There’s something undeniably charming about a gallery wall but if the idea feels a bit overwhelming – don’t worry. You don’t need to be an interior designer to put one together. It just takes a little planning, a bit of adjusting, and a few nails or picture strips.
Start with a little inspiration
Before you buy anything, take some time to figure out what style of gallery wall you’re drawn to. Browse Pinterest, flip through home magazines or think of gallery walls you’ve seen in cafes, pubs, or in your friend’s homes.
Think about what you love: clean and minimal, or eclectic and layered? Uniform frames or a mix of sizes and finishes? A neat grid or something a bit more organic? There’s no right answer – just what feels right for your space.
Choose what to display
Now for the fun part – gathering your wall art. It could be anything you want to display including art prints, family photos, postcards, ticket stubs from your travels, vintage finds from a Sunday market, even your children’s drawings (framed properly, they can look brilliant).
You don’t need to spend a fortune either. Affordable art prints are easy to find on websites like Desenio, Fy! or Etsy. Lots of artists also sell work directly through Instagram or their own sites – so it’s a great chance to support small businesses at the same time.
Play with layout before committing
Once you’ve gathered your pieces, lay them all out on the floor. Move things around until it feels balanced. This is your chance to experiment – try putting different colours next to each other, mixing horizontal and vertical pieces and leaving different size spaces between the frames.
If you’re the meticulous type, you can even trace your frames onto newspaper or brown paper, cut them out, and tape them to the wall with Blu Tack. It’s a great way to visualise your layout before you start hammering anything in.
Ready to hang
Start with your central piece and work outwards. You can measure if you like (especially if you’re aiming for a symmetrical grid), but for a looser, more organic look, it’s fine to eyeball it – just use a spirit or laser level to make sure things aren’t wonky.
If you don’t want to commit to drilling into the walls, Command Strips are a lifesaver. They hold surprisingly well and won’t leave a mark if you want to adjust things later.
Step back and enjoy the view
Once everything’s up, take a step back. Does anything feel off-balance? It’s perfectly normal to tweak a few things once you see it all together. And remember, a gallery wall isn’t set in stone – it can evolve as your style and life change. Swap pieces in and out, add to it over time, or move things around seasonally.
So go on – dust off those old frames, print those holiday photos, and turn that blank wall into a corner of your home that tells your story.
