One of the first things someone does after moving or remodeling a space is to decorate it. It’s a way to make that space feel more like home. One thing that is normally decorated is a wall and normally that is done with artwork. But let’s say you want to display a lot of artwork, pictures, or items on one wall. How can you do that? Well you will probably want to think about a gallery wall. Now if you are like me and decorating a space is a little challenging (aka: you have no idea on how to create a gallery wall), how about I share 6 steps that helped me create my gallery wall.
Please, Please, Please note that I am not a decorator and someone who is could probably tell me all the things I did wrong, so if you are a decorator or have other tips, please share!
1. Pick a theme:
I feel this will help decorate any space because it helps you narrow down your ideas to one main idea. For example with our wall, we used the theme TRAVEL. But you could do anything!
2. Find pictures, items, or artwork:
Please note before starting this step, that the pictures or items you pick will maybe not make it into the gallery wall. So as you are finding them, note the ones that you must have in the gallery and the other pieces will be the fillers. Also texture and different shapes are a good thing in any decor.
When I was creating my gallery wall there was two items I wanted, first my list of places we want to see and the other was our adventure sign. I then went through our travel pictures and found our favorite pictures from the last year. (I had a lot more than what made the wall!) Plus I did not print any until step 6.
3. Find picture frames:
This part can be pricey if you buy new pictures frames. But guess what you could have extras hanging around the house or maybe a family member does! Or you can go to the local thrift store and get some from there for cheap. I did both of these and I decided some needed to be painted a different color. When I was finding frames I looked for ones that where different in sizes and had different details. And again I ended up with more frames than I needed but by thrifting, building one, and looking around my house, I spent less than $20 for all my frames.
4. Arranging:
Now it’s time to get to the good stuff, figuring out your gallery wall. But before you need to decide how big you want the gallery on your wall, how wide and tall before you can go on.
Awhile ago I shared a post about 5 tips to help you start decorating, here. These tips will help create a wonderful gallery wall. So here are the tips that I used:
- Variation – This will apply to the size, shape, and texture of each item (frames).
- Arrange in Odd Numbers – I have an odd number of items displayed on the wall, 11 to be exact!
- Create Visual Triangles – I tried to do this with the color of the frames, see how the 2 white frames and the clock form a triangle.
To figure out how to arrange your own gallery wall, lay your items on the floor, placing your must have pieces down first. Then lay your fillers all around the must haves. You will need to arrange the items within the size of wall space you decided on.
Now move pieces around, add, or takeaway. Keep doing this until you are happy with what you have. Then WALK AWAY for a while, maybe take a picture first just in case something gets moved. I arranged mine in the morning then went and did other things, coming back every once in a while to see if I still really liked what I had. And guess what? It did get changed around…
After a couple of hours come back and see if your truly happy because now it’s time to create a template.
SIDE NOTE: If you are still not sure about the look, you can move to the next step and still change things around after!
5. Template:
To make it easier to hang your gallery wall, you will want to create a template. To do this, take some paper and trace the items on the paper. TIP: I used some wrapping paper that I got from the dollar store. Then mark where the nail should be placed on each template, also write what the item is on the paper, then cut it out. Do this for every item that you want in your gallery wall. Then using painters tape, tape the templates to the wall in the arrangement you wanted.
After this, you can leave it this way for a couple of days before hanging anything just to make sure you are happy with you arrangement.
6. Hanging:
If you are happy with the arrangement, place your nail in the marked spot on the template (you can also use this method to hang a picture). Then remove the template and hang your items on the nails. At this point, I finally ordered my pictures for the frames because I knew exactly what sizes I needed for my wall!
And that is the 6 steps I used to create a gallery wall (pick a theme, find items, find frames, arrange, create template, and hanging everything). What do you think of my gallery wall? Are there any tips you would add?
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