I love a good gallery wall!!

Are you staring at a big, blank, wall above your sofa, going up your stair wall, or down a long hallway?

A gallery wall could be your best solution.

1600s- The gallery wall was first known as a salon wall.

This dates back to the 1600s when the French would utilize them in the late seventeenth century. At first, these “salon walls” were used to display a myriad of different-sized, and different textured art, in one space.

Gallery walls are a timeless way to show an eclectic and accumulated collection. You can use the concept of the gallery wall and go from Vintage to modern with it. Either way, it’s a style of decoration for any space that encourages an assortment of works splayed across the wall. It’s perfect for people who want to show some character in their space, show off their art collections, or just share what’s deeply personal to them.

Don’t know where to start? Do you have a bunch of family photos you love that are sitting in a box hidden away? Get them out if the box, dress them up with frames of all kinds, and enjoy them every day. Baby pictures, graduation photos, wedding photos, or grouping a series of photos. They can be all in black and white, all colors, or both blended.

If you are an art lover or collector and have many pieces you do not know where to place, instead of placing one huge piece of art on the wall, find many that you love or already have, put the big one in the middle, and arrange the medium and smaller ones around it. Be sure not to go too small with everything. You will need a variety of sizes to balance out the wall. Unless….you like things symmetrical you can hang a set of something all the same size, same subject matter, and the same frames spaced perfectly apart on all sides like botanicals, maps, or animal/insect prints. Really, anything goes!

Maps of places you have been or want to go. Maps of where you were born and have lived throughout your life, antique maps are my favorite. I just did a gallery wall with maps for a client that loves The Great Apes, so we found where each species lives and had maps blown up and framed for each region.

You can go Plain and simple or super complex with many different elements along with the framed art such as antlers, mirrors, heck, you can do a whole wall of mirrors, or antique decorative plates!

A mix of different collected pieces using a variety of different frames. Gallery walls are great when they show the character of their owner, and using the same frame can look a bit… dull.

If you are just starting out and don’t have a lot of collections or photos yet, or, if you already have personal things you want to display but don’t know where to start, hire a professional. An interior designer can work wonders with your treasured pieces. I, myself as an interior designer will gather my clients’ pieces to be framed then will call on my art installer to have them hung perfectly spaced and symmetrical after we get together with a vision and lay everything out on the floor in front of the large wall he will hang everything. Usually, the heavier or higher pieces that I cannot hang myself. If I am hanging it, I usually go freestyle and hang each piece by eye.

I have seen some Tik Tok tutorials where you can use a large piece of craft paper to place pieces on the floor then transfer the paper to the wall to hang the nails, remove the paper, then hang your pieces. Anyone can do it! For reference call your interior designer or if you are a DIYer just look up a YouTube video.

Now get to gathering your collection and make that big blank wall the center of attention!