Gallery Wall {Client Design}

Gallery walls are one of my specialties these days, as I have now installed over 20 gallery walls of all sizes and shapes.  The first thing I ask my clients is what style of gallery wall would you like?  An ECLECTIC STYLE GALLERY WALL or a UNIFORM GALLERY WALL?  Or, maybe you are looking for something a little IN BETWEEN.

ECLECTIC STYLE GALLERY WALL

UNIFORM STYLE GALLERY WALL

MIX OF BOTH STYLES GALLERY WALL

With the eclectic style gallery wall, there really are no rules!  There is no rhyme or reason of how you hang the collected items together and the fun thing about this style is that anything goes!  You can hang your favorite deer antlers next to your favorite family photo.

A gallery wall with a more uniformed style to it, you should really keep all the frames the same size and shape to create a grid-like space.  You can use any number of frames to create your collection, any style of frame, and black and white or colored pictures.  This style creates a more formal approach to the gallery wall. 

Most of my clients choose a mix of the two, which is also my favorite.  They typically like to hang mirrors, word art, and artifacts with their framed photos and have a mix of frames.  Most people like a little uniformity, like in the last photo.  You can see there is still an overall 'collected look' to the last photo above, but it is installed in a very stylized and planned out way with keeping some of the frames in line with each other.  This really gives you the best of both worlds!

For this client, I decided to do more of an eclectic style gallery wall, where no frames line up with each other and they are all laid out in more of speratic manor (but in a very planned out way, of course), if that all makes sense! 

I started the design of the gallery wall on the floor.  Yes, on the floor! I like to lay out the gallery wall design on the floor, before any holes go on the wall.  

panoramic shot from my phone

I actually determined this layout from one of the options in the DIY Gallery Wall books from Hobby Lobby.  

  

I chose the above Eclectic Gallery Wall layout with some of my own modifications.  This books is full of great gallery wall ideas, as well as over 30 card stock prints to frame in your gallery wall. 

I don't trace all of the frames onto craft paper and then put the craft paper on the wall to figure out where each frame will be hung.  Once I have everything laid out on the floor just how I want it, I take pictures with my phone.  Lots of pictures.  Then use that as reference.  I start in the middle and work my way around the first picture.

I framed some of the pages from the DIY Gallery Wall book until the homeowners can fill all of the frames with their family photos.  I wouldn't typically frame this many 'word art' images together, but wanted some of the frames to be filled until then. 

To keep an eclectic gallery wall stylized and not looking too busy, it is very important to keep a similar style to all of the frames.  I chose four white Pottery Barn frames in two different sizes.  Two brown frames with mats from Home Goods.  I really like frames with mats more than without to make the photographs stand out more.  Three matching rustic, gray frames also from Home Goods.  And a couple of miscellaneous frames that are in coordinating rustic wood tones. 

Sources:

mirror from Hobby Lobby

custom arrow from JlM Moments and Designs (my sister)

'Home Sweet Home' art from For the Love of Letters (Hobby Lobby)

white matted frames from Pottery Barn 

all other frames from Home Goods

wall paint is Sherwin Williams Balanced Beige

**if you would like a gallery wall installed in your home, email me with inquires.  I can shop for all of the materials and install the frames in any style.  jessicastoutdesign@gmail.com**