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DIY Poster Board Photo Collage

Looking for the perfect wall decor for a teen bedroom or college dorm room with minimal damage to the walls? Follow these simple steps to create a DIY poster board photo collage.

As a mom who loves to decorate her home and now makes a living blogging about that journey, I know how hard it is to just let kids be kids.

I always wanted my kid’s rooms to look a certain way but that vision didn’t always align with what they wanted.

And over the years I learned to let go a bit and let them be…well kids!

So I helped decorate their spaces and offered my advice when asked but I also allowed them to make the final decisions.

Incorporating photos of friends was important to my daughter so we figured out a super easy and affordable way to do just that.

This easy photo display idea is not only great for a teen’s bedroom at home but would be perfect for a college dorm room as well.

Hanging things in dorm rooms can be tricky depending on the building and rules of the school.

But this photo collage poster board makes it simple.

view of bedroom with diy poster board photo collage next to windows

Some of the items used in this post include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no added cost to you. You can read our full affiliate disclosure policy here.

Teen Girl Bedroom Makeover

Last year we completed my daughter Emma’s teen bedroom makeover.

We created a more grown-up space for her with areas for studying, getting ready for her day, and a comfortable place just to hang out.

She wanted a white and gray room with touches of gold and we are so happy with the outcome of her room makeover.

teen girl bedroom with pallet headboard on queen sized bed. wall mirror and hanging light fixtures

Kids and teens with phones love taking photos.

I mean honestly don’t we all love to document our lives?

I know I do!

And what’s more fun than displaying the pictures we take?

I remember as a teenager covering my closet doors with snapshots of my friends and me.

Did you do that too?

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How to Create a Grid-Style Gallery Wall

dresser with grid style gallery wall hung above

We had added a beautiful grid-style gallery wall above her dresser when we completed her room makeover which she loves.

But it’s not super easy to change out those photos since they are in frames.

Plus…there are only 9 frames.

Not nearly enough!

If you have girls you know how many pictures they take.

We needed to come up with an idea so she could add more candid photos of her friends and family.

Since I had just completed her room makeover I wanted to find a way to minimize the damage to her freshly painted walls.

How to Create a DIY Photo Collage

vertical view of bedroom with photo wall

A DIY photo collage on poster board was the perfect solution!

That way we could tape pictures to one or two poster boards and just have to attach the boards to the wall rather than individual photos taped all over the wall.

While Emma went to work selecting the photos she wanted to print I ran to the store for some supplies.

By adding the photos to a new album on her phone Emma was able to easily upload that album for printing.

Many stores have some sort of promotion going on so this project was fairly inexpensive.

It’s super easy for you to pick your prints up the same day at stores like…Walgreens, Walmart, or CVS.

Or you can choose to have them shipped directly to your house.

What Do You Need to Make a Photo Poster Board Display?

supplies need to complete diy photo collage project

Just a few simple supplies were needed to complete this project.

Some of these tools, you may have at home but if not just click the word to shop products easily online from this post.

Supplies needed:

photos and other supplies for diy photo collage project

All the photos were printed in a standard 4×6.

We ordered a mix of vertical and horizontal pictures.

To give the collage more variety we decided to trim some of the prints to a 4×4 size.

Trimming photos is easiest with a paper trimmer using the ruler and grid lines to make straight cuts.

How to Assemble an Affordable Photo Display Board

girl taping photos to collage board

Emma started laying out the prints on the poster board as she liked them piecing the different sizes together to fit on the board.

Once she had all her pictures laid out she was able to easily lift each one to add the double stick tape to the backs and adhere to the poster boards.

How to Hang a Poster Board Photo Collage

girl hanging photo collage on wall

We used a heavyweight poster board so that it would be strong enough to hold the weight of all the photos once they were taped on.

After all the pictures were attached we used command strips to hang the poster boards directly onto the wall.

close up view of diy picture collage wall

Putting the two poster boards together in the corner filled that space in her room above her cozy chair.

I’m going, to be honest, I’d love my kid’s rooms to look just like a Pottery Barn Teen catalog.

But I had to put my visions aside for this DIY poster board photo collage project because it was Emma’s vision for her room!

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diy poster board photo collage in teen girl bedroom

Sometimes the decor in our kids’ and teens’ rooms isn’t necessarily perfect and magazine-worthy.

But I bet it’s just perfect for them!

And isn’t creating a space in our homes just for them to retreat to in this crazy world more important than having a picture-perfect space?

If you have any questions or suggestions, contact us or leave a comment below.

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