17 Beautiful + Creative Family Picture Wall Ideas

I don’t know about you, but for me there’s something about getting older that makes me a little more sentimental. When I was younger, I wasn’t big on displaying family photos around my home. I felt like it wasn’t necessary. But now? I can’t get enough. I’m always looking for new ways to display our family photos, and lately I’m dreaming of a big, elaborate gallery wall of family photos on our staircase. I’ve been doing lots of brainstorming lately, so today I thought I’d share some of my favorite family picture wall ideas with you. Because maybe you’re a little like me and looking for some inspiration, too!

It’s been a while since we had an official family photo shoot done, but I’ve actually grown to really cherish the candids. The ones that I snap on my phone on a Tuesday night when we’re snuggled up on the couch. They might not be fancy and professional-looking, but they’re us.

I think it can be really easy to overthink displaying family photos in your home. It can feel like you have to make sure the photos all coordinate and look super professional. But, if you ask me, a casual gallery wall with all of your favorite snapshots from pool days and movie nights and birthday parties are really where it’s at.

So, here are 17 family picture wall ideas to get you started!

Family Picture Wall Ideas + Inspiration

Create an Interchangeable Display

This is probably my personal favorite family picture wall idea. I’ve built a display like this for two of our three houses, and it brings me so much joy! Basically, it’s just a large piece of 1/8″ plywood with a frame built around it. I added wires and gold metal clips and I can swap out the photos anytime I want!

I use an app called Free Prints to order prints seasonally, and the day I swap them out is always so much fun. I’m constantly catching the kids checking them out. And I always pause when I walk past it, too.

Click here to learn how to build this photo display!

Hang One Large Photo

via Emily Henderson

Who says you need a ton of great photos to create a beautiful family photo display? I absolutely love the impact this makes with just one really large photo printed and framed. The blog post linked even has some really helpful, detailed instructions on editing a snapshot to help it look more professional.

I actually think this is one of the few ideas on this list I’ve never done. I’ve always hung mine in groupings or tucked them in with other art prints. But, I don’t think I have one big, impactful print hung anywhere in our home! This definitely has me thinking about where I might be able to add one.

Use a Photo Ledge

Our photo ledge might not currently have any family photos on it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the perfect place for them! I love grabbing art in various sizes for this display, and I swap things out pretty regularly. A photo ledge is a really great way to play around with displaying more family pictures in your home!

You can click here to learn how to build the photo ledge. I also wrote a post with tips for styling it, so you can click here to learn how to style a photo ledge, too!

Create a Large Collage

via Emily Henderson

I absolutely love the look of taking a bunch of smaller photos and hanging them in a grid pattern inside a large frame. This example is so beautiful and has me wondering where I might be able to hang one in our own home!

This would be really easy to put together. Just grab a frame in whatever size you want and use a poster board as a background. Then, have some photos printed (Walmart can do square ones if you want!) and just tape them in a grid pattern. Voila! A custom family photo display that you can change out as often as you want. Here’s a gorgeous example of a smaller version, too!

Hang a Digital Photo Frame

It’s no secret that I’m in love with my digital photo frame. I keep albums in my phone with photos for each month of the year, and I swap the photos out every month. I regularly catch the kids pausing in front of the shelves we have ours displayed on to watch the photos go by. It’s so sweet.

This would be such a fun thing to mix into a regular gallery wall, or to hang by itself. Bonus points if you add a picture light above it to really help it become the star of the show!

Here’s the digital photo frame that I have (it can’t be hung, though), and here’s a digital photo frame that you can hang on the wall.

Use Large Prints

I have loved having these huge family photos hanging on our staircase wall for years now. Every time I walk down the stairs, they make me smile! I think that printing out poster-sized versions of your favorite family photos and hanging them in some big frames makes such an impact, and the stairway is the perfect spot for it.

These would also look beautiful hanging above the sofa or above a credenza. No matter where you put them, it’s a really easy way to make a big impact with just a few photos. I like to have mine printed at Walmart, and the frames I used are from IKEA. Click here to learn more about how to hang large photos on your staircase.

A Gallery Wall Around the TV

via At Land & High

Everyone is always looking for ways to make their television feel less like the center of the room, and I think this is a beautiful way to do it! I love the look of the black and white prints with gold frames in this family gallery wall to really help it feel neutral and cohesive. But, if you don’t want to go for matching frames and neutral colors, you could just as easily do a more eclectic look!

Honestly, that’s the beauty of gallery walls. There’s no right or wrong way to do it, no color schemes you need to stick to. It’s all about what works best for your home and your interior design style!

Tuck them in a Gallery Wall

Creating a gallery wall to display your family photos is an obvious go-to, but what about just mixing them in with a bunch of other art? This is something I’ve done in our powder room, and I love the look. I have a really large gallery wall that covers one entire wall in there (eventually I’ll fill the others, too). I have some family silhouette prints tucked into the gallery wall (can you spot the one in the photo above?!), and as I continue going I plan to sneak in a few family snapshots, too!

This is a good low-commitment way to display some of those cherished family memories without feeling like you’re going overboard. The photos blend right in with the rest of the art and don’t feel too “look at us!”. But, they still will make you smile when you notice them!

Create a Mixed Metal Display

via Chris Loves Julia

I’ve always loved a really simple, structured gallery wall and this one is a great example. I believe in the photo shown they used a pre-created gallery wall that was pretty pricey, but you can easily re-create this on your own!

Just grab some gold frames and silver frames in different sizes, Then, hang them in a staggered grid pattern. I’d recommend laying it out on the floor before you hang anything on the wall so you can make sure you like the layout. It’s a really simple process but it will feel really high-end! Another beautiful touch here is that the photos are all in black and white. This is a great way to make candid photos feel a little more like professional ones. It also helps keep the display from feeling cluttered.

Create a Family Photo Grid

Here’s another example of how you can use a grid to create a really simple and impactful family photo display. This little gallery wall was in my oldest’s son’s room in our second home. We used MixTiles to create them, but you could just as easily grab some matching small white frames and create the same basic idea.

The thing I love about creating a family photo display for a kid’s room is you can get really playful and colorful with the photos you choose! I had so much fun creating this display for him and thinking about all of the photos he’d like to see every day. It’s such a good idea for younger kiddos who are working on learning to talk – there are so many conversations you can create around the photos!

Large Grid with Wood Frames

via Making Manzanita

I know we’ve already seen a few gallery walls and grids, but I love that this take feels unique. The natural wood frames really pop against the dark painted wall, and I love that the large size helps them pretty much take up the entire space!

This is a great option to do in a small entryway or a hallway, and I love the sepia-tone look of the prints. It’s yet another little tweak you can make to help your family photo gallery wall feel even more you.

Create a Simple Wood Photo Display

I created this really simple DIY wood photo display for my mom a few years back, and she still has it hanging in her dining room. It just requires one piece of 1×12 wood and a few metal clips! If you don’t have a large space to display your photos, this would be a great option.

Another beautiful thing about a display like this is you can swap it up to match any home decor style. I created this one with my mom’s specific tastes in mind, but you could easily create a more modern display, or even a really colorful one depending on the look you wanted to achieve!

Click here to learn how to make this simple wood photo display.

Hang One Family Picture in the Entry

What better place to hang a favorite family photo than in the first place you see when you walk in the door? This is the entry in our second home, and I loved the little display on the wall here. This is a great example of how you can create a miniature gallery wall with just one favorite photo and a couple of other touches!

Notice that for a really small display like this, I chose to stick with wood frames and really neutral. colors. It helps make it feel really cohesive, and doesn’t overwhelm the small space.

Create an Organic Family Picture Wall

via Little House of Four

Another easy way to display your photos on the wall is with a more organic gallery wall. We did this on the wall going up the stairs at our first house and I loved it!

With this approach, you can be a little looser with the photos and they don’t all need to coordinate as much. You could pull some more posed, professional photos along with some candid shots from your phone, and even some non-family photos as well. This is a great way to display a large collection of art and other objects, and we all know that everyone loves a gallery wall!

Use Wallpaper as a Colorful Mat

via Kaleidoscope Living

If you want a more colorful look, this corner gallery wall is so fun! I love the idea of using wallpaper to add some color and pattern, and the addition of the gallery lights really take it over the top!

This is such a great way to fill in an awkward corner in your home, and I can guarantee everyone who passes by will stop to take a second and admire it.

Mini Grid Above a Table

via Emily Henderson

Another take on the grid gallery wall, and it might be my favorite of them all! I feel like this is such a great take on this look, and I absolutely adore the wall sconce hanging above the photos. I think, for me, this really cements that when I get around to doing our family photo gallery wall soon I need to do black and white prints over color photos. I’m always so drawn to the simple, monochromatic look!

I love that this is a display you could easily do in a small space – it doesn’t take up much room, but it makes a big impact. Only having two rows of photos and keeping the whole thing low feels unexpected in the best way. This one is definitely a winner for me!

Split a Favorite Family Photo in Two!

via House by Hoff

Here’s another fun take if you only have one photo you want to use. For this display, have one photo in printed as large as you can, and the you can mount it on two separate foam boards and split it yourself (click the link above for the full tutorial).

Another option for this style of display if you don’t want to do it yourself is to have them printed as canvas prints – lots of photo printing services will help you out with creating this, and it’s really easy to do!

Whew – there you have it. Seventeen really great and creative family picture wall ideas to help get you inspired! I’m personally feeling really motivated to get our family picture wall going after putting this post together. Stay tuned because it’s coming!