Decorating Ideas for Family Pictures

By Susan Kleinman

"I wanted to give the room a fresh and more serene look," says Gold, co-founder of the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams furniture company and co-author with Williams of Let's Get Comfortable: How to Furnish and Decorate a Welcoming Home. "These frames are on a console table that faces the front door, and gave a cleaner look to the first view of the living room you get when you walk in the house. It helped simplify things while allowing me to keep the warm and welcoming display of photos of family and friends."

Whether you're framing your favorite photos in a mix of finishes or all in white, "skip the formal graduation pictures and posed portraits and go for candids," Gold says. "Not only of people up close, but of friends in settings that remind you of great times together."

And remember to avoid too much of a good thing. "Too many photographs lead to a cluttered feeling in a room," says Williams. "Better to edit your collection of anything — including photos — store some away and rotate photos in and out occasionally to keep things interesting."