Creative Ways to Personalize Your Home Décor with Photos

Creative Ways to Personalize Your Home Décor With PhotosPhotography is my hobby. I not only like to take pictures of people and places I love, but I also like to personalize my home with those memories. Personal photos also make a great holiday gift because they are unique and take you back to special moments you have lived together.

How can you use your personal photographs to decorate your home? It's easier than you think. First, find pictures you love. They might not be perfect or deserve to be in an art gallery. They simply need to bring you joy and remind you of something special. Keep in mind portraits of your loved ones are not the only pictures you can show off. Take a look at your home décor color scheme and find pictures that complement that palette. For example, a snapshot of autumn leaves can look great in a family room that has earthy tones, such as a brown couch or wood furniture.

Related: How to take the perfect family holiday-card photo

If you can't find any photos you would like to display, it's a great moment to simply get out and start snapping away. Don't be scared of taking too many pictures. That's the beauty of digital cameras: you can erase all the bad photos. If you are doing a photo shoot specifically to create prints, remember to use the highest resolution to get the best quality. Just focus on the lighting and avoid using a flash to obtain truer colors.

Remember to choose creative ways to display your pictures. You might want to have them printed on a canvas, to simulate a painting. I have done this and it is not as expensive as you might think. You simply upload the image, order the size you want, pick a frame (if you want one) and submit payment. If you have a WiFi enabled camera, such as the Samsung Galaxy camera, you don't even need a computer. You can upload your favorite picture to any website from your camera!

Related: 8 simple ways to feng shui your home

For a family get-together, especially during the holidays, instead of using place cards, print out small pictures of your guests and put them in miniature frames.

Are you feeling especially creative? Use basic photo editing tools (the android-based Samsung Galaxy has a built-in app to do this) to tweak the saturation, brightness, or white balance, or to contrast and print different versions of the same image. I like doing three or four versions. Then buy identical frames and arrange the framed pictures symmetrically on a wall. This really dresses up a room.

Last but not least, make your own coffee table book. Select special family memories, recipes or pictures of your loved ones (including any pets!) and create your own photo book. Select a cover that goes well with your living room color scheme and you're done! Many online photo services even allow you to print a customized cover using your favorite picture. Here are 5 more ideas to display family pictures at home:

1. Photo books
Make your own coffee table books by using professional printing services.

2. Frame your photo
Turn your picture into a piece of art by printing it on a canvas and framing it.

Related: 15 genius storage solutions that double as home decor

3. Tweak your pictures
Play with your pictures' saturation, brightness and contrast and see how different they look.

4. Personalize your family room
Choose family pictures you love for the areas you use the most with your loved ones. Coordinate colors and you will see it all come together.

5. Photos are versatile
Be creative. After you pick your favorite pictures, display them by themselves or grouped together with identical frames.

- By Jeannette Kaplun

For 7 family memories to capture this holiday season, visit Babble!

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Jeannette Kaplun is a Latina mom of 2, TV host, parenting author and blogger. She co-founded Todobebé and hosted the Viva la Familia TV show on Univision.

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