I love gallery walls. They’re such a great way to add personality to a space, and can turn a big blank wall into a room’s focal point. I just wish I had another blank wall! I’ve made a number of gallery walls for this post, to show you some great art as well as how to lay them out to create a cohesive whole. Most of these pieces are from Society6, where every purchase directly supports the artist! I have a few prints from S6 and the quality is amazing. They also offer framed prints!
I’m going to break down each gallery wall, why it works, and what design principles you can take away. Hopefully this post inspires you to hang up some frames!
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Choose a color palette – In this case I used warm neutrals, beige, and dark green/teal. The idea is to pepper each color throughout the composition in order to create movement and lead the eye around the whole gallery wall. The brightest piece (with the pink background) is in the middle to catch attention. The more neutral pieces surround it, and the pops of green/teal create a diagonal line through the composition.
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Use an anchor piece – I love this way of laying out a gallery wall, especially if you have one larger piece but it’s not quite big enough for your wall. In this case the horse print serves as the anchor; because of it’s size, yes, but also because it’s high-contrast. Notice also how the pops of black create a diagonal line through the composition and keep the eye engaged.
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Play with angles – Another example of an anchor piece, but this time with the whole gallery wall at an angle. This is a great option if you’re putting art on a stairway or if you have a tall piece of decor that could cover some of the art. But you could use this composition anywhere, the key is to make sure it’s visually balanced. Since the colors are very soft, the little pops of black carry a lot of visual weight. I put the art with black in it on opposite sides so they help balance the whole composition. This is one of my favorites, and I’m thinking of buying the piece in the middle! I just love the calming neutrals.
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Create balance – An anchor piece doesn’t have to be the largest! In this case, it’s the one with the most visual weight; the gorgeous deep blue ocean print. Although two of the pieces around it are larger, they’re also lighter. I made a rough X-shape with the composition to keep it balanced; if both larger pieces were lower, or on one side, it might feel like the whole thing is going to topple over. I find it helps to unfocus your eyes a bit to see if one side feels heavier than the other.
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Use an anchor line – If you don’t have an anchor piece, consider an anchor line. The horizontal line of negative space that these pieces are aligned to keeps the composition from looking haphazard. Make sure to vary sizes/orientations and distribute them throughout to create balance.
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Take advantage of directional lines – Even though this gallery wall isn’t big, it still creates a lot of visual movement and interest. Even though the heaviest piece (the plant photo) is at the corner, it works because the directional lines of the leaves point the eye back to the beach print. Then the angle of the water leads the eye up and then down through the abstract stack print back to the plant in a captivating circular motion.
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Keep it simple – Sometimes a simple layout, in this case a triptych, really has a big impact. All of these pieces are powerful on their own, but together they’re amplified. I created balance by placing the visually heaviest piece (the hands) in the middle. It serves to hold the composition together, while the abstracts on either side bounce the eye between them.
How I Plan A Layout
Lay all your frames out on the floor in front of the wall (or on the bed/couch/any flat surface – basically you want to be able to see your wall and your layout at the same time). If you don’t have your pieces yet, you could always use empty frames or cut craft paper into the sizes of your art.
Then just play around with your composition! Since you’re not actually hanging anything at this point, experiment and see what works. I find it helpful to take a photo of each iteration to compare them, plus you can hold up your phone to the wall to get a better idea of how it’ll look.
With any design decision, I feel like it can help to walk away for a bit and then come back and see how you feel about your layout. It can really help to just reset your eyes so to speak!
Frames
When choosing frames, I like to either keep them all the same or have them obviously different from each other so there’s clear contrast (like both black and white frames or light and dark wood tones together). You can use frames to adjust the visual weight of your pieces. For example, a black frame makes a light colored print feel more substantial and can help it become an anchor piece, while a white or light wood frame around a darker print can lighten it up.
Matting is just as important. Pairing a larger frame and wide matting with a smaller print is a great way to help that little piece of art make a bigger statement. The width of your matting also affects how open or cluttered your gallery wall feels overall. For an airy look, try frames and matting that give your pieces lots of room to breathe.
Tips & Ideas
When choosing your pieces, consider the color palette in your home. It doesn’t need to be super matchy-matchy, but your art should call to the colors in the room. You don’t need a lot: one turquoise throw pillow and a few pieces of art with pops of turquoise or related colors are enough to create cohesion if distributed throughout the room.
Unless you’re doing an intentionally structured gallery wall (like a triptych or grid), vary the sizes and orientations of your pieces! Make sure to pepper them throughout the composition.
Try adding in family photos for a personal touch, or make an entire gallery wall of them.
You can add in objects too, like wall mounted sculptures, macrame, weavings, etc; basically if you can hang it on a wall, it can be worked into a gallery wall. In my living room, I have an X-shaped gallery wall with plant pockets and a little wall hanging.
If your TV is on a big wall, try building a gallery wall around it. Make sure to add some pops of black to incorporate the TV.
