SEVEN TIPS FOR CURATING A UNIQUE AND ENVY WORTHY GALLERY WALL
So many prints to hang, memories to savor, smiles to celebrate, and so little wall space. It’s a modern day conundrum. How does one even narrow down everything we love or even know what to display on our walls? This is a common problem for many of my clients. I think part of it is the paralysis of having too many options/decisions or doubting ourselves. Fortunately I am here to help you all. One suggestion I have for my clients are gallery walls. These are a fabulous way to display some of your most prized memories and cherished artwork while taking advantage of more limited wall space. In this post I am sharing seven tips to help you curate and display an Instagram worthy gallery wall.
Also, for my clients and/or future clients I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that helping you hang your artwork is a service I provide as a concierge based studio. I want to help you every step of the way and this includes assistance in displaying your heirloom artwork ;). If a gallery wall is something you are thinking of for your session artwork we can go over that in your style consult and client questionnaire.
Now, onto the nitty-gritty details of all things pertaining to the perfect gallery wall:
WHAT EVEN IS A GALLERY WALL?
First of all, what even is a gallery wall? According to Crate and Barrel “a gallery wall (or photo wall) is a curated collection of wall art hung in a grouping.” These displays are an ideal and personal way to add some personal touches and unique character to your home. There are a variety of ways you can display your wall: from loose and eclectic groupings to a symmetrical grid.
1.) CURATE PIECES THAT ARE MEANINGFUL
The key to a successful gallery wall that will bring you joy day in and day out is to make it personal. The point is to look at the display and feel a deep affection over the images themselves and the memories that they conjure. These items should tell the story of you and your family. When it comes to deciding what to display I firmly believe in going with your gut. In the infamous words of Marie Kondo, do the items, images, and artwork “spark joy”?
The gallery wall in my living room is full of memories and pieces I love. Everything on our wall have very specific memories or are meaningful in some way. The photo of my daughter is from our road trip to Glacier National Park. She had settled herself down on the shore of Lake MacDonald just as the sun was setting behind the trees and the entire scene was picture perfect serenity. This was also one of our all-time favorite family trips and brings back so many heartwarming memories. The one of my son was a project I did for a photography class. This photo reminds me of his sweet toddler innocence and I am drawn to that curious expression on his face. I also have artwork that is meaningful to me in one way or another. One print was purchased on the Blackfeet Reservation from our visit to Indian Days during a road trip to Banff National Park with friends. The artwork of the banjo player is one I downloaded from National Gallery of Art’s public domain. The painting, Study for "Negro Boy Dancing": The Banjo Player by Thomas Eakins, reminds of two special trips: New Orleans for my 40th and the cross country civil rights road trip I took with my daughter in 2021. I will include a link at the bottom of this post if you would like to access their public domain and download artwork for your own home.
For Maddie's gallery wall we also chose many special pieces. The redwoods are a place our family feels most at home at so they had to be included. The pressed flowers were from our family trip to Idaho last summer. The black and white photo of James Dean is from the movie set of Giant which was filmed in Marfa, TX. During our civil rights road trip we fell in love with Marfa after we overnighted there and stayed at the same hotel James Dean, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor called home during filming. The art print of the Big Sur Coast was chosen because Carmel and Big Sur are a deeply special and soulfully inspiring place to both Maddie and me. Hopefully some of these examples serve as a kernel of inspiration for you :)!
2.) STICK WITH A COLOR PALETTE
Stick with a color palette for cohesiveness and continuity. My living room gallery wall is mostly made up of prints with lots of blues and neutrals. Some of the prints are darker and moodier which I evenly distributed between the lighter artwork and heirloom prints, but overall it is a cooler color palette that pairs well with my white furniture. However, in my daughter, Maddie’s room, I was able to use an eclectic color palette of oranges, greens, blues, with pops of pink. Although more varied, the images still go together and pair well with her color scheme. The orange and green in the Redwoods State Park print pairs with the mushroom poster, and there are pops of orange in our family photo, the vintage print of Italy, and sun in the art print from the Big Sur Coast. The pink in the Big Sur print also matches the pink in the Katie Daisy “Go Out and Paint the Starts” artwork
3.) USE COORDIANTING FRAMES THAT MATCH YOUR HOME'S DECOR
My living room gallery wall is mostly made up of antique gold frames. These frames are not all the same hue of gold, but they do share the ornate details and time worn look that are unique to older frames. Some are chipped and that is OK because it shows their age.
Something to note when dealing with antique frames, they often do not come in standard sizes. This leaves you two options. 1 - you can take the frame to a professional framer and have them cut a matte to fit your print/artwork and frame or 2 - you can do what I did and order a canvas that you can hang on the wall inside the frame.
For my daughter’s room I was able to be a bit more varied just like with her color palette. Her style is very bohemian and that allows a lot more wiggle room. However, if I had used prints and frames that were very minimalist this wall display would not have been a proper reflection of her or her style.
When it came to the grid display in my hallway I wanted something symmetrical so all the frames are the same. I wanted the focus to be on my fine art travel prints, not on the frame so I went with something simple and classic.
4.) MAKE SPACING EVEN AND CONSISTENT
Don’t cluster some frames tightly together while giving others lots of space. For me personally, I like it when there is a couple inches of space around all the frames so the artwork has room to “breathe”. Spacing does not have to be perfect unless you are creating a grid display, but it should have some symmetry. The spacing in my hallway grid display is two inches around every frame, but my living room display is a bit looser.
5.) THESE WALLS TAKE TIME TO CURATE
Understand that these walls can take a bit of time. Because you want a gallery wall to tell your story they will take time to piece together so be patient and giver yourself some grace when it comes to perfection. Gallery walls are meant to be curated, not look like you purchased a group of prints off of Etsy and slapped them on a wall. Some of the items in my gallery walls were pieces I purchased over 20 years ago or were handed down to me from my mom, but this is also what makes them so special to me. And as you can see I have still have one empty frame in my daughter’s room and there is another frame waiting for a special piece to replace the painting of the lady with the dog. That print, while cute, does not match the decor of my daughter’s room.
6.) WHERE TO FIND FRAMES, ARTWORK, AND OTHER UNIQUE ITEMS
Thrift stores, antique shops, and estate sales are a great place to source items, artwork, and unique frames. For me personally, I did not want it to look like I ran down to my nearest Home Goods or Hobby Lobby and grabbed a bunch of frames or wall art. I wanted something that looked intentional, unique, and had its own story to tell while reflecting my vintage driven style. You are not limited to frames and prints. Funky objects can easily work into a gallery wall and are also easily found at the aforementioned shops and sales. As you can see on my daughter’s wall we have some badminton rackets displayed. I had picked these up years ago at the Oakland Museum’s White Elephant Sale. They lived in our garage several years until we added them to our camping supplies. The kids played with them for several more years until we sold our travel trailer. Now they have earned a place on Maddie’s gallery wall of memories.
7.) MAP OUT YOUR WALL WITH PAPER TEMPLATES
This is key so everything is evenly spaced and you don’t end up with a million nail holes in your wall driving your husband crazy. I speak from experience lol! I prefer to use newspaper or you can use gift wrap. I lay my frame on the paper, trace it onto the paper. I then measure where the nail will go, mark that with a small dot and label each template as to what frame they go to (this way you will know what frame to put in their place once the paper template is on the wall). I then measure spacing and place each template on the wall until I have a pattern I like. Once that step is complete I will hammer a nail into the wall using the dot I measured on each of my templates as a guide.
No two gallery walls have to be the same. Some can be photos from over the years while others can all be from one photo session. Some, like mine, can be a collection of things. The only goal you should have is to make it meaningful and a display that will spark joy every time you look at it throughout the years.
LINKS:
Public Domain Artwork:
SOURCES:
Gold frames in hallway: Hobby Lobby
Katie Daisy artwork HERE
Big Sur Coast print HERE
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