Design 101 :: Gallery Wall
If anyone is going to tap me for professional advise on the fly, it’s a friend asking me about a gallery wall. Everyone wants one in their home and everyone is trying to figure out the formula of how to make it happen. So I decided to host a gallery wall night, teach a few friends a little something about my approach and kill about 15 birds with one stone.
I hope the loudest message I shared was that these walls are a reflection of the family that lives in the homes they hang in. Some will be perfectly curated with all matching frames and others will be a hodge-podge of the most random elements…and guess what…both are AMAZING!
Our homes should be a reflection of self. If we continue to evolve then guess what…so will our homes. We can have the best intentions to “finish” a space and then change our minds a week, a month, a year or 10 years later. Your home will never be “done”…nor should it be. Believe me. Why do you think I have clients on my roster for years on end? Families change, kids grow up, people evolve…and a gallery wall is the celebration of all of these juicy life moments!!
Look around your space for a color scheme. Taking cues from the elements that are already the room will help the gallery wall feel like it’s pulling everything together.
Pull a wood tone from a coffee table, maybe a metal finish from a light fixture or your door hardware, pick a neutral tone (white/ivory/grey) and maybe a little accent color or family of colors (think all primary colors or jewel tones).
Stick to this formula when pulling your collection together!
If the idea of a combination of materials stress you out then just bag it and choose one frame color to work with!
If the idea of a combination of sizes and shapes stress you out then just bag that and plan for a grid of all the same color, size and shape!
Measure the space you’re trying to fill. If the wall is 10’ long and 8’ tall then you want your gallery wall to live inside this dimension. Take a tape measure to the wall and get a general dimension of the overall width and height you’re looking to cover.
Lay everything on the floor and start to put your puzzle together.
The spacing between each item should be no greater than 2”.
Every space does not have to be exactly the same (if your eye can handle that)!
Lay the arrangement on the floor to match the space you want to cover EXACTLY. Make sure you can see how the spaces between each piece are going to align (or not) and that the overall dimension of the collection matches your plan,
Time to locate the space on the wall where you’re going to hang your first piece!
Some people prefer to start in the middle and work out, others want to go from top to bottom and many prefer to go from left to right. It doesn’t matter! What matters is that you map out the relationship of one nail to the next. Moving from your arrangement on the floor up to the wall will allow you to strategically build your wall.
When using a picture with a wire on the back, hold the wire up (like the position it will be when it’s hanging) and measure how far down from the top of the frame the hook will want to be.
When you find this location on your wall remember that it’s the HOOK part that needs to match this mark, not the nail itself. See this picture below so you know what I’m talking about. Match the hook to your mark and then you’ll be perfect (instead of 1/4” too low)!
Here are a few pics from the gallery wall night I hosted at my friend Kristina’s house. Her dining room table was the perfect place to lay out the arrangement and make a plan for her wall…
Kristina opted for a collection of items of different sizes, shapes, colors and textures. Including round or “odd shaped” items to this arrangement you can really embrace the feeling of a collection. I like to source at least 40% of the frames from the same vendor. This helps everything hang together. Think of it like this…
40% Matching frames in finish #1 (Let’s say walnut wood for this example.)
20% Matching frames in finish #2 (Let’s say oak wood to complement the walnut.)
10% Matching frames in finish #3 (Let’s say a brushed brass to complement the warm tones of the woods above but add a little reflection.)
10% Specialty frames (Maybe these have a finish that shows up somewhere in your house, it might have a more unique profile, it may have been a gift from someone, etc.)
10% Specialty object (This can be a ceramic plate, or a textile, or a piece of art on a canvas with no frame, anything that brings texture to the wall.)
10% MISC!! This should be something that makes your heart sing. It may or may not go with everything else but you can’t imagine the wall without it included.
A special shout out to my friend and talented chef, Adam Munroe of Perfect Strangers for nourishing our creativity with these delicious treats…
A few gallery walls we’ve done over the years….
OK friends! Now you’re off and running!! Also remember that if you rather call in the professionals you just happen to know someone who can help you with this !
