charge of the drilling and hanging..”

I love the space they were able to create here. Warm and inviting, while still serving up a whole lot of function.

Thanks for sharing your home with us Tali! Join us next week for the next installment of DIY home projects. And until then, please visit Tali at the following links:

Site … Blog … Etsy Shop … Flickr