I want to do a collage of pictures on a long hallway wall. Some of the pictures are black and white and some are color. Should I stick with all B&W or all color? Or does it look okay to mix them? I just looked on pinterest for some ideas and it seemed like they were all one or the other. Also, if you have done this successfully, did you just use candid shots? Did you throw in other things like a print or decorative things? Any advice or helpful websites would be appreciated!
Thanks!
I think you should do two groupings; one b&w and the other color.
I mix both types of photos but the key to me is making sure the frames are consistent/cohesive. I don't think the frames need to be identical. The nice thing about similar frames is you can add to the grouping later on. In our hall we use black frames. Over time I have purchased different black frames and added to the collection.
In one case for my father the frames were all patina silver with fairly ornate carvings. I created a family tree type grouping. At the top were older photos (B&W), trickling down to more recent (predominantly to all color). I believe the final grouping can make sense if the frames are cohesive. I don't see any problem with mixing black and white with color. I wouldn’t mix prints or other decorative objects but that's my personal preference. I like photos to stand on their own to tell their stories. The exception is a grouping I made for my mother. It contains an ornate wooden spoon from her grandmother. We hung the spoon near her grandmother's photo. Her grouping reads left to right in family groups. We started on the left with her grandparents and older photos (again mostly B&W), moving to her siblings with their families (mostly color). Good luck.
I would not mix them up, but maybe do a progression. Start with the older family black and white photos at one end of the hall. Then into the 70s style retro color ones, then leading up tot he modern, crisp color photos.
I would go with both black and white and color. You just don't want one lone different one.
I think you could mix but it would be hard to pull off if you don't naturally have a great eye for it.
I would also say the trend seems to be all candids. but maybe a monogram decoration would work, I don't think i would mix a print or a floral arrangement.
are your photos 8x10 and larger?
If I were you I would gather up all the photos and frames and what ever decorations you are thinking of, and maybe roll out a big piece of craft paper or something and lay them all out on it, and try a couple different variatioins and see what you like best.
I think it depends on WHO you want to accent. We have a photo display that has a mix....but I use sepia instead of B&W. Sepia is warmer and mixes better with the colored prints. All of our sepia pics are of other family members (mostly profesional -- one of my mom's senior pictures), one window pane that has been scrapbooked with a heritage theme in the middle using mostly candid pics). Our colored pics are our wedding picture and one of each of our daughters. They flank the heritage window pane, and have matching frames.
I think the frames can be ecletic, but needs to be syled just right. We have a few different frames, but they coordinate each other by style.
I also think it depends on the colors you have on your wall and the wood tones you have. If you have warm colors of paint and wood, stick to warmer prints (sepia & color) and warmer frames. If you have cool colors and painted moulding, you should use black/metal frames and B&W prints.
I hope this helps!! :)
