How to Make a Gallery Wall: My Secret Tip!

Gallery walls are awesome. Let’s just put it out there right now. I love them and, if I could, I would have them all around the house. But that would look like overkill, so I’ve limited myself to the hall and a small plate gallery in the living room. When I think about it, it seems to me that these type of art walls might also be daunting for the uninitiated. They look complex and hard to achieve BUT THEY ARE NOT. Here is how I make a gallery wall. The easy way.

What is a Gallery Wall?

A gallery wall is a collection that is grouped en masse on the wall (duh). Most people think framed art but the possibilities for objects that can be gathered into a gallery wall are as endless as your imagination can make them. Baskets, baby clothes, hats, tennis racquets, flags, mirrors. Even succulents can form part of this wall.

A gallery wall is an affordable way to transform a room. It can fit with any decor style depending on the pieces you choose. It also creates a bold statement in a room that might not have one. A gallery wall can be a fun way to express yourself, showcase your favourite items and keep your collections in check. It can be easily added to so it’s like an evolving piece of art.

How I Make a Gallery Wall

My process might be a little more bit fluid and casual than others’ but I’ve been creating gallery walls for some years now. I have a reasonably good eye for what looks good and where to place certain pieces.

My gallery walls are usually quite formal. I’ve moved on from the symmetrical rows since moving to the farmhouse but I do still like a gallery wall where all the frames match and the art has a cohesive colour palette.

I mostly use a gallery wall to showcase family photos. This means I have a lovely reminder of my special people (and pets) whenever I walk past it. It also means we don’t have a tonne of framed pictures cluttering up surfaces on the mantel or on cabinets. Good for me. Less dusting and clutter! And you know how I feel about clutter.

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To create a gallery wall like this I do three things.

Firstly, I make the frames the same colour and style. The frames containing the baby photos and those of my grandparents are around twenty years old. Their style is pretty neutral and classic so it was easy to add more simple black frames with newer photos knowing they would blend. In the top corner of the gallery, not shown in this picture there are also four wooden frames. I painted these black to match and they look just like the others.

Secondly, I try to keep to a colour palette. Though these photos are all of my family and our pets, I have tried to stick to a palette that uses blue as one of the main colours. I’ve also mounted all the photos on a white background. I did consider changing the older framed photos to a white matt but they are not too noticeably cream, so I’ve left them.

Thirdly, I hang the frames in a grid pattern that is sort of symmetrical. Because most of these frames come from Target (Australia) they are half the size of each other. That is, two of the smaller fit into one larger. So it’s easy to play with one rectangle and add two smaller beside to make a large square shape.

When I create a gallery wall, I follow these steps:

1. Collect all the items I want on the wall
2. Lay all the bits out on the floor and move them around A LOT until I find a layout I’m happy with.
3. Get out the COMMAND STRIPS! Yep, you heard right. I use command strips to anchor the pictures and other art to the wall. I mostly buy the medium to bigger size that hangs up to 7kg but the tiny Command Strips are great for securing little plates and light objects.
4. Cut the strips in half lengthways so they fit along the edge of your frames and stick one in each corner. Stick them so the tag you pull to unstick is facing down. This means when you want to remove the strip you will not peel paint off the wall. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Especially if you are renting.
5. Start with an imaginary line that the first row of frames will line up with. You can see this ‘line’ along the top row of photos. They line up with the door jamb. You could put a piece of painters tape to make your line straight and remove when you are done. I just eyeball it.
6. Press the frames onto the wall where you want to hang them.
7. Stand back and admire your handiwork. You may need to reposition.

Use These Items to Make a Gallery wall

As I said before, the possibilities for making a gallery wall are basically endless.

• plates
• timber/metal letters
• stag’s heads
• crucifixes
• slogans
• succulents
• mirrors
• wreaths
• bamboo cleaning tools
• hats
• empty frames sprayed the same colour
• children’s art
• framed cards
• bunches of dried flowers
• clipboards with art on them
• baby clothes
• basketware