Tips for Planning & Making Your Timeless Gallery Wall, Including Layout Examples 

Gallery walls offer a beautiful and personal way to add character to your home while filling blank wall spaces. Designing a gallery wall is simple with your favorite art, photos, 3D elements, and textile hangings. Best of all, you don't need much space to make it work. Read on to discover our top gallery wall ideas and tips for creating the look you want – whether it’s fresh and modern or vintage charm.

What is a Gallery Wall?

A gallery wall, or photo wall, is a curated collection of wall art arranged in a grouping. To create one, use framed prints and photos, memorabilia, paintings, sculptural objects, and more. It's an easy way to add personality to any room. Gallery walls also bring visual interest to unexpected areas of your home.

Whether casual, eclectic, or artfully modern, gallery walls suit any style of decor. They make use of vertical and horizontal space, adding color, texture, and dimension to the room. When it comes to arranging your gallery wall, the possibilities are endless. Keep reading to learn more about how to create a gallery wall and the various design options available.

How to Plan a Gallery Wall

Creating the perfect gallery wall layout requires some planning. Keep in mind, there is no right or wrong way to create a gallery wall – there are no rules! However, if you want some ideas of how to start your plan, we’ve got you covered.

Wall Gallery Layout Tips

One option we recommend is to start by laying out the picture frames and artwork on the ground to visualize the arrangement and spacing. Ensure a balanced mix of materials and colors, and a smooth visual flow from one piece to the next. Capture visual interest by varying sizes, spacing, medium and more.

Another effective technique is to map out the frame arrangement directly on the wall using paper. Trace each frame onto paper, cut out the shapes, and tape them to the wall. This allows you to easily adjust the layout until you achieve the desired balance. Once satisfied, use the paper templates as guides for placing nails and hanging hardware. We recommend positioning wall art at eye level; however, if you have higher ceilings, you can arrange your gallery wall higher for a dramatic effect.

Another way to visualize your gallery layout is to measure the wall space and create a document on your computer to mimic the wall and all the art pieces, including sizing of everything. This way you can quickly and easily rearrange the pieces in a virtual area. Whether you are using a more linear layout of a free-flowing arrangement, you will be able to get a good feel for what your wall gallery will look like all while sitting at your computer.

An additional consideration when laying out your wall gallery is to get a sense of how many art pieces you would like to use and what look you are trying to achieve. You’ll need to balance your space and style with the number of art pieces to use.

Overall, when designing your wall gallery, you’ll want to aim for harmony and symmetry. It doesn’t need to be perfectly analyzed and spaced; it just needs to give off the right overall vibe you are looking to achieve.



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Wall Gallery Sizing and Spacing Tips

The beauty of a gallery wall is that you can choose photo frames and artwork that are the same size, or you can mix it up and use a variety of sizes to give a more eclectic look.

If using art pieces of different sizes, it is best to use the largest towards the centre of the wall gallery. This allows your wall gallery to have more balance. It is also better to not position the largest piece in the precise centre, otherwise it will draw the eye and make that piece the centre of attention, unless that’s your goal. In addition, you’ll likely want to keep the next largest art piece away from the largest to allow for overall balance on your gallery wall.

Using these tips also allows space between the larger pieces on your wall gallery to position your smaller pieces, letting you to play with balance. Ensure that you consider appropriate spacing between art pieces to avoid a crowded look or too spaced out. It’s really a matter of your own personal taste if you want a cleaner, spaced out look or a full, closely spaced wall gallery.

Choosing a Wall Gallery Theme

When selecting pieces for your wall gallery, you’ll likely want to focus on a specific theme and/or colour palette. Think about what you want to focus on for your theme and ensure it works within the room; your theme could be design-based like modern farmhouse or contemporary artwork, or it could be topic-based like family portraits, travel, entertainment, or achievements. Alternately, you could pull together a variety of art pieces by using a colour palette to pull it all together. A great way to figure out your wall gallery style and theme is to explore social media for inspiration.

It is best to start with the photos and art pieces you already have and then shop for additional pieces that work with your vision. This could mean buying art pieces or it could mean displaying what you have in different ways like metal photo print, lightbox fabric frame, photo canvas, or photo frames. Explore a variety of different ways to display your photos – it might spark some ideas for your wall gallery!

Embrace Variety with Your Wall Gallery

When planning your wall gallery, remember… there are no hard and fast rules. In fact, the more creative your choices, the more stunning your wall gallery will be! The point of a wall gallery is to capture attention and create visual interest so don’t be afraid to lean into eclectic. How?

• Mix it up with different sizes, shapes, and orientations – adding some round pieces can break up angular rectangles and squares
• Choose diverse photo frames – colours, sizes, and styles – that work together without looking to chaotic
• Use a variety of mediums in your wall gallery: artwork, photos, 3D objects, memorabilia, a toy from your childhood, ceramics, textiles, mirrors, children’s artwork, and more – nothing is off limits
• Incorporate a photo book – creating a photo book with a window on the cover that works with the theme of the wall gallery allows for variety and interactivity – for example, if your wall gallery is travel themed, you can create a photo book for different vacation destinations and add them to a shelf of the wall, allowing guests to take a deeper dive into your wall gallery

Celebrate Your Creativity in Your Wall Gallery

Using artwork to enliven a blank wall is a fun and creative way to showcase your favorite memories and art while adding visual interest to a room. Although curating the right pieces may seem challenging at first, understanding these few design tips can help you create a stunning gallery wall.

When learning how to make a wall gallery for your home, remember that there are no strict rules—just simple guidelines to help you achieve the look you are going for.

If you need any help with creating your wall gallery, reach out to the experts at Annex Photo.