8 Rules for Creating the Perfect Gallery Wall

How to Hang the Perfect Gallery Wall following these 8 must-have rules!

8 Rules for Creating the Perfect Gallery Wall

I’ve got gallery walls on my mind. Since our recent move, we have no pictures on our walls in our new house instead they are in piles up in our attic. I am eager to see my old friends again! I do want to switch things around though with how I place the pictures on my wall. One thing is for certain is that we don’t have a lot of blank wall space, so I really need to get creative to get all of my artwork on the wall. In our old house we had a number of good gallery walls around the house that always stopped people to stop and enjoy the artwork of pictures. Here are my 10 rules for creating the perfect gallery wall:

8 Rules for Creating the Perfect Gallery Wall

1. Find the Perfect Blank Spot–The larger the wall space the better when creating the perfect gallery wall. Common spots are in a hallway, above a sofa or bed, above a dining room credenza, along the staircase. I have even done a small, narrow gallery wall in a corner section of a room with smaller framed pictures.
2. Measure your space–make sure to leave blank wall space around your perfect gallery wall. You want it to look clean and organized and not cluttered and forced.
3. Choose the Right Wall Layout--There are so many wall layout choices. You really have to consider what kind of framed pictures you have, the style you want to go with and again the size of your wall space. Consider also the design of your room and how the collection will add to it. Some gallery wall ideas are square block frames hanging in a grid, picture frames on a shelf, mix and match frames, or the tetris style similar to the gallery wall above. I also mixed and match the frames.
4. Gather your collection–Figure out what you want to showcase on in your gallery wall. You can make it a wall of all black and white framed pictures or go more eclectic and display keepsakes, prints, mementos, etc. One thing to remember is if you have similar frame pictures then go with a wall layout that is more symmetry. If you have random items than mix up the wall layout with an off-centered, collage style layout.
5. Share your Personality–I think every gallery wall needs to share something about you and the people who live in the home. Whether it is family pictures, a picture you drew, a childhood keepsake or your grandma’s painting, a gallery wall should display a little bit of personality and share a story. That’s what makes gallery walls so wonderful to have in the home.
6. Layout your framed pictures on the ground–Before you start hammering away, layout your gallery wall style on the ground to make sure the space and style would work. Take a picture of it for reference and measure the distance to compare to your wall space.
7. Trace, Cut and Hammer–Before hanging, trace each frame onto newspaper or butcher paper to make a paper mock-up. Cut it out and then play around with the paper mock-up taped to the wall. If you are doing a grid-style, measure the distance between the cut-outs. If you are doing a collage style, hang your biggest and largest cut-out pieces first then work the smaller pieces around them, copying your layout from the pictures on the ground. After, hammer your picture nails right over the cut outs, making sure to measure the distance from the edge to the center of where the picture will hang.
8. Enjoy and Share–sit back and relax and enjoy your gallery picture walls

Here are some gallery picture walls that can been feature on the site:

Some places to shop for cool pictures for a Gallery wall:

• Minted–curated artist paintings
• Framebridge–to frame your pictures
• Etsy–budget-friendly pictures and paintings
• Wayfair–variety of prints and styles
• Artifact Uprising–framing prints
• Society6–modern art prints