A gallery wall can bring so much character to a room, but it can feel overwhelming on how to create the perfect gallery wall for your home. In our living room we have a large wall above one of our couches and I knew that it would be the perfect spot for a gallery wall. I was seriously overwhelmed when I started, I had an idea of the look I wanted but how many pictures did I need, what type of frames was I going to use, and where was I going to get art that wouldn’t cost a fortune? It actually took me over a year to create our gallery wall but now that I have done it there are some steps and things you can do to make to process easier! PS. this wall is still a work in progress!
How To Create the Perfect Gallery Wall
Gather inspiration
I always do this prior to doing anything design wise in my home and I feel it can help you see what type of style or vision you are after. So as usual I recommend heading to Pinterest to collect photos that you like and that inspire you. Collect at least 10-20 photos then have a look through them and see what similarities they have, is the art modern or more vintage inspired, is it a family gallery wall with all the same frames ect. Once you have done that you can narrow down the style and feel you are looking for.
My inspo Photos
You can see by the photos I picked for my inspiration there are a lot of vintage and mixed types of frames I really was gravitating towards a more collected look.
Start Collecting Frames
Do this step fist before collecting art/prints, trust me this is going to make the process easier in the long run. I love anything vintage, I think it brings so much warmth to a space so check out vintage stores in you area. Other great places to get picture frames are Homesense, Ikea, Frambridge, Minted (you can get art here too), and even Amazon! Depending on your style collect a bunch of different sizes and types of frames- some gold, some wood ect. I ended up getting 10 frames in total for our wall.
Measure Your Space
This one is an important one you can do this while you are collecting frames, once you think you have enough frames place them together on the floor to make sure that you have enough space and picture frames.
Find Your Art
I actually got a lot of art from Etsy and I totally recommend this, it’s cost effective (you can buy prints), and you can also select the sizes that you want for each print. Other great places to find art are Minted, Society 6, and even Ikea. Make sure to add in personal touches and art that means something to you, one of the pieces we have on our wall we bought in Paris off a street vendor. If you are getting a lot of prints from Etsy you can have them printed at your local Staples which is what I did.
My Favourite Places to Find Art
There are a few places that are my go to’s for finding great affordable art.
- Etsy– this is probably my favourite you can buy prints and also digital art that you can print from home this is such a great affordable option. My favourite stores are North Prints, Olive and Oak Prints, and Heirloom Print Shop.
- Society 6– they have some really fun and unusual prints.
- Minted– I love this site and you have the option to get the art framed as well.
- Vintage- if you have time check out your local vintage store you can find some amazing pieces at great prices.
Shop My Favourites
Map Out Your Gallery Wall
Now that you have your frames and prints it’s time for the fun part! Place all the art in your frames then use brown craft paper to cut out the size of each and every frame. Also make sure you write on the paper what piece of art it is as this will help you when arranging the wall (you may have some of the same frame sizes and you don’t want to get mixed up). Now you are going to lay all the frames out on the floor, this is the part where you create the design of the gallery wall. This may take some playing around to see what looks best, there are also no rules so do what feels right to you! Once you have the configuration mapped out on the floor this is where you are going to take the brown pieces of craft paper you cut out earlier and tape them to the wall in your chosen configuration. This technique is so helpful in the hanging process it lets you see exactly where each picture is going to go. Now all you have to do is hang each piece of art!
