How to Hang A Gallery Wall

There are so many different ways that you can create a gallery wall, and depending on what vibe you’re going for, it’ll be a little like putting together a puzzle.

Recently, I did a gallery wall in my home office, and really wanted more of an eclectic and less structured feel to it. However, I did want one of my paintings to really stand out and be the star of the show. So since a reader had recently asked me to write about how to put together a gallery wall, I thought I’d share how I go about achieving the look that I want, and specifically, how I created this particular wall…

Pick out your artwork

Sounds easy, right? Actually, if you want your wall to have the “free-flowing yet put together” look, you can think about a few things when it comes to composition…

• The shape… what shape or design should the overall set of paintings be in – square, triangle, pinwheel?
• The theme… do you want mostly landscape photography/paintings, animal or family photographs, or mostly painted portraits, etc.?
• A color palette… do you prefer black and white pictures, bright colors, or just blues and greens, etc.?

If you want something a little bit more formal and structured, a symmetrical grid gallery wall with matching frames or similar content would probably be the best way to go.

Love this gallery wall full of wedding pictures! It has similar frames and one coherent theme | Photo Source: Southern Weddings

Shay Cochrane creates a more formal look with a grid style gallery wall with similar black frames with a simple white matte | Photo Source: The EveryGirl

Tips: 

• You don’t have to use all of these things at one time! I only used the shape to guide my process.
• Add textiles or decorative wall hangings to the mix. I added some antique keys that I picked up at a local exhibition at the Dhahran Expo Center.
• I usually don’t make a big fuss about matching frames, but I do want a variety of sizes when going for a free-flowing look, unless of course, I’m trying to do something more symmetrical

Arrange your combinations and “shapes” on the floor first

I usually start the process by arranging various combinations on the floor in front of the wall that I’m going to put my pieces up on. In my home office, I was really interested in making my ceilings look higher, so I shaped my collage to look a little like a triangle. If you have enough paintings you can create other shapes, but because I didn’t want to fill the whole wall with artwork, a triangle was the best option for me.

These “shapes” by www.livelovediy.com are so perfectly defined. I thought I’d make my own graphic, but this one is too good! | Photo Source: LiveLoveDIY

Tips: 

• Take a picture of your combinations! For some reason it helps me to see how balanced it all looks.
• When putting together my gallery wall, I could see that it was sometimes too blue on one side or too colorful on the other – it was just taking away from the vibrancy of my focal point. So I made sure that the colors and lights/darks were balanced across the shape.

If you have a focal piece, hang that one up first and build around it

I usually just wing it when hanging up my artwork, but beginning with one focal piece can help guide you as you go along. I usually measure out the center of the wall or where I want my first piece to go, and then build around that.

If you’re not good at eyeballing it (or want to avoid having lots of annoying holes in your walls), trace your frames on paper and arrange them on the wall so that you can get the right height. You can even mark off where the picture hook is on your piece of paper!

Photo Source: Better Homes & Gardens

Tips:

• Try hanging “the middle” of your artwork above eye level – it can sometimes be the perfect height.
• Using a focal piece is a great option for someone who has a whole bunch of paintings with no theme or similarities.

Once you have one piece up, make sure you space it out properly

Try not to space your paintings too far apart or too close together. I usually keep my pieces between 2-4 inches apart from each other depending on where the paintings around it are.

Photo Source: Better Homes & Gardens

See how evenly spaced these photos are? Some are in the middle of others, but they still follow the spacing rules. It makes a huge difference | Photo Source: West Elm

Tips:

• Sometimes, I align my paintings with one another or put one in the “middle” of another if aligning it leaves too much empty space. For example, if you check out the top row of my gallery wall, you can see that the watercolor painting on the left is in the middle of the map of Saudi Arabia since there would be too much empty space around it if it were aligned with the map.

If you don’t have a focal point, pick a shape, measure it out, and start at the bottom

Measure out the height and width of your shape, and mark off where you want your paintings to start and end on the wall. Then try starting with your largest piece and create your shape. I’ve also read in other articles that it’s best to start with the artwork at the bottom – I’m not sure why exactly – but it worked very well for me.

Photo Source: Better Homes & Gardens

Photo Source: Oh Joy!

Tips:

• Use the exact same frames or similar themes (all black and white family photos or all color family photos) for a more structured look.

Try to think about what’s happening around the paintings

It’s important to think about the wall space around your paintings as well, and how you can fill the empty space. Maybe your wall needs a floor lamp or a plant! The corner next to your gallery wall could also be the perfect spot for an armchair and a small side table. It completes the look of your room when you think about the vignette that extends beyond the gallery wall.

I love how the space around the paintings add so much character to the wall. Even the pop of that plant was so important! | Photo Source: @eltemkt Instagram

I know, this was so much information, but I hope it was helpful! I was really trying to document my own process and trying to figure out what lessons I can pass on to you… So let me know if you have any questions or are totally confused.

Have a great weekend!!

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Photo Source: Southern Weddings | The Every Girl | Better Homes & Gardens | West Elm | Oh Joy!