Unique Ideas To Use Inherited Old Family Photos

Are you ready for some family photo ideas? When faced with boxes and boxes of old vintage family photos, the temptation to discard them can be overwhelming. So, what can you do with Old Family Photos? This idea is a perfect solution.

Instead of throwing them away or storing them in the back of a closet, I devised a perfect solution to use them. They are the #1 Best Way to use Inherited Old Family Photos Creatively.

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How to Use Inherited Old Family Photos?

I sort of accidentally discovered the Best Way to Use Inherited Family Photos.

After cleaning out my mom’s house, I came home with a few boxes of old photos I had no clue what to do with.

But I knew we should keep them, but where??? Then I came up with the perfect solution to use these old family photos.

One thing leads to another

It all began with a couple of panoramic photos of my dad, made during World War II.

I decided I’d enjoy displaying these two photos in our loft.

These military photos were unframed and had not been taken care of. Because we were currently in the middle of the Corona Virus, lock down; I couldn’t have them professionally framed.

So I found frames with mats online. By using the mats, the panoramic photos would fit.

Once I had those two photos framed, a couple more of the old military photo’s caught my eye.

That’s when my idea began to take shape, and I realized the solution to using all these old photos.

How to Create a Gallery Wall!

We had several treasured black and white photos that hadn’t seen the light of day in many years. So I began to search the house for these almost forgotten treasures.

Once I had a good stack of old photos, I then started looking for more frames. I wanted to frame some of the other old photos I inherited from my mom.

She had a couple of framed photos of The Ponds made before our ownership.

This photo was in color, so I quickly copied them in black and white and placed the original images behind the copies for safekeeping.

Note: If your vintage photos are exposed to light, I recommend photocopying them all. Light exposure can ruin your treasured images. I plan to hang this in a powder room with no window, so I have used several of my original photos

What To Do If Your Frames Don’t Match?

There is a simple solution to making your gallery wall look cohesive. Paint!

Because many of my frames were different colors, I began painting some old frames black.

About this time, I wished I’d saved some of my mother’s frames we had donated. I also had a few metal frames and a few mirrors that I chose to use for a little creative interest.

With the exception of the panoramic frames, everything I used to create my gallery wall was something I had on hand. Although my selection was limited, it made me think creatively; therefore, the wall was more unique.

Hang The Gallery Wall

I now had a collection of re-purposed frames, old photos, and other interesting pieces of family history I discovered along the way.

We framed a photo of my grandfather with his first car and the sales receipt.

In addition, we found an aerial view of the ponds from the early 1960s.

Other Family Photo Ideas

I’m also sharing other family photo ideas to help you create an attractive gallery wall.

The original mat with the panoramic frame was pure white and didn’t work well with the aged photo.

Therefore, I customized the mat on the military photo to look like an aged mat.

Here is one of the mirrors I added because I had a limited number of frames to work with.

I found so many interesting things

Where is the best place to hang a gallery wall?

There are unlimited areas to hang a gallery wall.

When using old family photos, you should avoid sunlight.

In addition, we are limited in wall space, so I decided to display my gallery wall in the loft powder room.

What do you think? Once our guest starts to visit again, more than one will become lost in this wall’s history.

Tips on Hanging Art

• 5 Simple Tips To Hang Art Perfectly Every Time
• How To Hang A Gallery Wall Without Mistakes
• 19 Ways To Up-cycle Vintage Picture Frames

Thank you for stopping by.

I hope you enjoyed these family photo ideas and some of my family’s history. I hope you will be inspired to use your old family photos in more creative ways.

We are undoubtedly enjoying seeing these treasures regularly. Please feel free to ask any questions, and all comments are welcome.

Pin It To Remember It

Did you find some great ideas you’d like to save for future reference? Hover over the images you’d like to save and pin to your favorite Pinterest Boards when you see the PIN button.