After seeing Lindybarts photo ledges I've been planning on doing this in my hall for over a year now. My hall isn't as wide as hers and my ceilings are only 8' so I'm actually making ledges so they don't stick out far. Lindybart's hallway. If I could redo I would've just bought the ledges from Crate and Barrel for $14 but I already have the wood. I suggest taking posterboard (tape together if you have to) and cut out mock ups of where I wanted them on the wall. I've seen photos in blogs where the shelves are real low. I wouldn't worry about not having anything below them. I think the display should read as a whole item so I'd probably aim to keep the middle about eye level. Start at 60" from the floor and adjust from there. I think this is a great idea not only because I never see it done around here but it will keep me from getting too wild/cluttered with photos in my hall.

Majority are in photo albums. Or sitting in a pile waiting for someone to put them in albums. I have a "gallery" of photos on the stairway wall going from 1st to 2nd floor. I have several small framed photos on bookshelves throughout the house. I also have some larger (8x10) family travel pics in our basement family room. We have so many great pics from vacations but I just don't have space to display them all. I should drag out the digital photo frame that someone gave us but I didn't have the patience to figure out...

I'm among those that prefer to have the family photos in frames in private spaces. But that's my personal preference, not an edict from the Gods of Decorating. Do a search in Houzz Photos under something like "family photos on walls" and you'll get plenty of examples. Here are a few picked at random: To my mind, this is quite elegant: The photos are oversize, and interesting in themselves on this one: Small snapshots, big mats and frames, creates a nice gallery without being overwhelming. On the other hand, this one seems overdone and cluttered: So does this: Hope this helps.

The house won't look like an art museum with multiple picture lights. You can't light up your art if you don't have lights but you can always opt to not turn them on. You can also use a dimmer switch with the lights. I agree with Honu3421, light your art. We had 4" direction lights installed in the ceilings in our dining room, one wall in the great room and above 2 fireplaces. I also have wall sconces on each side of the opening between my great room and kitchen/dining room. Right now some of the art has been replaced by wreaths. Here are my wall sconces. They are similar to the ones Annie posted. They provide mood lighting more than "lighting up" anything anything.