If you’re looking around your home or office, there’s a decent chance you’ve got a section of wall that looks fairly bland and boring. While covering that spot with a motivational poster or a potted plant might seem like an easy choice, there’s a great new trend in interior design called a gallery wall that might be just what you need
What is a gallery wall?
A gallery wall is essentially taking a portion of your wall and turning it into a miniature art gallery. Rather than hanging a singular piece, you choose a number of items and display them together, creating an energy and vibrancy that an individual decoration cannot manage on its own. Creating a gallery wall in your home or office isn’t as simply as putting a few items up together though. To get the best impact for your space, there’s a few items you’ll want to keep in mind.
Consider your space - The first thing you’ll want to consider is the space that you’re working with. This will help guide your other decisions. Take careful measurements of the area you’ll use, as well as the dimensions of any objects you already know you want to have fit. You can use graphing paper to help sketch out how everything will fit. You’ll want to plan the layout carefully before you start drilling holes in your wall, otherwise you’ll be stuck with unsightly patches distracting from the appearance of your gallery. If possible, lay out the items in the rough arrangement you’ll be using to get a feel for how they’ll look together. Using temporary hanging items like painters tape is an excellent option, so you can see how they’ll look on the wall itself. If that’s not an option, you can also lay out the items in the same arrangement on the floor. This lets you have a rough draft to work with as you plan your gallery wall out. Remember that throughout this project, a tape measure will be an invaluable tool, and keep the old adage in mind, “Measure twice, drill once.”
Choose a theme- Once you have your space chosen and you’re aware of what dimensions you’re working with, decide on a theme. This keeps your gallery wall from looking like a disorganized mess, or a thrift store donation bin was thrown at your wall. You can keep the theme broad, like going with a thematic color, choosing items that have a dominant blue palate. Or you can go with something more esoteric, like “adventure” and have pictures of mountains, the Sahara desert, and jungles. You’ll want to consider the surroundings, to make sure your gallery wall matches the rest of the room, or at least doesn’t clash with it.
Consider outside the box items- Once you have your theme, you’ll be able to start picking out items to fill out your gallery wall. Chances are, you had a few items in mind before you started, but you’re likely going to be searching for things to finish your space. Consider the possibility of adding less traditional accouterments. For instance, if you go with the “adventure” theme mentioned above, you could also add a small compass, or a framed map. If you went with the blue color theme, you could add a few indigo shaded seashells. These are items that add flavor to your chosen theme, and can fit well into the remaining space between other pieces of artwork that anchor your gallery wall.
Regardless of what you choose to include in your gallery wall, for all of your framing needs, we are here to help! Contact our custom framing specialists today!