EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GALLERY WALLS

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Having dominated Pinterest and influencer instagram accounts for quite some time, you may have decided that your home is missing a gallery wall. Here is everything you need to know before you get started:

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What is a gallery wall?

Simply put, a gallery wall is a collection of media displayed in an organised cluster on a wall. It can be any form of media from prints and photography, to canvas art or mirrors. The final look is a considered curation of art which forms a statement wall.

Where does it go?

Gallery walls are well suited in living rooms (perfect above a low, modernist sofa), in hallways or around dining settings (picture it above a slick sideboard or as the backdrop of a playful dining table). It has been known to put them along a staircase, but we would advise against it from a practicality point of view – it is important stairs are safe and easy to use.

How many frames should it feature?

There is no wrong or right answer here, but anything upwards of five pieces makes a good start. Something to bear in mind here is the make up of the wall. Drilling holes into a plasterboard partition wall for 20 heavy frames may not be the most suitable way to go, therefore the wall type could dictate how many pieces make up your gallery wall collection.

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How should the frames look?

This one is completely down to personal taste! There are many options for shapes, sizes, colours, and finishes, and this is where the opportunity to become creative sets in. To get you started, here are some combos:

  • Identical frame finishes (such as 10mm black frame), in a selection of shapes and sizes
  • No two the same… A family of ornate gold frames, sourced from charity shops or hand-me-downs, all with a rusting look and different profiles.
  • Simple, slim frames in block colours, with the art inside all of the same style i.e. greyscale photography

How do I make a gallery wall?

  1. The first step is simply gather your collection of features to be displayed – for the purposes of this example, we will refer to them as prints. Bring them together to ensure they all read well as a family, and begin to identify if any work particularly well placed adjacent to each other, or if any are visually fighting and should be separated by other prints between. 
  2. Decide whether the look you are after is streamlined and neat (like a carefully pieced puzzle), or informal and relaxed.
  3. If your prints are not yet framed, now is the time! 
  4. Lay the framed prints out on the floor and begin to play with the composition to see how they best fit together.
  5. Once the configuration has been set, start with a central piece and hang on the wall with whichever method suits you – nails, command strips etc. From there, work your way outwards to ensure the layout on the floor will be translated into the layout on the wall. If you are particularly nervous about setting them in the correct spot, make templates out of cardboard first and blutack them on the wall as a guide for placement.

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