Ok, not the whole world, but a good smattering of it. If you caught our house tour video recently, you may have noticed a shot of these prints in action: eight newly framed city illustrations we hung along our hallway above the board & batten. Here are close-ups and a clear walkthrough of how we turned a simple calendar into a polished hallway gallery.
This was an easy, budget-friendly project. After the new year we spotted a beautifully illustrated calendar at Anthropologie marked down to $13. Rather than using it as a calendar, we loved the city illustrations and knew they would work perfectly as a framed collection. The images felt like the right scale and style for a running gallery when you walk down the hall.
We originally considered hanging all twelve prints in a grid in the guest room, but ultimately wanted one larger statement for that wall. Once we finished the board & batten hallway project, it occurred to us that spacing the framed cities evenly along the corridor would create movement and visual interest as you pass by.
To keep the row neat and level we ran a laser level down the hall and marked two nail points for each frame spaced 5″ apart. The frames are Ikea Ribba frames, which sit nicely on two nails. Using two nails per frame gives much more stability than a single hanger, eliminates constant straightening, and allows minor horizontal adjustment to fine-tune spacing.
Once the nails were in, the frames simply slide onto them and sit perfectly. Because Ikea Ribba frames are affordable—$9 each—we were able to complete this hallway collection without spending much. We already owned four frames and bought four more, so the cost for frames was $36 and the calendar was $13, bringing the total to about $49 for a full hallway installation.
It’s a small change that made a big visual difference: from an empty stretch of wall to a curated travel-themed gallery in a few simple steps. The illustrations remind us of places we want to visit—Rome, Paris, Istanbul, Sydney, London, Amsterdam, and Rio—so the display has become our casual travel bucket list as well. We’ve only been to one of the eight cities featured, but walking this hallway multiple times a day keeps those destinations front of mind.
There are a few practical tips if you want to recreate this look:
- Choose prints or illustrations with a consistent visual language—similar colors, line weight, or typography—to create a cohesive gallery.
- Use a laser level or a long straightedge to mark a continuous sightline so the top edges of all frames align perfectly.
- Mount two nails per frame spaced according to the hanging hardware on the back of the frame for stability and easy horizontal adjustments.
- Measure spacing between frames in advance; in our case we left 10″ between frames to keep the display airy while still feeling connected.
- Opt for uniform frames to keep focus on the artwork and maintain a clean, gallery-like appearance.
Odd confession: three of my favorite spots in the house aren’t even rooms. They’re this framed hallway that leads into the living room and kitchen, the other hallway that leads to the bedrooms, and Clara’s big girl room. Small stretches of wall and transitional spaces can be unexpectedly meaningful and are perfect places to add personality with art and accessories.
What are your favorite areas of your home? Maybe it’s an unusual nook, a closet, a specific bathroom, or a bright corner with a window. Or maybe you prefer classic spaces like the living room, sunroom, or bedroom. Hallways and transitional zones are often overlooked, but they can become memorable galleries with minimal cost and effort.
Update: Want to know where we got specific items in our house or which paint colors we used? Click the shop button below to see our sources.