I don't really think of our family photos as decorative items. They are framed and in my dressing room, on a skirted table next to the bed, on a piecrust table in the bedroom, and in the library on the piano and in front of the books on a few shelves. I don't have photos hanging on walls but I do have a tall metal rack that revolves like an old fashioned postcard rack and keep stacks of photos in that in the downstairs movie room. Everyone loves to play with it, take out the photos and sift thru them. School pictures are in albums and everything else is in photo boxes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Photo carousel

kswl: OMG...that is perfect ! I have 1000's of photos and almost all of them are in storage...this is so perfect ...I can have them out for everyone to enjoy and go through. I am SO glad you posted this.

I stopped all catalogs a couple years ago so I never see what the offerings are and never think to look on their websites...slaps forehead...thanks .c

It's been a really fun way to have them out at hand and eye level. Everyone loves to go thru them, and I put out all the goofy Halloween and Easter dress and swimming party photos that no one would ever display, and those humble family snaps are the ones people like the most!

The piano in the LR is filled with the special photos, graduations, weddings. I have two on my fireplace. Then I have a collage of 6 pictures in my upstirs foyer.

I think that is such a wonderful idea! I will have to snag that idea for when I am more organized!

Sometimes it's nice to put a bunch of seasonal photos like the children in Halloween costumes or with Santa in a bowl on the coffee table. Everyone loves to pick them up and take a look and it's a great family conversation starter. "Do you remember when...?"

Ooooooooo -- that Pottery Barn photo carousel is TOO cool -- what a fabulous idea! :)

Yes -- a bunch of photos in a bowl is fun too -- and a GREAT conversation starter at parties!

I love the carousel. I buy those collage frames (on sale) and pick out photos by theme--I have a Halloween one and ones for various family trips, etc., and I hang them in the entry hall (I live in a loft, so it's not like I have a ton of wall space.) I like having them out, as I'm not a scrapbook/album person. I greatly dislike huge enlargements in elaborate frames over the fireplace, etc., but YMMV.

I have groupings on the mantel and piano that don't change too much, but for fun I have this photo tree that I use for current photos. Right now it's holding cards from DD's birthday last week. One year I filled it with photos of the guests that were coming.

Here is a link that might be useful: Umbra Photo Tree

It took me years to finally decide how to display mine. I was so frustrated with myself! But then, one day I saw it all laid out in my head and I made it happen in less than a week.

I much prefer candid, color photos myself. I've hung this large display in our long hallway that we ~ and guests use a lot. BTW, I've blurred some of the faces for privacy:

I have a different wall, done like this with candids of DH & my families.

And then in our master bathroom, I have a small wall next to my dressing table hung with smaller photos:
{{!gwi}}

These displays can take added photos if I choose. I planned ahead and bought extra frames so that I can. It's also easy to change out the pics. But, for the time being, these are my very favorites and are staying as is.
It makes me happy to walk by and see my favorite photos during the day, and so these arrangements work well for me.
Lynn

Well, I suppose I use family photos as decor. When we had cabinets built in our FR earlier this year (well, we did a lot of it ourselves) I mentally designated a bunch of it for framed photos.

{{!gwi}}

Tchotchkes are interspersed here-and-there.

Like others, I also have some tucked in between / in front of books in the den bookcases.

{{!gwi}}

It's funny: late-summer I went and covered all the books with brown craft paper and calligraphed the titles, thinking the multicolored spines were too-too. But now, looking at this pic I just took for this post I find myself missing the books' colors. I can remove the covers, of course, but that project took me a l-o-n-g time and I'll be kinda ticked if it was all for naught. Can't please some people!

But that's neither here nor there.

I find it touching that you change your photos with the season / holiday. I bet your children get a kick out of that.

That carousel is great! I love lynn's photo groupings too (and your home, lynn -- so fascinating & creative).

My son gave me a digital photo frame for Xmas, & I love it! The color is very good & brings out the best in photos, but the fun is in the mix of photos in the slide show. It's so easy to add photos & make themes on an SD card with a computer. A 4GB SD card holds a lot of photos. I have 200 pictures on one & have room for more.

I just got a great new printer/scanner (Canon Pixma 8120), & am enjoying scanning old family photos for the frame. A benefit is that scans of old photos can be edited in a picture editor to make them brighter, sharper, more level, or for cropping. I want to get another frame & do a black & white portraits theme. (Picasa will make a b&w copy of a colored original.) Or maybe I'll do my sons' school portraits in chronological order to show how they've grown...

Anyway, digital frames are fun and versatile.

Rmkitchen,I did not mean that in any dismissive or unflattering way and hope no one took it like that :(

I don't use family photos as decor for lots of reasons---frames that don't go together, too many books for picture display, fear of creating a time warp because I am too lazy to change them as people grow up---the list is endless, but it's not because I don't like them. I just throw bunches of them in that carousel instead of arranging them in a proper display!

kswl -- your comment absolutely did NOT come across as dismissive or unflattering! You're such a charmer (and so charming) that I'd find it hard to read anything you wrote that way.

I think your carousel is a brilliant idea and if I didn't have a child who chews on all paper-goods and then either spits them out or rips them up, I'd be a kswl-clone in a heartbeat! (As I think I've told you, I am a kswl-clone in the storage room in our basement. When I saw your racks and storage bins I flipped out with envy, and then finally did it myself. I am forever grateful to you for letting me "borrow" that from you. What a difference!)

Love these ideas! You all have inspired me to pull out some old pics and make a display (love the costumes idea!) too much fun.

Had to share some inspiration from my absolute favorite site:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/query/family%20photos

Here is a link that might be useful: Houzz Family Photos Search

In searching for the Potterybarn photo holder, which looks to be sold out, I found this DIY version. I wish the PB one was still available...

Here is a link that might be useful: Shanty-to-chic.com

I have this in my front hall:

I have a couple of bookcases where I also have small framed photos scattered around, and a few large photos hanging in our basement/playroom, and that's about it. We have so many great pics from our vacations and I am running out of space to display them in some way. Our walls are pretty full!