There are so many reasons to love gallery walls, and while it may have seemed like a passing trend at one point, this beautiful way of displaying prints and photos has become a home decor look that is here to stay. Not only does a well-laid gallery wall allow you to display all of your favourite prints at once, but it can add endless visual interest to any room. Below, gain inspiration from some of the most well put together gallery walls.
No house is complete without a gallery wall nowadays, whether in the bedroom, living room, hallway or every single room. One of the most game-changing wall decor ideas around, displaying artwork, photographs and prints together in unison is the perfect way to add interest to a bland or basic looking space.
These gallery wall ideas will inspire you to fill any blank canvas, big or small, with life. And, by injecting a little of your personality into the room, you’ll see your entire decor scheme come together in harmony. But, the most exciting thing about this project is that no gallery wall is the same and that you can get as creative as you’d like, even (if not especially) if you’re on a budget or a total novice when it comes to getting crafty.
Build A Gallery Wall With Ceramics
Hanging plates is an elegant way to introduce colour, pattern, and texture to your scheme, so why hide away your beautiful tableware in a cupboard? Instead, hang them using plate grips or line them up on a shelf for an easily updatable display.
Mix Artwork And Paintings For A Unique Gallery Wall
If you have a collection of much-loved art, family photos or favourite postcards, grouping them in a gallery wall creates an accurate and bespoke display.
If symmetry is your thing, measure them carefully before hanging to get even spacing. Alternatively, arrange your pieces on the floor for a more laid back approach before picking up your hammer.
Desenio has a fab service on their website that helps you plan your gallery wall layout and choose frames and prints to suit your space.
Make It Dark And Eclectic
This artists’ eclectic gallery wall transformed a dull and standard looking canvas into one full of character and dramatic charm. Proving that mixed media will add depth and create a statement, especially if you frame yours on a black effect background.
Add Reflective Elements
This hallway space pops because of the gorgeous reflective elements in this cool, mini-gallery space. Modern, bold, and a great way to add character to a property.
Brighten up an area in your home for a party or just for a fun change by using festoon and string lights. These are a great way to add a glow to dark wall space, and with options to clip on photos and postcards, it’s easy to update this pretty feature with a new display.
Layer Up Prints On A Picture Ledge
Practical and inexpensive, this type of shelving is a great base for creating your very own striking art displays.
Use a single shelf or group two or more together, then dress with vases, pictures, books or candlesticks. The beauty of this look is that you can change your arrangement as the mood takes you.
Create A Living Wall
Houseplants are back on trend, and not only do they look good, but they can also do wonders for your health and well-being.
Breathing greenery instantly gives a fresh feeling to any space and provides a vibrant splash of colour.
Add Texture And Interest With Exotic Finds
The texture isn’t just for soft furnishings – as this scheme shows. Smooth walls can look great punctuated with tactile objects displayed as a gallery wall, particularly when working with a white canvas.
Experiment with everything from quirky hats or feather placemats to African baskets or woven discs; grouped over a piece of furniture, they make a unique statement.
Create A Quirky Display For Children’s Rooms
Keep your little ones engaged by hanging fun items in their bedrooms to look at, touch and feel. Add furry animal heads for a quirky take on a gallery wall, or turn toys into art by nestling them in wall-hung baskets or on shelves.
Enhance Space With A Mirror Gallery Wall
A classic interior design trick for making a small room look bigger is to use mirrors as art. They bounce light around a room and give the impression of more space. Hang a single large one as a statement piece or mass several different shaped designs together for extra interest.
Go For A Classic Look With Peg Rails
Originally used for hanging chairs, Shaker-style peg rails are no longer just great kitchen storage ideas and are often found in kitchens for their effortless and classic look. As they can easily blend into most decorative schemes, they make a good addition to almost anywhere in the house.
Choose natural wood or a painted finish and adorn with anything from coats, bags, scarfs and hats to tools, ornaments or a string of fairy lights.
Get Creative With Lighting
For a quirky take on a gallery wall, introduce some interesting wall lights.
Incorporating a gallery wall into your room design is the easiest way to break up an all-white scheme, creating a space with greater depth and interest. Plus, white is the perfect blank canvas to display your art on.
We love this white living room pairing with bold, bright accents in the sculptures on the walls.
Pick A Neutral Colour Scheme For Your Gallery Wall
Pick a clear colour scheme if you want to create a gallery wall with a more cohesive look. We love the look of this neutral gallery wall, the colours are simple, but there are plenty of different textures and materials thrown in to add interest. This gallery wall idea would work particularly well in a smaller space, say a hallway or a landing because the limited, neutral colour scheme won’t overwhelm the space.
Keep It Chic And Cohesive
These clear glass frames work brilliantly together. Although they are different shapes and mostly different sizes, they are still in unity with the same dainty frame colour and material. It would be perfect in a boho style bedroom, lounge or even awkward corridor setting, especially if you choose botanical pictures or abstract scenes for the photo itself.
Let It Flow
Boxy and artistic cushioning veritably draws this gallery’s design features down the wall and onto the bed for a thoughtful finish. Even the wall colour has been considered, like sage green, complements and runs through some designs.
Make A Small Gallery Wall Pop With Paint
Want a quick way to make a picture wall stand out? This gallery wall idea will transform a room in just a couple of hours: use paint to create a coloured backdrop and give your favourite artwork some added impact.
It takes nothing more than some leftover paint, a roller, and masking tape and is the perfect way to freshen up a room in an afternoon. Just create your ‘frame’ using masking tape and a ruler and then get painting. Please leave it dry, remove the tape and then hang your gallery wall.
Match Colours Within Artwork To Create A Cohesive Feel
Picking artwork with a common colour theme will create a cohesive look. It doesn’t just work for a picture wall – choosing pieces for your wall, whether pictures or other artistic displays with similar colours, will help knit the scheme together.
Supersize With Posters
Bump up your gallery wall even in a small living room space by maxing out on the size of your prints and frames. Lessen the wall space between the frames for a heightened visual impact, and then keep your colour scheme simple so that the hues and other design details flow seamlessly with the rest of the room.
Make A Hat Gallery Wall
Display your favourite hats as art. They always seem to be the hardest accessory to store properly. Pleasingly hang them, and then whenever you want to wear a hat, they’re within easy reach. Just be sure to replace the hat when you’re done wearing it. Hang them with nails or hooks, or find a wall fixture designed just for hanging your hats and see how this is one of the most budget-friendly gallery wall ideas.
Create A Collage
Walls covered with aesthetic, mood board type images have taken over social media, especially TikTok, in the form of less than perfect collages. You can gather from magazines and print your images, or head straight to sites like Etsy or other independent creators who have created prints ready for the mass, like Tezza, who offer various kits around different aesthetics.
Play With Texture
A gallery wall is not just paintings and art prints. It’s an amalgamation of pieces that work together cohesively. Sprinkle in different mediums like tapestries or mixed media works for texture, interest, and dimension.
Try A Floor-To-Ceiling Gallery Wall
While many gallery walls are placed above a focal point like a sofa or a sideboard, why not dedicate an entire wall to your gallery. We’re talking about a display that spreads itself from floor to ceiling. Try the idea out on a smaller wall, like on a stairway landing or room dividing wall, or go full force and cover an empty wall from top to bottom with curated sorts.
You can keep uniform frames and colour palettes complimentary for a polished look or mix and match for a design as varied as the items you love to collect.
Use The Power Of Three
It works in writing, and it sure makes a statement when hanging a gallery wall. Choose three core colours that run through each piece of art or framed photograph, and you’ll create a cool, coherent look. A nod to colours present in the surrounding space for bonus decor points. The red, white and black theme works well to create a designer feel in this bedroom.
Create A View
Your gallery wall should be full of what brings you joy and while this design feature will ignite happiness wherever it may be in your home, consider building yours out at the foot of your bed or in front of a lounging area to create the perfect view for all times of the day. Include small and simple drawings that will make you feel good about your space on all levels.
An Antique Gallery Wall
You’ll love this gallery wall from culdesac_cottage if you like mixing vintage and modern. We can’t get enough of this lovely assortment of antiqued paintings above the black dresser. When putting together a gallery wall, try to make it a cohesive look. While there’s always space to mix and match materials and colours, a common theme is the best way to ensure your arrangement doesn’t look cluttered.
Gallery Wall Above A Couch
Once you choose your gallery wall pictures, it’s good to lay your design on the floor before you hang pictures on the wall. It allows you to visualise how everything will look together before you commit to putting it on your wall.
A Cosy Gallery Wall
Whether you have endless blank space or just a few little nooks here and there, you can find room to create a gallery wall anywhere in your home. This lovely design from Ichloeelizabethartist proves that an empty hallway wall is a perfect backdrop of a few art prints.
When working with less space, focus on a mix of small and medium-sized framed pieces to break up the display and maintain that gallery wall look.
Create A Cohesive Colour Palette For A Pulled-Together Look
It isn’t a hard and fast rule, and if you prefer to keep things personal and fun, don’t worry about it. But if you’d like it to look a little more curated, sticking to a colour palette can help. Try to keep your pieces feeling similar in tone and intensity. For example, in that vintage painting gallery wall above, the colours were neutrals, blues, and hints of gold.
Go Big – Start With Something Large And In Charge To Anchor The Whole Collection
Start by placing your biggest pieces first, and build around them. I usually like to place my biggest piece in one of the four outer corners of a gallery wall if it’s a smaller collection or just off-centre, but towards the middle, if it’s a larger collection. It will be your jumping point for placing all your other pieces. Why off-centre? So your eye travels around the gallery wall rather than slamming straight to its middle.
While We’re At It, Don’t Feel Like You Have To Stick To One Type Of Frame – Mix It Up
The larger the space and the more pieces you have, the more frame styles you can mix. If you’re worried about your gallery wall getting too chaotic or eclectic, I suggest starting with three frame styles and seeing how you feel. You could go with a nice clean option – white frames, black frames, and a wood option. Or start with two modern frames (like a simple black or white and a simple dark or light wood), and then bring in one more ornate frame style. Maybe a pop of gold, for example.
Conclusion
So, these are some of the basics that you should keep in mind while designing your home gallery. By following these simple tips, you can easily create an inviting and beautiful space for displaying your art collection. Have any questions or need help with the design process? Feel free to reach out to us for assistance. We’d be happy to help!
Faqs
How Many Frames Should A Gallery Wall Have?
The larger the space and the more pieces you have, the more frame styles you can mix. If you’re worried about your gallery wall getting too chaotic or eclectic, I suggest starting with three frame styles and seeing how you feel.
How Do You Decorate A Gallery?
Add some green to your gallery wall by hanging up a few different flowers and plants between your images. If you’re looking to decorate a small space, try using a tiny gallery of colourful photos.
Do Gallery Walls Need A Theme?
A theme doesn’t have to be present with gallery walls, but if there is, it gives a more cohesive look to the space. The same goes for B&W or colours incorporated. Anything goes with gallery walls, and the key is to find balance.
How Many Gallery Walls Should Be In A House?
The general rule of thumb is that you should hang no more than one gallery wall per room, so if you’re an art fanatic, you’ll want to plan to spread your collection of prints throughout the house or apartment.
How Much Space Should Be Between Pictures On A Gallery Wall?
The ideal spacing between multiple artworks is 3 to 6 inches. The 57-inch number is a good average height, but if your eye level is different, be sure to use that measurement when hanging art.