REPEAT COLORS AT LEAST 2-3 TIMES Try to repeat colors across your pieces 2-3 times to tie everything together. That is to say, not every piece needs to have the same color(s) as the next, but every piece should have 1-2 other pieces that share a similar color or tone to it. VARY YOUR ART STYLES For a truly dynamic gallery wall, mix multiple styles of art and photography. It gives the wall depth and ensures each piece can shine and not detract from one another.
SELECTING YOUR ARTWORK
MIX UP SIZES & ORIENTATIONS Gallery walls generally look best when they feature pieces of all different sizes. Pick 1-3 larger pieces and fill the rest in with small and medium sized art. Similarly, avoid picking all vertical or all horizontal pieces. Mix it up! GET PERSONAL! Don’t be afraid to include family mementos too, alongside family photos. Kid art, letters from a loved one, class pictures from a great grandparent.
SELECTING YOUR ARTWORK
TRY GOING BLACK & WHITE If you have any artwork that has black and white throughout, going black and white with your family photos can bring everything together. CHOOSE PHOTOS THAT MATCH THE PALETTE OF YOUR ART This can be broader, like picking a warm toned photo if your art has warmer tones, or more specific, like choosing a photo where a family member is wearing a certain color that you have incorporated elsewhere in your art.
INCLUDING FAMILY PHOTOS
GO FOR CANDIDS! Candid family photos look great in a setting like this, since your other art is more free flowing and not “posed.” But posed photos can work too, just keep the color already mentioned in mind either way! FRAME THEM WITH A WIDE MAT Having a wider mat around family photos makes them feel more modern, and like they belong on a wall instead of a shelf. If you have a 5×7 photo, choose a 11×14 frame or larger to get that significant mat space.
INCLUDING FAMILY PHOTOS
FRAME MULTIPLE PHOTOS IN ONE FRAME OR HANG SEVERAL NEXT TO EACH OTHER Create your own art piece by creatively framing multiple family photos in one frame. Frame several family photo strips next to each other, make a grid of iPhone photos or polaroids or frame 2-3 photos side by side.
INCLUDING FAMILY PHOTOS
DON'T BE AFRAID TO MIX YOUR FRAME FINISHES OR STYLES Three finishes is a good rule of thumb. I typically choose: a wood (birch or walnut), a metal (brass or silver) and a neutral (white or black). I’ve also done more, again ensuring that at least 2-3 pieces are framed with each frame type to keep things balanced. TRY MIXING THE STYLES OR WIDTHS OF THE FRAMES It will be a lot easier to find black frames to fit all of your photos if you’re not trying to find the same exact narrow black frame in every size you need.
FRAMING YOUR ARTWORK
CHOOSE STORE BOUGHT FRAMES AND CUSTOM MATS TO BE BUDGET FRIENDLY If you can’t find frames that have mats the size you need, you can have custom mats made to go in them! Seek out your local framing or craft store that has a framing department and they’ll be able to create a custom mat for you per your exact measurements. The cost varies based on size, but most of mine have cost between $10-$30, which is far more affordable than custom framing.
FRAMING YOUR ARTWORK
NEED A LARGE FRAME ON A BUDGET? Try buying an already existing framed art piece at a budget-friendly store (like Target) and removing the art. Now, the backing on these is often glued or stapled on, but with some patience you can remove it and swap in your own art instead! HAVE FUN WITH COLORFUL FRAMES IN KIDS ROOMS You can even try poster hanging-style frames to really vary it up!
FRAMING YOUR ARTWORK
You don’t want to start nailing holes in the wall until you have a plan. Here are 3 easy methods for planning your gallery wall: 1. DIGITALLY I use Illustrator to lay out my gallery walls but you can also use Powerpoint, Keynote or Google. If you just want a rough guesstimate, or to see how things look, you can simply drag and drop images of the pieces into a document and eyeball the various sizes and layouts. If you want to get more technical, you can do a mock-up to scale and re-size each photo proportionately.
PLANNING YOUR WALL
2. ON THE FLOOR This is the easiest way to lay out your gallery wall with no cost and no technical skills involved! Grab a measuring tape and measure your wall space (height and width), then clear and mark off a space on the floor in your home that is the same size. I usually just lay one measuring tape along the bottom of the floor space and one along the side, but you could use books or pillows to mark off the four corners of the space too!
PLANNING YOUR WALL
3. ON THE WALL You’ll want to do this after all of your art pieces that need to be framed are framed. Measure and cut a piece of Kraft paper (paper grocery bags are great for this) that is the same size as each of your art pieces. Grab a roll of painters tape and begin determining your layout.
PLANNING YOUR WALL
PLACE THE LARGEST PIECES FIRST Typically, you’ll want to place these anchor pieces off-center instead of directly in the middle. Then you can begin to fill in around the large pieces with the smaller art and photos you have. MIX HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL PIECES Unless you are doing a perfectly symmetrical grid for your gallery wall, you want to ensure you have spaced out and varied your art’s orientations. Avoid having too many pieces of one orientation next to each other.
finalizing your layout
SPREAD OUT SIMILAR COLORS, SIZES AND STYLES To keep your eye moving throughout the wall, ensure both art styles and art pieces with similar color palettes are not clustered together. Space them out throughout the wall. If you have a few pieces that are the exact same size and look good next to each other, you can frame those next to each other and create a mini triptych or grid within your gallery wall.
finalizing your layout
VARY YOUR FRAMES THROUGHOUT Just like you’ve done with your art pieces, make sure your frame styles (that can mean finish or design) are varied throughout the wall. You don’t want all your wood frames to be clustered together, for example. Try to keep no more than two of the same frame color/finish next to each other.
finalizing your layout
DON'T WORRY ABOUT EVEN SPACING I prefer when art is not spaced equally from one another. The variation in spaces also makes it MUCH easier to put together a wall. If you end up with an unintended awkward gap, try adding a dimensional object, like a ceramic wall charm or embroidery hoop! Conversely, don’t be afraid of having some negative space within the wall.
finalizing your layout