Master the art of the perfect picture wall
With a little planning you could easily curate a magnificent home gallery of photos or art, explains
SOME interior design jobs can be done in an afternoon. Others might be a weekend project. But some take months, even years, to complete. Creating a gallery wall is certainly up there with the lengthier of interior tasks.
The actual job itself is fairly simple and can be quite kind on your pocket, as well as your free time. All you need is a hammer, some nails and a reliable spirit level. It’s the process of curating the art that takes up your time.
But the effort is undoubtedly worth it. A gallery wall will instantly add character and personality to the home.
And if you’ve ever fancied having a go yourself, don’t be afraid. With a little bit of planning you will soon be giving the Tate a run for its money when it comes to showcasing your carefully curated art.
PICK A THEME
GALLERY walls may look beautifully eclectic, but most have an underlying theme.
A theme will give your gallery wall some cohesiveness, which in turn allows you to play around with other elements, such as frames and layout.
Your collection could centre around antique oil paintings, vintage advertising posters or black and white photographs of loved ones.
You might even want to go with a more typographical approach or art inspired by a particular country or movement.
And don’t think you have to stick to pictures or photographs alone. A theme allows you to expand your gallery wall to include all manner of artefacts, from ornate plates and small sculptures, to pressed flowers and even newspaper clippings.
Remember, anything goes.
MORE IS MORE
OFTEN in life we’re told less is more, but when it comes to gallery walls, this simply isn’t the case.
Before you start hanging your artwork you need to be sure you have enough to cover the entire space you want to fill.
And while it might be tempting to hang what you have and tell yourself you’ll find something to fit the gap, hang fire.
This approach will limit the artwork available to you as it will have to meet a very exact specification and ultimately, delay the finish.
Collating your artwork before hanging will give you more freedom when planning the layout.
FRAME WORK
ONE thing sure to have a huge impact on the aesthetics of your gallery wall is the frame. And the options are vast.
Ornate frames look stunning in period properties, while minimalist lovers might be fond of the sleekness of a no-nonsense rectangle. Those with a more care-free approach to interiors may like to see photographs pegged to string which is then draped from one side of the wall to the next.
Do your research. While you’re still in the early planning stage, head to
Pinterest and Instagram decide what appeals to you.
While you might already have an idea of the type of frames you want to use, picture research will hammer home the look you love.
BEST LAY-ED PLANS
YOU’VE decided on your theme and collated your artwork, which means it’s almost time to get the hammer out.
There is one final step before the hammer goes anywhere near the wall, and that is deciding the layout. There are many ways you can do this. You could be ultra-technical and use an app like Wallary, but I like to stick with the tried-and-tested method of recreating the wall space on the floor.
For me, this is where the real fun begins. Get all your artwork and start experimenting with layouts.
There are endless options, from completely random to regimented grids. You could choose to anchor all your artwork to an invisible vertical line or have a centrepiece around which the rest radiate. There are no right and wrongs here; if it makes you smile, mission accomplished!
Just one final tip before hammer time: try to keep an even space around your images for a professional finish.