Let's create a gallery wall!

Do you have blank walls and a stack of artwork hanging around? Let’s get them on the wall!!

Firstly, a definition: the style of hanging pictures close together in a 'gallery wall' is known as a ‘salon hang' named after European 'salons' in which the paintings were densely arranged from floor to ceiling, starting in France in the 17th century.

Here’s some tips I’ve learned over the years to create a gallery wall that is perfect the first time.

 Step 1: Choose your theme...

If you have lots of artworks or lots of bare walls, you might like to decide on a cohesive look. it doesn’t have to be rigid - your theme might be ‘eclectic’!

You can choose a subject matter, or group them by colour or mood or the colour and style of the frames or mat board.

If you want a fun and happy vibe you could choose all bright and colourful artworks, or black and white or gold if you want something more sophisticated or vintage.

If you feel that your artworks are too eclectic and don’t have a theme, you could paint the wall in one colour or wallpaper it, which will unite the artworks.

Yes of course I chose orange. 😂😊🧡 I only like warm colours around me, but if you prefer emerald green or burgundy or deep ocean blue, please imagine that instead. 😊💎

You could also use all ornate vintage frames, paint your frames all one colour, or choose second-hand aged wooden frames.

This stunning gallery wall is united by the use of gold, black and dark wood with ornate frames. Thank you Tena Smith for letting me share this. check out Tena on insta here or on facebook here

 Step 2: Start collecting!

Collect prints, photos, and paintings that fit your chosen theme. You can mix different sizes and orientations for a dynamic look.

You can also include elements like mirrors, wall hangings, or collected objet d'art to add variety.

You don’t need to spend a lot.

Print out your favourite photos and mix and match them with prints, paintings and favourite objects. You can buy old frames from op shops, facebook marketplace or cheap ones from IKEA, Spotlight or Kmart. You could have them all white or black or spray paint them with analogous colours or a neutral colour like silver.

If you’re using colour as your theme, not every artwork needs to be the same colour. You can keep the relationship casual. If you’re adding in family photos, try to choose images that have a bit of your theme colour or add it to the mat board or frame.

Just a little reminder here that I have an Etsy shop that sells posters much cheaper than my art prints. Same artwork, different quality printing paper. Shop here.

When I (with help from my wonderful Dad) put up this gallery wall in my old rental in the early 2000s my main theme colours were orange and pink and I painted all the other frames silver.

Step 3: Plan your layout.

Before putting any nails in the wall, lay your artwork on the floor and experiment with different arrangements.

I find the easiest way is to tape together pieces of paper to make them the same size as the wall. I use a roll of brown paper, but you could use newspaper if you don’t have big sheets of paper on hand. I tape the paper onto the wall and mark anything that I need to take into consideration.  For this wall I marked the outline of the plant so that I could avoid placing an artwork there.

Put the paper on the floor and arrange the artworks.

After I taped the paper together on the wall to make sure it was the right size, I arranged the artworks on the paper, starting with the largest first.

Start with the largest piece as your focal point and work outward. It doesn’t have to be in the middle, it can be off-centre. Ideally you would want the focal point at eye height but feel free to break the rules.

Arrange the artworks with the same amount of space between them. If they’re too close it’ll look crowded and if they’re too far apart they won’t have tension between them. The tension makes it visually exciting.

I usually space mine about 3-7 cm apart, but if you have a big wall and large artworks you might want a larger space between.

The orange frames have a nice amount of tension between them. If you have busy wallpaper you might prefer your frames further apart like the blue frames.

Aim for a balanced composition. It might help to take a photo of the artworks on the ground so you can check if it looks balanced to you.

When you’re happy with the layout, draw around each frame and label the artworks.

If you want to just eyeball the composition you can also use painter’s tape to mark the dimensions on the wall and visualise your layout. You can also create a layout online using an app like PhotoShop or even Word if you have some patience.

Step 4. Hang the work!

My trick to getting the artworks hung perfectly is to turn over each artwork on the big piece of paper on the floor and mark where it will hang on the wall. The easiest way is to use a ruler to measure the top of the hanging system and then transfer that measurement on to the paper.

Here you can see I've named the artworks and have marked the top of the hanging wire so I only have to drill one hole, in the right spot!

Once you’ve marked and labelled all the artworks on the paper, then tape the paper back onto the wall. Tape it on every edge so that it won’t move.

Here’s the genius part. You have marked where the nails are going so you can drill straight through the paper!

Here I have taped the paper back onto the wall so I could drill the holes marked with an X.

Once you have drilled through the paper, remove it and put in your hanging fixtures.

How you attach the fixtures to the wall depends on what your wall is made from. Mine are brick and plaster so I use wall plugs and screws.

If you’re not sure, pop to the nearest hardware store or ask online in a handypersons' forum like this one: https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/t5/Discussion/ct-p/discussion

Once you have your fixtures in the wall you are ready to hang up your artworks, make a cup of tea and sit back and marvel how much better your wall looks!

Here's a few more of the busy walls in my tiny duplex...

My toilet! These paintings are all the same size and bought cheaply from a school fundraiser.

Okay this is a bit of a stretch but I kinda have a gallery wall in my kitchen. Vases count, right?

This isn't my house (obviously 😂) but I just came across this wall of Balinese objects that I installed at the Fremantle Arts Centre, many years ago. It seems relevant. 😊