You don’t need to be a classically-trained artist to “hang” a gallery wall at home.
The term gallery wall is actually quite all-encompassing. It can refer to paintings, photographs, posters, prints or any other form of visual expression that you enjoy. A gallery wall usually consists of multiple framed (or not) pieces that cover a fairly large surface area. This way, the impact of an individual piece is multiplied and the overall effect is much more impressive.
Putting together a gallery wall is all about your individual preferences (and keeping the rest of the room clean to point attention towards the artwork on the wall). Still, if you need a bit of guidance to execute the project successfully, you can count on a few simple and practical tips.
Many people think they need to have art pieces belonging to the same style or colour scheme in order to ensure gallery wall consistency.
This is one way to look at the project but it’s not the only option.
You’ll find it much easier to design and hang a gallery wall by coming up with a topic or a theme.
Because you’re using multiple visual pieces, you could be telling a story. Go for something personal, emotional, touching or inspirational. It’s really up to you to decide what message you’re going to deliver. When you have an overall concept, you’ll find it much easier to select individual visual pieces that work together as a collective.
Picture Perfect Placement
It’s a good idea to come up with a placement pattern before hanging the gallery wall.
There are templates you can use for the purpose. Alternatively, know the dimensions and orientation of each art piece. This information will help you determine the kind of placement that will work best.
In some instances, people will go for linear placement or a grid. This gallery wall is very structured and mathematically precise. The individual pieces are aligned with each other and the space between an artwork and another one is consistent.
Alternatively, you can opt for placement that seems random but isn’t really so. A vertical piece could be placed next to a horizontal one. What matters here is having some sort of structure to follow. Proper planning will help you populate the space in an aesthetic way, without making one section of the wall or another too heavy on artwork.
By determining the placement in advance, you’ll also get to decide what kinds of frames are best and how big each individual frame should be.
Let the Frames Make a Statment
Speaking of frames, they could also tell a story and help you achieve an even more dramatic effect.
There are so many possibilities to explore when it comes to framing art.
Traditional, ornate wooden frames add opulence and some bohemian charm to your gallery wall. If the artworks themselves are very colourful and detailed, simple and clean frames would work best. You can also feature frames that have different colours and shapes (squares, triangles, rectangles) to make the overall statement much more dynamic and engaging.
If you don’t know how to approach framing, consider buying art pieces that are already professionally framed. Alternatively, get some help from an interior design professional. Frames could enforce a particular interior design style, which is why you’d want to make the right selection.
Try a Mixed Media Gallery Wall
Sometimes, you’ll do a ton of research to discover inspiration. Still, traditional gallery walls aren’t going to tickle your fancy. You’ll experience the sort of disconnect that tells you the styling is simply not the best idea for your home.
In such instances, you may want to experiment with gallery wall ideas that are a bit more unorthodox.
A mixed media gallery wall is one such opportunity.
Mixed media refers to combining different kinds of artworks and not just paintings. Your gallery wall could feature pictures, ceramics, wall sculptures, mosaic pieces, pottery, textiles and anything else that stylistically enhances the overall idea.
There are many tremendous mixed media executions you can see by doing a simple online search. While ensuring visual consistency is a bit more difficult with this kind of gallery wall, the final result can be truly stunning if you play your cards right.
This is our final tip and more often than not, it produces amazing results.
Most people would place a gallery wall behind the sofa in the living room. Instead of doing so, choose an entire wall that’s visible and cover it from top to bottom.
Alternatively, hang empty frames that don’t contain any artwork at all. This unusual idea will make such a massive statement that you wouldn’t need anything else to make the living room décor complete.
Don’t be afraid of being bold and out there. If you believe in the concept and it’s not just a snobbish attempt to do something different, the outcome will be raw and emotionally-impactful.
At Home Guide, we’re ready to get inspired by your ideas and take them to the next level. Don’t be afraid of sharing your gallery wall concept with us. We’d be honoured to bring the vision to reality. Contact us now to start working on a more artistic and inspiring living space together.
