Creating your own Gallery Wall
I am a big collector of art, and pretty much anything that sparks happy memories or provides inspiration.
What started as one wall of my home that we would hang our favorite memories on, has now become four separate gallery walls. This could quickly look like a hoarding situation if one isn't strategic about it.
My strategy?
Paint your walls a neutral color to avoid the "circus look" in your home. This doesn't seem like something I would promote, boring neutrals and whites?!? But if you like to decorate with color, or with different prints and patterns then white is the way to go. I still swear by Benjamin Moore, Decorators White. It has a just the slight hint of gray to keep the feel fresh and modern.
Another designer tip?
Paint all the walls on the main floor the same neutral color. It keeps your decor cohesive and helps keep a flow from room to room. I learned this lesson back in 2003, after Kevin and I painted each room in our first house a different color. You couldn't leave our house without a headache ;)
For the gallery wall above my couch, I framed several of my colored inspirational prints.
To make this work, the frames need to be in a similar family. So even though they are all different colors, words, and sizes- the gold frame unifies them into a cohesive collection. Magic!
My favorite, rainbow-painted stairs! Check out my post from last year where I explain how I created this cheerful look.
As for the stairwell gallery wall, this one has its own theme. Animals and kids art. Which is perfection for a house full of animal lovers and kids.
My sister is a talented watercolor painter, and so I have an adorable collection of different favorite creatures to put on display (a pig, elephant, giraffe, and a squirrel we lovingly named Gus- to name a few.) I also sprinkled in our dog illustrations from Noble Friends which I adore. And of course some of the boy’s best paintings from school. Sully’s owl though!?
To add some three-dimensional details, I purchased a few air plants* and found some resin planters to stick on the wall with command strips.
This could NOT be simpler!
*Have no idea what an air plant is? No, it's not a fake plant! They are alive and surprisingly thriving in my care. As long as you soak the tops in water once a week, they will live almost anywhere. This is a huge relief to people like me.**
**People "like me" that kill most house plants, even "hard-to-kill" succulents!
This smorgasbord of things may seem too busy to hang on one wall together. But the secret is really just sticking to a color scheme, and limiting the frame finishes to one or two (I used gold again, mixed with warm natural wood.) If the art is something you love, then that simply could be the theme right there.
What i love about this gallery wall is that you can just keep adding to it. Find something cute on vacation? Add it to the wall!
Like my gallery walls? Create your own with our color inspirational prints. Message me!
You can switch them out seasonally like I do, when your mood changes or you want to freshen things up.
Good luck, friends!
Share your gallery walls with me, I would love to see and share, and can offer advice if you need it.
Some of my new favorite prints include:
Earth Day Rainbow. Square Print
Amanda Gorman Inauguration Poem, 11x14 print
Love & Basketball Print, 8x10 (signed by Jim and Juli Boeheim!)
Annie xo