5 Keys to a great DIY Gallery Wall

If you’ve got great pieces of art to display, this project is for you! But there are many reasons to do a gallery wall instead of one large piece.

For me, since I’m a hobby artist, I had a lot of canvas art I wanted to show off, but I don’t have a lot of wall space in my house. Clustering my photos together was the best option! I also had a very ugly heater vent that I wanted to cover, but knew covering it would be the worst thing for its’ heat function. Instead,

I chose to use the ugly heater as part of my eclectic mix of photos and art; using the ugly heater texture as character for my wall.

But even if you aren’t trying to put all your art on one wall or hide an ugly home feature, there are other great reasons to do a gallery wall: If you want your art to appear more curated and expensive,  if you have a lot of miscellaneous wall art you’ve collected over the years, or if your dining room looks a little drab, this salon style wall is a great way to go! It can mimic the same effect as wallpaper. Or if you just want to show off your personal style with a collection! 

Just like designing a room, creating a gallery wall should follow many of the same rules in order to have a cohesive look.

1. Color Palette

If you use too many colors, this type of maximalism will completely overwhelm the viewers eyes. But, if you match your frames and allow your eye to flow from each picture with ease by following the same thread of color throughout, you’ll achieve a high end looking wall. For my wall here, I’m using black, white, and brass frames with one accent frame made from driftwood. For my color palette, I have black, white, and shades of blue/green throughout. Since not all my frames were in my color scheme, I spray painted a couple of them to create the cohesive frame choices I wanted. Spray paint holds up great for this type of thing!

2. Flow

Anchor your wall with one piece, then build around it. This step is super important! If you start with a focal point, everything else will begin to flow. I suggest building on the floor to start before putting nails in your wall.

3. Form

Since usually gallery walls are for creating a cluster, using many shapes and sizes can be very interesting to the eye. I  made sure to use multiples of all the size choices to create balance within the wall. 

If you decide to create a gallery collection on a shelf, grouping 3 sizes in groups of 3’s has been the most successful for me. If you decide to create a gallery collection in a straight line on a wall, sometimes using the minimalist approach (all one size) can be best. I love this linear framing option here.

To me, the only wrong answer on form is if you feel confused, or overwhelmed when looking at your wall. Art is emotional! If you aren’t enjoying looking at your wall, your placement or choices may need some additional editing.

The biggest key to form is to create balance. If you have a heavy, dark, large piece, make sure to balance out your wall with another of the same, but remember that too many heavy pieces can generally weigh down the eye and space. 

 

4. Theme

Most of my media choices were based on color palette.

In fact, I even printed one of my black and white photographs with blue ink from my regular printer because I needed another blue/green piece.

Other ways you can theme your wall are to use the same medium, i.e. all oil, or all watercolor, all black and white photographs, all modern, all the same subject…you get the idea? Then I sprinkled a couple surprises throughout to add some texture. I actually edited my theme quite a bit! My husband is an antiques collector and I weeded through quite a few of his picks before ending up with the pieces that worked best. I also knew what things I had to have in my wall, for example, I knew I wanted to have candlelight on my wall and wanted some sculptural/3-Dimensional elements for variety.

5. Don’t be afraid!

I’m not saying take that hammer and just start hanging things. What I am saying is, even if you aren’t an artist, this is an opportunity to use your creative side! You are taking art you picked out to show off. So gather your options and lay them out on the ground in the shape of your wall! Even better, measure your wall and use painters tape (or a blanket or sheet) on the ground so you know the space you’ll be filling. Then play! Once you get it on the wall, the worst thing that’ll happen when you hang your art is you’ll have to putty a hole or two. Or, if you’re like me, I just adjusted my design to cover the hole. 😉 If you’re still nervous, you can always create your design using a pre-made selection like this Pottery Barn option.

 

Below are some great gallery walls I found around the internet!

Do you notice the color palette? Flow? Form? Theme? Creative flare?

https://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/house-interiors/a9113169/oakland-beautiful-homes/

https://twitter.com/abkasha/status/1083438384918482945

https://images.app.goo.gl/feccqfpdQvhgrCxz6

https://images.app.goo.gl/6XACYineTmQT45gT8

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUwY8oFDvCR/?taken-by=framebridge

 

XOXO

-Michaell