Why do people love gallery walls so much? Maybe for the same reason people love scrapbooking, vision boards, Pinterest, and Instagram. It's a way to gather all of your favorite visuals (family portraits, artwork, travel keepsakes) in one concise space. Who wouldn't love looking at a grouping of their favorite things?!
Gallery walls are also able to work effectively with almost any interior style (modern, eclectic, transitional, farmhouse, traditional, contemporary, glam). It's all about how you design your personal gallery display. There are many ways to achieve a well balanced gallery wall, but here are the two basic styles:
1. Structured: Uses all the same frames (size and color) with similar photos or prints. This is a good idea for someone who appreciates structure and clean lines as opposed to a "unorganized" look. If you are a neat and tidy kind of person who uses labeled organization bins, this might be the type of gallery wall for you. This look has more of a contemporary vibe, and can resemble and Instagram feed.
-2. Organic: Uses a variety of art, photographs, even sculptural pieces (mirrors, string of large wooden beads, woven trays, even cool masks. This type of "gallery" has more of a collected look and tells a more detailed story of your life and your interests. If your look is a bit more whimsical or casual, this might be your jam.
The FIRST STEP is deciding which route to take. Check out the structured and organic gallery walls below...
"Hello Fashion" Blogger Christine Andrew's modern romantic dining room
Fitness and Lifestyle Blogger, Alexa Jean Brown's neat and clean gallery wall. To me, this sort of looks like a very well thought out Instagram feed...in the best way!
"Stella and the Stars" blogger Emilie Jacob has some great gallery wall inspirations. Check out her page at http://www.stellaandthestars.net
This gallery wall uses a symmetrical layout to assure balance, but you can compose a wonderfully balanced asymmetrical grouping as well.
I worked on this gallery wall with a super cool and well-traveled client. She already had 4 travel posters so we created some travel and family themed word art and included some of her travel photos and a few masks that she brought back from a trip. Since we used the same size frames as the travel posters, she can update all of the word art to travel art if she chooses to in the future.
If you're someone who changes your favorite things often, try installing some floating shelves. That way, the shelves are permanent, but the featured items are not. You can update your framed art and photographs as often as you'd like. And if you're using shelves, you can also incorporate beautiful hardcover books, candles, etc.
(design tip: paint them the same color as your wall if you want them to disappear)
I'm kind of obsessed with this image that I've had on my Pinterest board for awhile now. It's such a great way to create interesting, interchangeable, personalized gallery that makes such a statement on this wall. Do you have small wall that this would be just right for?
I hope this gives you some excitement that you too can create the perfect gallery wall for your style and your home. If it seems daunting, just start pinning images you like and eventually you'll learn what style you're drawn too. If you're still intimidated, hey, that's what interior designers and decorators are for! Ask for some help. I'm sure you won't regret it!
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