Some of my friends are in the process of moving or have just recently moved and one of the biggest dilemmas they all seem to have is figuring out what to put on their walls that won’t break the bank.  I’m almost 1 year into my new apartment and this is something I continually struggle with as well.

For a small NY apartment, something low impact is key.  I’ve taken decorative wrapping paper from the art store for $4 and framed them in large gallery style frames.  That was a quick fix for the space above the sofa.  But my next project will be to tackle the bedroom walls.

I love the Ribba frames from Ikea (seen above).  Usually I try to stay away from Ikea as much as possible, but for simple white frames, you can’t go wrong.  These frames have been referenced before on many design blogs as affordable alternatives to more expensive gallery frames.  They work well when grouped in a bunch of 6 or more.  You can easily create color blocks with decorative paper and frame them, as seen below.

[from glitterandgoatcheese.wordpress.com]

Another genius idea comes from Rebecca Robertson, who writes for Martha Stewart and Apartment therapy.  She has decorated her NY apartment with large scale textiles along side family photos in cheap plastic ticket holders hung on thumbtacks, that when aligned together look really good!

You can buy these ticket holders from almost any office supply store.  They come in many different colors, but I prefer the yellow.

I might try this in the kitchen and display some of my favorite recipes printed on decorative paper.