Keila Tirado-Leist

It 's slowly starting to feel like Fall around here but I'm not trying to rush it because I'm soaking up the rest of summer that we have left! Something about it still snowing in May really puts things into perspective for me and pushes me to enjoy this season even more. I've been meaning to write this post for a while now but it wasn't until recently that we finished up our gallery wall project. It was a true labor of love because there were specific pieces that I wanted but it took a little while for me to find all of the prints and frames. Before I dive into the gallery wall let's talk a little bit about the color of my living room walls. For starters, I didn't paint them. They were recently painted before we moved in and my first thought was it has to go! However, they were in really great condition and I was in love with every other detail. Now I really can't imagine this room any other color for now anyway ;)

Will someone please remind me to wipe the TV down better next time I decide to photograph this room [ insert grimace emoji here]? Oh, and if someone knows of a trick to hide all of those ugly wire's from under the television console- I'm all ears! Speaking of  my television console it has to be one of my favorite purchases ever for this space. I love the mid-century style and how it grounds this wall. Most of the pieces of my gallery wall were thrifted. The large painting on the bottom right was from a local thrift shop and the top painting my sister made. It's really special for me to have her work as a part of my gallery wall. The rattan mirror I got on major clearance at Target but here's a more expensive  almost identical one and a really similar more affordable set here.

I am so grateful for how much natural light we have in our new home. At our apartment we had very little natural light and only one large living room window where most of the sunlight came through. It was borderline impossible to keep plants alive even though B's  medicinal plants miraculously made it even though our room windows were covered by trees all around. We now have large windows facing every direction and in every room. I can now have several plants and I love how they brighten up this space plus add some life to every corner.

I love the quote from this print and it's from one of my favorite lettering shops Brimpapery. 

One of my biggest suggestions to making a gallery wall is to have fun! I initially pinned a ton of mid-century gallery walls and went from there. I then looked at prints that I already had. I have this LIFE: The Classic Collection book  that came with 20 really great prints of vintage photographs from the magazine. I have them sprinkled around our home. The photograph of JFK and Robert Kennedy praying is from the book and so is 'Winnie' the dog. It's really an inexpensive way to add depth and character to a wall. All of my basic black and white frames are from IKEA you can get them here. The prices are really affordable and they're pretty sturdy too. B made this calligraphy poster when he was in graduate school and it's really special to both of us. It reads (and I'm pretty sure I might be missing something but he isn't here for me to clarify ...) "It's only in winter that the pine and cypress are known to be evergreens. ~Confucius" I thought this was the perfect corner for it. The large downtown Milwaukee building was a photograph I snapped a few years ago. I enlarged and printed it off at Costco for less than 10 bucks. 

I also need to sweep a little better next time haha! Lucia joined me while I was taking pics and we waited for the boys to arrive from Costco. I couldn't help but snap some pics of our 3-month-old bella. Her favorite thing right now is to roll over and gnaw on her fist!

In a perfect world I would have a very brighter couch like this one or this one. It's definitely on my wishlist but for now we're thankful for our hand-me-down brown couch our friends gave us a couple of years ago :)

I always like to have our little's toys and books  be a part of the living room because this is their space also. The market basket is from Design Dua, the quality of these baskets are unmatched in my opinion. I always have a basket or two at their level where they can grab their books or toys whenever they want to play. It's a great way to make this space their own while also keeping it looking tidy once they're done.

I keep moving this lavender candle from Milwaukee Candle Co. all around our home because it smells so good!

I'd been looking for a set of gold bookends and I was so excited when I found these.

I love a good pathos and they're really easy to keep alive! That and snake plants are virtually indestructible haha! 

That about wraps up my living room gallery wall tour. I love our little home and it's been so fun to continue to make it our own. I know I've mentioned that it isn't our forever home but in the meantime it makes a huge difference to take the time to add our own touch! I didn't photograph all of the living room because we still have the window ac unit that will be coming down in the next few days or the mudroom area that I'm still putting together. I'll share them here once they're complete!

I hope you all have a great rest of your week!