freakyallweeky
You want to maybe put a picture of two of the kids in a living or family room but family photos should be kept in the hallways. You will want to decorate with artwork. No it doesn't have to be all from the same artist but it does have to have similar styles and should just be whatever you like to look at since you are the one who lives there and will see it daily.

lynnie
Why not art work that the kids did. I've seen it done on TV and looks great. You can put pics. of the kids in the hall. And over the couch i would put a clock. I wouldn't go too large with that though. You don't want the clock to overpower the room.

idealxxsoul
I disagree with the bit about kids' pictures only being in the hallways. Why would you put pics of your loved ones only in a narrow hidden space that isn't shown off regularly? You could scan the pics of your kids and any family photos (if they are color-copies) into a scanner and re-print them with an older, brown antiqued look (think it's called "Sepia"). Most pic programs have that capability. Then the tint of the pics would all match and would coordinate well with your brown couches. You didn't mention money or much about buying new things but for me a way to save money and to get a neat look was to cut pictures out of an artist's book. I love Ansel Adams and my dad happened to have received his book by one of his employees a while back (this was when I first moved out on my own). My dad gave it to me and I just took some of the best pictures from the book - actually several...about 20 - and framed them all over my apartment. Most were black and white which fit well with my color scheme. And, they look like I went and bought all the pics from somewhere else. I have several different sizes framed all over. Several apartments later and I still have most of the photos on my walls. If you like several artists I think you could do something sort of the same but maybe finding a book that shows various artists' art work. No one will know whether the pictures on your walls are from the same artists nor would they care if they did know. I think it'd be cute to frame some of your kids' artwork too. Just depends on how you really arrange everything. You could use just a few frames for the kids' artwork and change out the pics every few months or so. Not sure if any of this helps but hope so. Good luck.

yakgal
I'd go with pictures of your kids but not in black&white. I would have them done in cepiotope. I think that would be a great compliment to your wall color and your sofa. You can display them in rustic picture frames to continue with your pottery barn theme. As for making things look like they belong, try grouping things together. Use your barn star but group the pictures on either side. Hope this helps.

amethyst
I have always received lots of compliments on wall groupings I have done where you put different types of things on one wall. I would try to find some unique, smaller items along with the family pics & family artwork, the star (not too large), and maybe some sort of sconces or candleholders that don't stick out too far from the wall. (I think a good looking clock can stand alone) The best way to arrange the items for the wall is to get a large old sheet or some sort of paper that is big enough to cover the wall area you are wanting to decorate. Lay it out on the floor and arrange the items there first. Then loosely trace around them and mark the spot where the nail will need to go. Hang the sheet up on the wall with tape and put the nails in the wall according to where the markings are. Hope that wasn't too confusing. I also cut a lot of pictures from calenders and frame/mat them. I would probably restrict family pics to one wall - two at the most. Try watching some HGTV. They have great ideas. Good Luck!