How to Create an Outstanding Gallery Wall

Creating a gallery wall in your home can transform a space into a captivating and unique focal point. By blending different elements and styles, a gallery wall combines creativity, personal expression, and a knack for arrangement.

To get started on this creative journey, one must consider various aspects, such as choosing a theme, selecting the right pieces, and mastering the arrangement. Let’s get into the steps and tips for crafting an exceptional wall art display that reflects your individual style and aesthetic preferences.

What is a Gallery Wall?

A gallery wall is a curated display of artwork, photographs, and decorative pieces arranged on a wall to create a visually compelling ensemble. It serves as a creative way to showcase a collection, allowing for personal expression and a unique focal point within a room.

Gallery walls can vary in style, from uniform grids to eclectic mixes of frames, and can feature diverse artwork sizes, shapes, and textures. They offer a versatile and customizable way to transform a space, adding depth, personality, and visual interest to any room.

Benefits of a Gallery Wall

• Create something personal. A gallery wall allows you to curate a collection that reflects your unique style, interests, and personality. It’s a canvas for self-expression, where you can display artwork, photographs, and mementos that hold personal significance.
• Fill an empty space. They efficiently make use of wall space, transforming it into an artistic showcase. Gallery walls can even help make smaller rooms appear more spacious by drawing the eyes upward and adding depth to the space.
• Build a strong focal point. Creating a wall collage adds a visually stunning focal point to any room. The arrangement of diverse pieces—varying in sizes, colors, and textures—creates a dynamic and eye-catching display that can elevate the aesthetics of the space.

Step-by-Step Instructions: How to Create a Gallery Wall

Lay it out before you hang it up

It is smart to lay it out before you put it up to nail your gallery wall and ensure that everything will sit perfectly when it is hung. You could lay each frame or piece out on a mock-up wall version, such as a large white sheet of paper or a board. Or, you could stick the art (or other multimedia pieces you wish to use) to the wall using tape to map it out.

Getting it right before you put it up guarantees you nail it the first time and do not need to worry about creating unnecessary holes in the wall.

Color Cohesion for an Eye-Catching Gallery Wall

To make your gallery wall professional, stick with a cohesive color theme. Sticking to one color palette will make any site work and balance the interior, whether you prefer dark, bold, or natural colors. Choosing art of the same color or similar color frames will help you achieve color cohesion.

Alternatively, you could opt for a color that contrasts your interior or blends in, depending on whether you want it to be the room’s centerpiece.

Start with the Largest Piece First

If you plan on using multiple-sized frames, paintings, or multimedia art, you should begin with your largest piece. For instance, if you aim to put up seven works of art in the living room above the sofa, you should start by deciding on the position of the most prominent piece. After that, you can begin to put the slightly smaller pieces.

That way, you can ensure it sits right and works well with the other pieces you wish to display.

Mix Verticals and Horizontals

If your style is to make a wall gallery that is unique and interesting to look at, consider mixing vertical and horizontal pieces. Whether you use frames with painted pieces or make a collage of media pieces, using items of different shapes and sizes will help you build one of the most eye-catching features that instantly draws attention.

Mix up the Picture Frames

You could mix up the frame styles and sizes for those who would like to use just frames for their artistic arrangement.

You could choose different colored frames, various shapes, or frame some pieces of art with wood frames and some without. Again, this will instantly make for an exciting gallery wall for any space in the house.

Unframed and Framed Art

Speaking of framing some art pieces without frames, this is also an option if you do not wish to load your entire wall with wood or metal frames. You can display unframed art to decorate your cozy nook. Or, make a curated wall display that mixes both unframed and framed options.

Utilize Mixed Media

You shouldn’t allow your gallery wall creation to feel daunting or unpersonable. It should reflect you and your style. Therefore, you do not have to choose art pieces. Instead, you could utilize mixed media such as shelves, posters, or hanging objects.

Anything can be art, and any form of mixed media will significantly impact your gallery wall, making for a prime example of a masterpiece.

Make it Personal

You could be your own inspiration and make your gallery wall personal to you. For example, you could display family pictures to take a visit back to memory lane every time you look at the wall.

Or, you could decorate the gallery wall with paperwork items collected on your travels or at thrift stores, such as a ticket stub or prints from a vintage shop.

You could even consider hanging your own painted art in school or a sculptural piece you made a few weeks back. Gallery walls have no rules, and you should make your space personal.

A Gallery Wall for Each Type of Room

Making the gallery wall creation as fun as you want by making them unique to each room is a great idea. You could make each gallery wall representative of the room it is in.

For example, you could hang fun kitchen utensils in the kitchen and framed family photos in the living room.

If each room in the house is a different color, you could align the gallery wall with the color palette.

Old and New Pieces for an Eclectic Feel

Mixing new and old pieces can make for an eclectic feel. Instead of choosing modern art for the dining room decor, you could mix retro pieces with new modern posters. You can pull out old pieces from the loft or add new pieces you want to invest in to bring together elements from various eras is ideal for a family home full of different generations.

Showcase on a Staircase

The staircase is a fun place to make a big impact in the home. You could fill up the space and showcase your best art here.

Here, you could exhibit a collection of colorful pop art from famous artists on the gallery wall to make it contrast the ceiling and surrounding blank space.

Or, you could form a balance with natural and matching colors to align with the decor.

Key Considerations for Successfully Making a Gallery Wall

To make your gallery wall unique, here are a few ideas you might want to be inspired by.

• Empty frames. Featured gallery walls are typically those that exhibit all types of art. Yet, it can be unique to display picture frames with nothing in them. If you are someone who likes the future of decor, opting for bare frames could be considered contemporary. Art can be artistic without implementing paintings, prints, and real art itself.
• A floor-to-ceiling display. Another idea is to design a gallery wall that features art from the top to the bottom of the wall. It is common to fill the wall in the middle. Yet, displaying prints from floor to ceiling will make your chosen pieces matter and stand out.

Whatever style you wish to choose from this curated list will certainly make your style matter and showcase your true artistic side.

Alternatives to a Gallery Wall

If you do not wish to make a traditional or standard gallery wall, there are multiple options above to help you design something outstanding and individual.

If you want some ideas for alternatives, here are some tips.

• Use one large piece to fill your site. A gallery wall does not necessarily have to consist of multiple pieces. You can master home decor and feature one large picture or print instead.
• Open shelves. For those who enjoy the appearance and convenience of shelves, you can showcase your decorative pieces using open shelves.
• Go all out with the mixed objects. You can use mixed objects or media to assemble an alternative for a gallery wall. You could add texture to the space by adding lanterns, baskets, or other unique objects to the wall.

FAQs

Do gallery walls look cluttered?

A gallery wall can look cluttered if they are not planned effectively. Consider laying each frame or piece out before you hang them up to avoid the messy look.

Plus, if you have many things you want to display, you could decorate multiple walls instead of one.

Can a gallery wall work in any room?

Yes, gallery walls are versatile and can work in almost any room—living rooms, bedrooms, hallways, or even kitchens. Adjust the size and arrangement to fit the available wall space and complement the room’s style.

Wrapping Up

To conclude, the gallery wall trend is always going to be around. They are a great way to add personality and depth to the home. Whether you want to make something modern, cohesive, simple, contrasting, bold, or retro, you can utilize these unique ideas to help you make an outstanding gallery wall in your home.