Learn how to decorate your home with photos & memories of those you love. Get our 7 hacks for hanging the best gallery wall.
If you’ve been following our blog for a while you know how much we both love decorating homes with photos.
Children grow up in the blink of an eye, don’t they?
And we know just how fast time flies as our nests are beginning to empty as our kids head off to college.
In our opinion, there’s nothing better than surrounding your family with memories captured in photographs.
Photographs are like a return ticket to a memory otherwise forgotten.
-author unknown
A reader once told me that she loved the gallery walls in my living room… she said it “wraps around the room like a hug”.
I loved that description of my home because that’s exactly what I want our house to feel like for our family.
So now that you know how passionate I am about photo decorating…
Let’s figure out just how to decorate your wall with all your memories and amazing pictures.
And you’re not going to want to miss my best hack at the end of this post!
Where Can You Add a Gallery Wall?
Oh my goodness…the options are endless!
Add a gallery wall to your front entryway.
Or a bedroom in your home?
What about in your family room?
Maybe even in your office!
You can add a gallery wall just about anywhere in your home!
Because you should decorate your home with things that bring you joy and if photos add happiness to your life then create a display with them!
Anne’s entryway gallery wall is filled with family photos in black frames of different styles.
She also included canvas prints in her display but choose a black edge to coordinate with the black frames.
In my home, I hung photos on the wall going up our stairs.
This staircase gallery wall was created with different black frame styles and sizes.
A large farmhouse-style gallery wall spans two walls in my living room.
I styled these walls with farmhouse decor, family photos with a variety of picture frames, and a few canvas prints too.
In our family room, I filled a tall blank wall with a canvas grid-style gallery wall.
The lights over the top row of canvas photo prints not only add more height to the display but they provide light to the gallery in the evening.
Another simple modern grid-style gallery wall in my daughter’s bedroom was created with inexpensive white frames.
Using the same frame allows you to hang your display in a grid pattern.
7 Hacks for Hanging Gallery Walls
If you follow these 7 tips when hanging your gallery wall you’ll create a beautiful display of memories for your home.
And you may even start adding gallery walls everywhere in your house like me! LOL
1. Choose a Style or Theme for your Gallery Wall Display
Is your home modern, traditional, or farmhouse style?
Knowing the style of your home will help you decide the style of the frames to use to create your display.
Do you like the clean lines of modern frames in the same size and shape?
Then a gallery wall in a grid format may be the way to go.
Or maybe you prefer something a bit more free form with frames in different sizes and shapes?
Don’t forget to think about the color of the frames.
Do you want them all to be the same color or do you want a mix of colors and frame textures?
2. Gather Photos and Wall Art to Hang
Gallery walls can be created with photos, artwork, or a combination of both.
You’ll need to decide which you prefer.
If you are planning a symmetrical photo wall, be sure to get all your pictures printed in the same orientation.
Will you be hanging your photos vertically or horizontally?
3. Preview Gallery Wall on Floor
I always lay out the frames I’m using to create my gallery wall on the floor and then move them around until I get the look I want.
Seeing how each picture frame or piece of art looks together is helpful when gathering your frames.
They may not all work together and you may have to look for other options that will fit better.
4. Make Paper Templates before Hanging Gallery Wall
After I have all the frames that I want to use in a gallery wall I get to work making templates out of kraft paper.
It’s super easy to just trace each frame onto the kraft paper and cut out the template.
Once you have all your templates, then tape each one onto your wall with painter’s tape.
Painter’s tape will allow you to easily move the templates around on your wall.
Create the layout you want for your gallery wall with the paper templates and live with it for a bit.
You can adjust the templates and move them around until you get the perfect layout for your gallery wall
5. How to Space Picture Frames for Gallery Wall
The key to a beautiful gallery wall is to make sure you space all of the frames and artwork evenly.
Also, it’s really important to maintain the same spacing between the ceiling and floor when hanging your frames.
Use a small level to ensure that your picture frames are straight as you are hanging them.
I find it easiest to start with the center or focal piece of the gallery and move out from the middle when I hang a gallery wall.
6. What’s the Best Way to Hang a Photo Frame?
Believe me, I’ve hung lots of gallery walls over the years and nothing works better than command strips!
Frames hung with nails can shift and look crooked which means you’ll constantly have to adjust and straighten them.
Nobody’s got time for that!
With command strips, your artwork will stay put and won’t move.
Plus, there won’t be any damage to the walls if you want to rearrange your display.
Or even take all the wall decor down.
7. What’s the Best Hack for Hanging a Gallery Wall?
The absolute best hack I have for you when hanging a gallery wall is to take a step back.
When you’re right on top of the wall hanging those paper templates make sure you step way back to look at the entire wall and room.
Taking a step back will allow you to be sure your spacing is good between frames and within your gallery wall display.
And when the last frame is finally hung remember to step back and check that all your frames are straight.
Remember anything out of line can always be fixed since you hung your gallery wall with command strips.
Now go hang that beautiful gallery wall of memories in your home!
I promise you’ll love it!!
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