Home: Project: Picture Perfect

The idea: Let a colorfully patterned wallpaper serve as the mat for black-and-white photos floating in clear glass frames. We asked Wyndmoor interior designer Rebecca Paul for tips.

Job done: Simple portraits sing against graphic orange wallpaper and make a stylish personal statement.

Brilliant Collection by Arte wallpaper, price upon request at Colonial Wallpaper, 707 East Passyunk Avenue, 215-351-9300.

The right tools for the job include a detailed measuring tape (allows you to take fine measurements) and a level. “If one frame is off slightly, that’s the first thing your eye will go to,” says Paul. Sharpen a pencil to make light, nonpermanent marks on the wall when measuring out where they will hang. Arrange frames on the floor in front of the space before hammering in nails. “You can make adjustments on the floor,” Paul says.

We printed our family snapshots with a white border to add visual separation between the image and the bold wallpaper pattern. Frames should be large enough to leave generous room for wallpaper to show through — we placed 5x7s in 8×10 frames, and 8x10s in 11×14 frames. Look for floating glass frames with a center mounting element.

Similar frames available at Restoration Hardware, restorationhardware.com.

8 Tips for Hanging Family Pics

1. To hang differently sized pictures, choose the frame size that fits the largest photo (with room for mat). Use that size frame for all photos, cutting mat to size of each photo.

2. Pick frames that are all the same color — but with different accents. For example, mix together a black frame with silver bead details, a black frame that has a beveled edge and silver corners, and a black frame with a thin silver border.

3. Play up a color in the room by drawing a thin line of the same color with permanent marker around the inside edge of the mat.

4. Subject matter counts. Let your relationships to people in the photographs inspire creative arrangements. “Positioning the photos can be like planning table assignments for a wedding reception,” Paul says.

5. Go frameless. “In a small space, clear frames are great. They don’t take up a lot of visual space, so it’s a less busy display,” says Paul. “I saw a nice collection in a Paris apartment with 16 black-and-white teeny photographs in clear cubes.”

6. If you want to mix color photos with black-and-white and sepia, use the same mat color — but be careful that one piece doesn’t stand out more than others. “Your pictures should sing in unison like a choir,” says Paul.

7. Take advantage of advanced technology. “Get photos reproduced in black-and-white and color versions,” Paul says. “Some pictures are better in color. Some are better in black and white.”

8. Check your local hardware store for rubber bumpers that go on the back of frames already hung to keep things from moving and bouncing around while you’re hammering to put up more.

Rebecca Paul Design, 8403 Flourtown Avenue, Wyndmoor, 215-836-1697, rebeccapauldesign.com.