Decorating with empty picture frames

My inspiration for this project came from an episode of Property Brothers on HGTV.  In my living room, I have a long wall above my 9ft sectional sofa. The artwork I had by default on this wall was the wrong scale, and I was tired of looking at it.

First step was to find a bunch of old picture frames for CHEAP. I went to a great old salvage yard/antique store and found 12 solid wood frames.  I carefully selected the frames by placing them on the floor of the shop, arranging to make sure the collection would be balanced.

Most of the frames needed re-gluing of the joints and re-squaring, and all needed a good sanding and cleaning.  

I then affixed the picture hanger clip to the top centre of each frame, then painted them all the same colour.

In order to install them on the wall in perfect symmetry, I first arranged the frames on some craft paper and traced the frames. Numbering the frames and the craft paper outlines helps match up the frames along the way.  I then measured the distance in mm from the top of each frame to the spot on the hanger bracket for the nail head, and marked this spot on the craft paper. 

The craft paper was then hung on the wall perfectly centred on the sofa wall and perfectly level. 

I nailed through the paper at each marked spot, then removed the craft paper from the wall. 
I then hung each frame.  I used a small amount of double sided tape on the bottom corner of any frame that was refusing to sit level.

Total cost of this project:
$15 for 12 frames
$5 for picture hangars
$0 for paint (already on hand)