Photo walls and feature walls

My friend Olivia and I were just discussing photo walls and feature walls, as she's just bought an apartment and has a blank canvas with which to work. I saw a great photo wall recently in a magazine where the frames were all white, small, decorative French Provincial style. It looked really gorgeous and was a nice point of difference to the usual black frames with cream or white mountboards like what I have - pictured. Then again, it does depend on what type of photos you're framing. Pretty white ones are great for family snaps, whereas the darker frames with mountboard give photos a kind of gallery look.

We were also discussing whether feature walls have had their day, and whether a wallpaper feature wall is better than a painted one. Open to discussion. Post your comments.

Family ties

Today I'm thinking about family, and I thought I'd share this fantastic old family photo. It's of my Great-grandparents, my Grandmother (when she was a wee girl) and her brother. It was taken in Melbourne (Bourke or Collins?) and would have been taken in the late 1930s or possibly just as World War II began. I can just stare at this photo for ages - it's so evocative of the era, a moment in time in a society on the cusp of a huge war and massive social change. However, without waxing lyrical too much, it represents the family unit all together - how it should be - out for a stroll in their Sunday best.