Are you overwhelmed trying to find the right art for your gallery wall? You’re not alone. It’s one of those projects that can overwhelm decorators with the endless styles of art and framing types. Gallery walls are a place to express yourself, display sentimental pieces and give your space some personality.
Here are a few tips to get started finding the perfect pieces:
This might be dictated by the space you have (like if you’re making a gallery wall around a small reading nook, for example), or by creating a focal point on a large wall (like an area above a couch). If you can narrow down roughly how many pieces you want in your final gallery wall, it’ll help guide the sizing and styling of the individual pieces.
Unless you’re aiming for a uniform grid look, your gallery wall will be more visually interesting with pieces of different shapes and sizes. That being said, it’s always good to have a large focal point, or “anchor” piece, that draws the eye in. It doesn’t need to be completely centered on the gallery wall, but it should go up on the wall first and the smaller pieces should be placed around it so everything looks balanced.
Choosing pieces that all include roughly the same colors will help create a more cohesive look, but you also want to avoid being too matchy-matchy. If you’re building a gallery wall from scratch, choose between two and four colors that will carry or repeat throughout the pieces in different intensities. If you’re building from what you already have, decide what it is you love about the pieces you own and try to play off that when selecting more gallery wall additions.
For added drama, mix mediums like photographs, paintings and textured pieces to give the wall depth and character. You can also create a more subtle variation between pieces by having some artwork in an oversized mat and some without mats at all in the frame.
Choosing different frame sizes, finishes and detailing can be another way to add visual interest. Try to balance the sizing by having one large anchor piece, a couple of medium sized artworks and a few more smaller pieces, and mix up the orientation between vertical and horizontal for a more curated look.
If you’re a little more reserved on the gallery wall front, start with choosing one finish like black framing, and mix the widths and sizes of the frames which will create the same impact without being overwhelming to a new designer.
One way to test out the design before adding any nail holes in your walls is to put all the gallery wall pieces together in a digital format, on your phone or in photoshop for example. This will give you a visual on how all the pieces play off each other, if it’s missing anything, and if the color scheme works well.
Once you’re ready to curate your pieces and get them hung to make a statement in your space, make sure to grab one of our gallery wall hanging kits!
