5 Gallery Wall Hacks for a Fresh Spin on an Old Classic

These five gallery wall hacks will help you add visual interest to any space. Image: Domus Nova

The gallery wall. When done right, it’s impressive. When done poorly, it can be a mess. Art must be spaced correctly and hung straight. (We’ve already explored some of the core tips and tricks for hanging a gallery wall.) Even so, those aren’t always the biggest problems you face when hanging a gallery wall. How do you differentiate your wall and make sure the end result of all that effort is something you truly love? These five gallery wall hacks will help you nail it.

Ultimately, you want your gallery wall to add visual interest to your home. It turns an entire wall into a canvas with which you can play. Above all, hanging a gallery wall should be fun! Using these five tips will help you build a gallery wall you, your friends and your family will admire for years to come.

Don’t be daunted by gallery walls. Just a few pictures grouped together is a starting point. Image: Shanade McAllister-Fisher

1. Start small

Building the perfect gallery wall is like most things: It takes time. While we’d love to give you the tools to build a massive, flawless display tomorrow, a little practice makes perfect. Instead of pulling out your hair trying to nail a large-scale wall on the first go, start simple. A few smaller pictures are a great (and oftentimes more cost-effective) substitute for large artwork. Choose an area where you had planned to hang a single, larger piece and try your hand at a small gallery wall.

Once you get your feet under you with spacing and straightening a few pictures, expanding to a larger area will feel less stressful. The more fun you can have with it, the better your results!

Follow the natural lines of your house when spacing your gallery wall. Image: Heidi Caillier Design

2. Work with what you’ve got 

A gallery wall is a perfect opportunity to highlight your home’s natural flow. Build your wall around the existing fireplace or the line of your stairs. Interweaving your home’s art and architecture marries the two. It also helps your gallery wall look like it belongs, making it an interesting part of your decor rather than a random group of pictures on your wall.

Matting adds space to your gallery wall and keeps it from looking too heavy. Image: Home Polish

3. Mind your matting

One of the biggest challenges facing gallery wall hangers is balance. How do you hang a number of pictures on your wall without it feeling clunky or heavy? Oftentimes, the answer lies in matting. Matting your pictures is one of the best gallery wall hacks because it’s like adding white space to design: It creates a natural pause, adding a feeling of lightness and breath. When you’re hanging an eclectic group of art, matting photos and prints helps fill in the gaps and keep things balanced.

Playing with different types of frames adds depth to your gallery wall. Image: Studio Wok

4. Have fun with framing

The art itself isn’t the only thing you can play with when hanging a gallery wall. If you’ve ever seen a gallery wall that looked a little bland, the frames may be to blame. In most gallery walls, frame size changes. You don’t have to stop there, though. Add different colors or textures when hanging unframed prints and canvases. Changing up the edging of your artwork gives the eye interesting lines to follow, adding dynamism to your wall.

A monochromatic gallery wall keeps things looking polished. Image: Stafford Bensen

5. Go monochromatic

Are you feeling overwhelmed when picking art for your gallery wall? Choose a color that you love and work from there. Having a core color – or even going monochromatic altogether – ensures that every item on your gallery wall works with the whole. When you go monochromatic, you get more freedom to play with spacing and alignment, because your wall will look cohesive regardless.

Hanging a gallery wall takes time. It requires you to map things out and think through your vision, but all that work is worth it for a stunning end result. Armed with these gallery wall hacks, you’re ready to create a full wall of art that will wow your friends.

How will you use these gallery wall hacks to enhance your home? Let us know in the comments.

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