Hi and welcome to a new and inspiring week on decor8! I have several lovely posts planned for you, so let’s start with 8 Simple Tips For Creating a Gallery Art Wall since this is my follow up in my two-part series on creating a gallery style wall of art and objects in your home. The first post, 4 Ways To Select Art + Objects for a Gallery Art Wall, is a good place to start so please hop on over and read that if you’ve not already done so. So dear friend, are you ready to get started? Okay good, let’s discuss how to further plan an art wall like a pro.

Isn’t this wall arrangement near this bed so harmonious and serene? Like everything in home decor and design, there really is a rhyme and reason behind everything regardless of how many times you hear people (mostly pros) say that they just “threw it together” or “winged it”. That may work once you have loads of hands-on experience, but for most people who approach something for the first time, it’s not so easy. It may LOOK easy, but it’s often not. That’s what I’m here for today, to be your decor-savvy friend who can help you to avoid a wall full of nail holes, spackle marks, or much worse - an art wall that doesn’t look as amazing as you’d hoped.

I’ll try to make this as easy as possible in a 8 steps.

How do you plan an art wall? Let’s see first…

1/ DECIDE ON THE SPACE AND HOW THE SPACE IS USED/WHO USES IT

When I plan an art wall, I first decide on the space and how much wall space that I have to work with. I think also about how the location affects the art… Will this art wall be in my hallway or above my bed? Over the sofa? If you have young children, a huge art wall over a sofa or any piece of furniture that kids like to stand or jump on, is generally not the best idea so wait until they are older or you can move the piece of furniture to another wall or place it off-center. If you want to put art in your hallway, consider the amount of traffic in and out of that space daily and if pets or kids could somehow damage it. If you’re putting art over a bed, it’s a good idea to avoid glass and go with plexi. Don’t put fine art or special prints near windows because sunlight can fade or ruin art - if they are close to natural light, find acid-free framing materials.

2/ WHAT TO USE

Look around your home. I first rummage through what I currently own that hasn't been hung yet, or I look at what is on walls in other rooms and imagine using those pieces in a larger context, as in my new art wall. If you have extra cash to buy everything at once, or maybe you are on a deadline, there are myriads of online shops where you can find art like Desenio in Germany or Minted in North America and in those shops, you can buy an entire wall of art in a few clicks.

For more help and ideas as to what to use, refer to my previous post here: 4 Ways To Select Art + Objects for a Gallery Art Wall

3/ WHAT VIBE ARE YOU GOING FOR?

Once you know what you have to work with, gather them together and honestly check in on the vibes. Do you absolutely love each piece that you plan to hang? Does it bring a good feeling to you when you look at it? Do the colors and themes honestly work in the room?

What do you want this arrangement of work to convey?

Think of some keywords.

The quickest way to achieve this is through color and themes that fit your keywords. Maybe your words are Travel, Fashion, French, Paris, Love. Or perhaps they are Pastels, Scandinavian, Pure, Minimalist, Floral. Perhaps you have less restrictions, you just want a wall that makes you feel energized and happy and contains the colors that are currently in the rug on the floor, or you wish to pick up some of the print from a sofa or chair.

Other questions worth asking when choosing your art and objects can be:

Do you plan to show favorite patterns and shapes, colors or a theme -like that you love to travel?
Are you showing only family photos?
Do you want to mix paintings with photography?
Will you mix original works with prints and even three dimensional objects, like porcelain objects, old keys, rulers, etc.?

4/ SELECTING FRAMES

I talked about frames and mats here, but I’ll elaborate a bit more... As far as frame colors go, neutrals all tend to work well together - white, natural wood and black. Try to stick to 2 neutrals with one accent - like black and natural wood frames (all the same wood) and maybe a few accent frames in the same color - like cream if you want a very neutral accent, or sage green for something not so bold… You can also have your accent frames be bold like a few in the same color of red or yellow.

When you introduce a metallic, or stained woods, colored frames, etc. things can start to become visually distracting so the goal is to create UNITY between your frames no matter what. Don’t go too crazy. In most cases, you don’t want the frame to be the focal point, but the artwork.

I also believe the frame shouldn’t contrast with the art too much, unless you are working with a monochromatic scheme (black art, white frame). So if you have a dark plum-color painting then having it framed in natural wood or black is more complementary and warmer - a stark white frame would make the contrast too great in my opinion.

Frame width is also important. Do you want them super slim, a few inches wide, or wider? Lots of country-style frames tend to be wood and more chunky. Modern art galleries favor slim frames for works-behind-glass. Think pencil width. Some art is even in plexiglass “boxes” which is lovely for a few works. It's your choice and really about preference more than anything. If you like it, who cares if it's not typical or common. Just aim for harmony and unity in your wall arrangement. You can also mix up frame width, but if you have a lot of different widths, try to unify them by making sure they are all in the same color.

5 / FRAME MATTING

I like work that is framed and matted but I ‘m also content with just framed work for some prints which means the print will go to the edges, right against the frame, without a matt border. Mostly, when I do go with matting I go with pure white or pale linen. It depends on the print and the room, but either works very nicely. White shows off the work 100%, linen adds texture and warmth. Most gallery walls have a mix - some prints that are not matted, others that are. In general, remember that if you add a matt to any print, it increases the overall size of the piece - so if you have a favorite print and you really want to make it stand out, add a matted frame around it so it’s the large artwork on your wall (see example above over the bed).

6/ LAY IT OUT

It’s important to measure the wall and then, using the floor in front of the wall you plan to install everything, lay it all out and play with the arrangement until it looks right. You can also create (using brown paper) the arrangement by tacking up pieces that are the same size as your artwork to get the space right. To do this, simply lay the art work on top of brown paper, trace it with a pencil, and cut it out and use the brown paper on the wall with tape (I use MT Tape branded washi tape) that doesn’t remove paint. If you are working with new frames because all of your prints are brand new, use the paper that comes with the frames. All frames have that typically white or gray piece of paper inside of them, use those to tack on the wall. There are even planners on some websites now that help you to plan a gallery wall using their artwork, but that only helps if you are buying all of the work from them.

7/ DISTANCE FROM FLOOR/FURNITURE

Another important step is to make sure the center of the art wall arrangement is approximately 57-58” from the floor (145 cm) unless it’s above a sofa, table, or bed - then the bottom of your lowest piece should be at least 6-8 inches above the furniture.

8/ SPACING BETWEEN FRAMES + ODD NUMBERS

As for the spacing between frames, it’s good to make the spacing the same between pieces, but if you can’t, at least stay within 10 cm, so anything between 3-10 cm is a good rule of thumb.

I tend to count my art too. If I have 8 pieces, I will add a 9th, because I think even numbers don’t work as well as your eye tends to pair everything, so go with a grouping of 3, 5, 7, etc. for a gallery art wall.

See, it’s not that hard - if you create an art gallery wall, comment below with a link so I can see it!

Have a wonderful day.

Love,

Holly

NOTE: This post is NOT sponsored, gifted, or paid in anyway.

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