Creating A Gallery Wall

An example of frame sizes that can be used to fill a large blank wall

I love a good gallery wall. Some people may say they’re not trendy anymore, but I don’t care… They’re timeless to me!

Creating a gallery wall is a bit like putting together a puzzle. Each painting or picture is part of a larger whole. And while each piece is not identical, there are elements of it that work with the rest to complete the look. I focus on a few key things when creating my gallery walls. Some of the ones I’ve created are less structured and others are totally symmetrical.

Curate Your Collection

Symmetrical gallery wall | From: The Design Souk Instagram

I usually like to start with a theme. This is not required, but it’s a really good way to get started. Some of the themes that you can use can be landscapes, florals, abstract, family photos/portraits, paintings, vintage paintings, drawings, etc. You can totally mix in a couple of categories as well like landscape photography with vintage paintings of landscapes. And you can even pick a theme like a country or a style that you like (Islamic art, Pakistani artists, Italian countrysides, etc.).

In my home office, I picked a bunch of my own photographs of places we’ve traveled to and a family photo in the same color tones. Which leads to my next starting point… A color palette. I also try to pay attention to the color palette that I’m using when picking out my art and photographs. I’ve found that using the same warm tones or the same cool tones helps keep things looking cohesive.

I love pieces with a story as well so that’s always good to put into the mix!

Pick Out Photo Sizes & Frames

The same sleek frame was used for a simpler look | From: Theresa’s Living & Dining Room Makeover

If you’re creating a free flowing gallery wall, it’s important to have pieces that are of various sizes with a variety of frames (or no frames even!). I usually like to mix a couple of wood tones with a pop of a metal. I’ll add texture to the frame if it’s a bit more of a traditional gallery wall. It’s also important to keep the thickness of the frame in mind. For a simpler gallery wall, I like thinner and sleeker frames.

If you’re more into a symmetrical wall, then it’s better to have pieces that are the same size for the same sized frames. For square frames they can be landscape or portrait layouts as you can flip the mat around. For frames shaped like rectangles, it’s better to stick to all landscape or to all portrait layouts for every single frame. I’ve found that symmetrical gallery walls look a lot better when the frames are thinner and simple.

Add Some Texture

Design by Emily Henderson | Photograph: Kaitlin Green

This is an optional thing, but I love the idea of adding textural pieces to a gallery wall. This can be vintage bells, wooden accents, baskets, a lighting fixture or anything else that will add some character to your wall!

Lay It Out

I never create a gallery wall without putting it down on the floor first. It’s the best way to get a sense of how it’s going to look on the wall and you can correct any visual imbalances. I like to take a picture of it so that I can see if there’s too much of one color on one side or the textures of the frames are too similar, etc. And if you’re more tech savvy, you can use a program like Canva to map it out as well.

I usually start with the largest piece in the middle as a focal point, and work around it by creating a “shape” out of all of the frames. Some of the shapes to keep in mind are: square, rectangle, diamond, pinwheels, stacked (mini gallery walls), or on a picture ledge. And if I know a TV is going in the middle, that’s my starting point and I build around it.

Once you’ve decided on your shape, it’s best to measure the entire thing out and then create the shape on your wall using tape. This is the best way to know if the height of the entire set up works well for your wall. I also generally keep about 2-4″ between each frame, but that can change depending on the shape.

Go With Your Gut

A smaller gallery wall to complement the other elements in the room | From: A Guest Bedroom Makeover

A mini stacked gallery wall | From: The Design Souk Instagram

A higher wall may need more pieces. A narrower wall might need a simple vertical stack. Just follow your gut. If any of these guidelines don’t seem to work for you and your gut is telling you something else, go for it. These are just helpful tips to get you started and then you can get creative from there.

Have fun creating your gallery walls!

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