I used to view the empty walls of my apartment like a blank page in Microsoft word – utterly daunting. There’s so much that you can do to a blank wall that it seems overwhelming at times. That would help explain why 5 months after moving into my new apartment, there’s still nothing hanging on the walls. But after the last few weeks of hunting down a few more prints and pieces of wall art, I’m finally ready to hang my next gallery wall!
If you remember my first apartment in New York City, I had a pretty epic gallery(s) wall that spread over two walls. My room was pretty small with an epic view of the Brooklyn Bridge & the East River. I decided I was either going to go a very minimal route with a small frame or two so that the focus of the room would be out the window and at my view… or just go crazy with a maojor gallery wall. I chose the latter. I had never compiled a gallery wall before, but I scoured the internet for prints and reached out to friends who were photographers to purchase their work. I wanted a maximalist cluster of art + prints to adorn my walls, and I had no clue what I was doing.
The good thing about creating gallery walls is that there are no rules! Have fun with them and experiment – as long as you love all the pieces on the wall, they’ll work. There definitely are some “best practices” to keep in mind and things that I’ve learned along the way that I’ll share with you! Below I’ve compiled two lists of where I like to look for art + prints and also 7 helpful tips for building your own gallery wall!
Here are a few stores & sites that have a great collection of prints, photographs, and wall art. It’s my go-to when first trying to fill out a gallery wall. I typically will aim to get get my bigger prints or “hero” pieces from one of these spots!
Print houses:
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And here is a list of great works from photographers and artists that I’m really digging. I feel like they’re all over the place in terms of what they offer, so will hopefully add some variety to your wall! I’m always compiling new artists to this list, so let me know if there are any that you love!
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Photographers & Artists:
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There are quite a few internet framing services out there and I used Framebridge to frame most of my large-format prints. They make it so easy to get custom frames for art, prints, or literally anything you’d like to get framed. With free shipping and hand-built pieces, Framebridge is definitely the way to go if you’re hanging anything on your walls!
I’ve laid out some things that I learned along the way while constructing my gallery wall and hopefully have some tips for making your very own:
- Layout your design on the floor. Before committing to the wall, mix & match your frames & items out on the floor to get a good idea of how you want them to be mounted. I then cut out pieces of butcher paper in the sizing of all my frames and then taped them to the wall to get an even better visual of how the wall will flow.
- Use painter’s tape to measure out the distance between frames. This was a little trick I used to make the spacing was all even! You can use one width or double-up and use two (or three!) so that all your spacing is consistent.
- Pick a color theme or cohesive look. This will give your gallery wall a nice flow – whether its’ earth tones or pops of one color!
- Start with the largest pieces. Your “hero” piece(s) will be the focal point of the wall and draw the most attention. Then fill in your gallery with the smaller items.
- Shake things up. Play around with hanging horizontals & verticals. Use different frames – or no frames at all! And have fun with it – try adding in some textured pieces or unconventional items!
- Add something personal. This is a nice touch to give your wall a bit more personality! Add a love letter or memento from childhood – I added my old passport and a clock that was set to LA-time, where my bf at the time was living!
- Mount! You can go the hammer + nail route, but if you’re a bit noncommital like me, I’d suggest using 3M Command Strips. All of the frames below were mounted without using a single nail. If you get bored or want to switch things around down the road, it’s a breeze!
Do you have any print shops that you’ve been loving or artists that adorn your walls? Be sure to let me know if I’m missing out on any! As I’m decorating my new apartment in the city, get ready for some new content and more posts surrounding interiors, furniture & styling! Excited to be exploring all of these a bit more!
Stay Risky,
– John
