Styling a gallery wall is one of our favorite home projects. Emma shared her gallery wall earlier this year, and today I’m excited to share my new black and white gallery wall. Knowing I wanted to feature so many photos, this was another great fit for our Canon USA collaboration! I had so much fun…
Gallery Walls - Tips and Hints - Styles and Advice
credits: Lotta Agaton Who doesn't love gallery walls, right? Gallery walls are such a great way to lift up your space and add a little bit of personality to your home. Creating a gallery wall is one of the best ways to easily decorate an empty wall and to finally showcase all those family photos, art prints, paintings, inspirational quotes that you have, but didn't know where to put them. A gallery wall is definitely a trend that will probably never go out of style. Do you know which trend will also probably never go out of style? Neutral colors. The thing about neutral colors is that they are, well – neutral. They are versatile and go pretty well with any style. Go Neutral You want your art to be the focal point of the wall, so it's best to avoid trendy colors like Pantone's Color of the Year selection (this year it's a vibrant Living Coral). Paint your walls a soft neutral instead--try Benjamin Moore's Color of the Year; a soothing warm taupe called Metropolitan. Any neutral will do for your gallery wall, and today's neutrals extend far beyond gray, white, and beige. Traditionally, neutrals in interior design were colors without color--the aforementioned gray, white, or beige--or any color that played well with others. Trends towards Mid-Century design boosted those color palettes, but there's been a bit of a backlash against what are now considered bland and boring walls, and designers are using more color overall. Today's neutrals remain colors that recede into the background, but in really saturated tones--navy, graphite, Etruscan red, even aqua and lilac. If you're not sure you're ready for bold colors, test drive your courage by painting a powder room or back hallway in navy and hanging a small collection there. Curating Your Collection To create a gallery wall, start by choosing art pieces and frames as well as pick a style. It's a good idea to choose one piece which is going to be your focal point and build the rest of the gallery around it. Before you hang anything on your wall, lay out the chosen pieces on the floor until you get the design you like. When you're satisfied with your design, hang your pieces and enjoy your beautiful new wall! Keep it minimalist When it comes to minimalism, there is only one rule you have to follow: less is more. Clean lines, geometric shapes, black and white. You can't go wrong with abstract watercolor, black and white photos, and simple art prints. The best frames to choose for your art pieces are basic black or white frames. If if you want to keep it as minimalist as possible pick art pieces and frames of the same size and arrange them in a line or in a grid. That way you will achieve a formal and sophisticated look typical for the minimalist style. Eclectic gallery wall An eclectic gallery wall is a great option for art collectors and boho style lovers. While creating an eclectic gallery wall you're welcome to combine different frame styles and sizes and different pieces of art, oil paintings, art prints, and other collectibles. The best arrangement for an eclectic gallery wall is a salon-style arrangement, a grouping of images and objects. You can choose the overall shape, square, rectangular, oval, and group object following that shape, but allow yourself some freedom and playfulness. Even though your eclectic gallery wall is going to be mostly neutral, you can still pick one or two unconventional pieces that will really make your gallery special. Farmhouse style gallery wall The most beautiful characteristic of the farmhouse decor is that homey feeling. To achieve that cozy and warm feeling combine art pieces with fabric, wood, rusty metal, family photos or vintage pieces. If you're a lover of shabby chic style, pick distressed frames and add floral prints to the mix or maybe even real flowers! Farmhouse decor is all about the details so feel free to also use your shelves to add more details and charm. Gallery wall for travel enthusiasts If you're a travel enthusiast, creating a gallery wall could be a perfect way to display all your souvenirs. To keep your travel inspired gallery wall neutral, try to find art pieces that naturally have earthy tones, such as old maps, old letters, old postcards, papyrus, or parchment scrolls. Try to find such artwork in your local thrift store or antique shop, and if you don't find them there, try searching online shops. Combine old with new, add some things from your recent travels, your travel photos or landscape pictures. Pictures of sandy beaches or creamy clouds will fit well in your neutral travel inspired gallery wall. Inspirational gallery wall We all know how important it is to have a clean and organized working space, and we also know how hard it is to motivate ourselves to work sometimes, especially if we work from home. No matter how big or small, your working space should be clutter-free and it should motivate you and inspire you. That's why the best place for inspirational gallery wall is above your working desk. Eliminate all possible distractions and keep your working space decor simple. Hang a few inspirational quotes above your desk, add a clock or a calendar, or whatever motivates you, just keep it light and airy. Styling Your Wall When you see a gallery wall that looks so organic in the space that you can't imagine it being any other way, rest assured somebody spent hours on their hands and knees getting the layout just right. You'll need to know some (very) basic rules of design and how to build proportion to create your wall, a tapemeasure, and a notebook. Grid or Salon Styling? How to place your collection is the next question--in a formal grid, or more casual salon style? If you have pieces that are the same size and have similar frames, a grid works well. Get on the floor and place them, figuring out of they're better in a horizontal row, two over three, four over two, or whatever the most pleasing layout happens to be. You'll need a tape measure and painter's tape to get the spacing right since these need to be hung with precision. Leave two inches between edges. A gallery wall with an assortment of sizes, materials, and media is a salon wall. For the salon look, eclectic balance is the goal. You want a focal piece in the middle--a large painting, a wonderfully framed mirror (beveled is better), a large platter--again, it's your house and your wall, so use anything you like. Then, two large pieces, two medium, and three small pieces, starting with the biggest one in the middle, and working your way out. Two inches between edges is the standard, but with a salon wall you don't have to be so precise. If you've worn out your knees trying to get your layout just right, you might be in need a little inspiration. Here are our neutral gallery walls from around the web: credits: A cup of Joe credits: The Lettered Cottage credits: @mortilmernee credits: @rosemarieauberso credits: Matthew Williams credits: Decoratop credits: @bendtsens credits: Apartment Therapy credits: Decoraiso Browse our selection of Art Prints with beautiful earthy and organic tones to create the ultimate instagram-worthy Neutral Gallery Wall!
Name: WillLocation: Cabbagetown, Toronto, OntarioSize: 1,300 sq. feetYears lived in: owned for three years Six years ago, Will arrived in Canada from the U.K. with a few suitcases of clothing. Since then, Will has built up his ideal home with personal objects and furniture that combine elements of his homeland and adopted city. His self-described style: “landed gentry with a North American twist.
I took a small corner in my dining area and turned it into a full-on art display, thanks to my favorite framed pieces and a little creativity.
Dream Green DIY
We asked designers about how to create a successful gallery wall and what they always notice when creating one. See what their tips are.
A gallery wall that creates high impact by using picture frames of varying sizes to create contrast
It's all about balance and variety.
Ready to decorate but not sure where to get started? Our editors are here to answer all of your key questions, from arranging a room to choosing paint colors.
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I took a small corner in my dining area and turned it into a full-on art display, thanks to my favorite framed pieces and a little creativity.
We are at it again here is our reading corner gallery wall. On the blog we share how we created this vintage inspired gallery wall.
I have been looking forward to sharing this post with you all! After seeing so many photos on pinterest and accounts that I love, I decided I wanted a few pieces of artwork to hang…
Steps lined with potted plants mark the entrance to Meghan Daniel’s Capital Heights cottage. They’re the first hint at the maximalist, lively space inside. Past the front door is a world full of thrifted furniture, prickly cacti, offbeat art and barking dogs. Daniel shares her colorful two-bedroom with her 3-year-old daughter, three dogs, boyfriend and...