I am going to show you how to put a gallery wall together – one of the most eye catching styling features for a room. There is nothing worse than a large wall with just one or two small pictures on it. Without being in a group or with a reference point, they look lost and lonely and rather than being pleasing, the look to me is all wrong. There is an art to hanging pictures, mirrors and photos
and you need to think very carefully about the correct placement for each one. Before looking in detail at gallery walls, I have some simple rules to consider for any artwork or mirror that you want to hang: I'm going to concentrate on a gallery wall for this post and how to successfully put one together. They often look just jumbled up and sometimes if you really have a good eye for placement, you can get away with this. But usually you will see that there is a system to something that just looks artfully put together. I have a number of different diagrams to help you to put a gallery wall together: This is the most straight forward in terms of design. All the artworks are the same size and everything is lined up perfectly. Of course, this is not the easiest to install. If
anything is out of line it will show so you will need patience and ideally a long spirit level with measurements marked. This type of gallery wall is effective with just 4 to 6 artworks but is absolutely stunning with several on one wall. An aligned gallery of 12-16 artworks, particularly if they are all on a theme, creates a fabulous wow factor. Perfect for those of us who like symmetry and order. Clearly this can get quite pricey but you can opt for a budget solution with Ikea frames and a collection of beautiful inexpensive botanical prints. Or you can take your own photographs and have them framed. You will need to measure the entire wall and work out the overall placement. Decide whether you want the distance between all artworks to be the same on the vertical and horizontal section. With an entire wall of images you need to very carefully measure to ensure everything will fit. In the image below it works well to have a wider gap on the vertical than the horizontal line due to the rectangle size of the images but with square images, I prefer the vertical and horizontal gap to be the same width. Image: Belle VivirA gallery wall aligned to a centre pointThere are several ways to use a central point to start a gallery wall: One large artwork in the centre as an anchor with the other artworks surrounding it. I generally like this centre artwork to be a statement piece or it could be something different like a mirror or a quirky piece, for example, a quotation. Image: Honestlywtf.comIn the example above, the statement piece which is different to all the other artworks, is the very dark abstract artwork. This draws your eye in and anchors the collection of artworks. A vertical central line.This doesn't have to be perfect, unless you are into everything perfectly lining up but you need to visually see a line happening to create a little order and balance. I find that groups of artwork with a vertical line work well on a section of a large wall. Because you have height in a wall, the vertical line suits this and it doesn't look odd to have it just to one side. Image: SFGirlbyBayImage: My Scandinavian HomeA horizontal central line.Again, it can be almost implied or exact, depending upon your style and personality! This style is suited to a long hallway where you have a naturally long horizontal line. A gallery wall on a staircase will need several horizontal lines to fill the wall and move with you as you go up and down. A gallery wall aligned to the bottom levelThis is a simple but very effective starting point and works well over a piece of furniture or a sofa as there are two strong horizontal reference points. The artworks and mirrors can then lead up from this in any kind of jumble. Image: We Heart ItA gallery wall aligned to the top levelThis style of gallery wall turns things on their head a little. We expect to have a solid foundation – just like building a house. So you get quite a different feel to your gallery wall if you anchor the artworks from a top line. Great for those of us who like life a little messed up! There isn't a right or wrong just a different effect to create and this will depend so much on the style of the room and how you like items to be placed. Framing artworks – whether to match or notThis really does come down to your personality, the style of the room and the type of gallery wall you select. Generally with a gallery that is all aligned, the beauty is in the perfection and symmetry of the artworks and therefore it makes sense for them to be all framed in the same way. You will find that with an aligned gallery wall, the subject matter will probably be on a theme. Or it may be black and white family photographs. In either case, I like these to be framed the same. Image: Monika HibbsWith any other style of gallery wall, I find it can actually look better if the artworks are framed differently. When it comes to framing an artwork, you really need to look at the piece of art and what suits it the best. The beauty of a large gallery wall that is jumbled up is that you are invited to meander past and look at the pieces individually. These type of walls provide you with lots of interest and it is preferable for each artwork to be individually appreciated and framed to suit, rather than framed for an overall look. Finding a good place to startWhen I am putting a gallery wall together I always lay the artworks on the floor first. I think about whether I would like them aligned at the top or bottom or to a central point and then try them all out in different positions until I get a look that I want to transfer to the wall. More often than not I like to style them along some kind of implied horizontal or vertical line so that you get a jumble of artworks but on a closer look, the design has a foundation. In any case, this is a good guide:
A final point to remember. If you have enough artworks to make a really interesting gallery wall. Or if you have made a gallery wall from family photos. It is quite likely that you will want to build upon your collection. So consider too how you can add to the wall in the future – or start another one! I hope that this has inspired you to put a gallery wall together – let me know if you have or you have any questions or comments below. I would love to hear from you. You may prefer to hang large single artworks or you may like some walls that feature just one piece. I have a post to tell you all about how to display a statement artwork: Related: How to display a statement artwork Are you a keen photographer? If so you should consider turning your beautiful photos into canvas prints that you can display in your home. These are perfect for gallery walls and a fairly inexpensive way to introduce your unique style into the home. Related: How to decorate with canvas prints If you are looking at refreshing and restyling a room you should start with a mood board – I have a free e-book for you to download showing you how to put a mood board together. Download from my FREE Resource Library here. LoginHow do you hang two pictures of different sizes horizontally?When hanging a pair of works, one above the other, treat them as one large picture (whether they're the same or different sizes). Find the center point between them, and use the same 60-inch rule. For spacing between art on the same wall, "Generally, we'll use two inches between larger pictures," says Kassel.
How do you stagger two pictures on a wall?Hanging two pictures staggered? This is optimal with larger pieces. Try staggering them by hanging one lower than the other, so that top and bottom don't match. Grouping larger and smaller pieces asymmetrically helps to create interest and energy.
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