Happy Monday! Such an exciting day as I am thrilled to be a part of the “How to Decorate” blog hop hosted by the very talented Beth from Home Stories A to Z. Throughout the week, 25 bloggers will be sharing decorating tips covering amazing topics. Those of you that came from Beth’s, welcome! I hope you’ll enjoying snooping around my neck of the woods. Today I am sharing one of my go-to decorating tips. When I design for myself or others, I almost always include a gallery wall in the space. I grew up with a very talented father who always created the most gorgeous groupings on our walls. For me, it’s just part of a space feeling like home. I wanted to share some tips and different ways to create a special wall in your own home. Let’s jump in! 
I am a sucker for a perfectly symmetrical wall grouping. I think it can have a huge impact. Especially if it covers almost the entire wall like above. This was an e-design space I created for a client. She did an amazing job of hanging these frames tightly together. That is key when you are doing a large space. She has three little ones so we hung a portrait of each child in the top row and then photos of them below. 
I created a small gallery wall to offset the large television in our home. This is our playroom/family hang out space and we have kept it super comfy and casual. In this grouping we used all of our children’s artwork and white frames so that the colors of the artwork would shine. The important thing is that you keep your spacing even. QUICK TIPS: Keep frames 2-3 inches apart and use matching frames. 
Stairs can be tricky an people often avoid gallery walls in this area. They can actually be quite impactful. Don’t feel you need to mimic the slant of the stairs. While I did mimic the angle for the bottom of the gallery wall, I allowed for a rounded arc formation for the top. That allows the eye to stop and take in the entire grouping. When doing that, it is key to include some round elements as well. I used a clock and a small round mirror. This will help soften the edges. Also, try to use one focal point {I used an empty frame symbolizing more is to come} so that you can build your grouping around it. This will help balance the gallery wall. QUICK TIPS: Choose one focal point and use an arc formation for the top of the grouping. 
In the grouping above, we pulled the frame colors from the rug. This unites the area and keeps an overall neutral palette interesting and cohesive. You could also pull colors from a pillow or another piece of artwork in the room. 
Gallery walls can be a bit tricky above a sofa. I try to always identify two larger pieces and a 3D object to use. This helps break up the wall of frames and keeps it interesting. I always lay the gallery wall out on the floor to see how the frames work together. Lay your largest ones down first and try to offset them. One should be towards the top of the grouping and one towards the bottom. 
Because there are stripes on this wall, I kept the frames all black. That echoes the black numbers in the pillows I made {which was one of my first blog projects almost four yeas ago}. 
One of the easiest ways to go about a gallery wall is to use shelves. These are from Ikea and I used a shorter one in the top row. This allowed me to hang one piece on the wall to really anchor the grouping. Don’t be afraid to hang a piece on the wall despite using shelves. Also notice the layering effect. Lean smaller pieces against larger ones. Because the walls are white in my son’s room, I played up the colors and patterns. QUICK TIPS: Layer frames and mount at least one frame directly to the wall. 
A common issue in a master bedrooms or family room is the television on top of a dresser or cabinet situation. A gallery wall can really help offset the impact of the TV. In this case, I used a heavy white frame to hang above the TV. That is where I began. I wanted to raise the eye up and take the focus away from the black box. I like to keep the artwork simple and graphic. QUICK TIPS: Don’t be afraid to mix finishes and include a frame that matches the television. 
I hope these tips help the next time you are tackling a gallery wall. There are so many ways to incorporate one into your home. And now I am sending you off to the very talented, Stacy over at Not Just A Housewife. Enjoy! 
Thank you to Beth for hosting this fun filled week of decorating lessons. I am so excited to learn new tips from each and every blogger participating. 
Here is the rest of today’s lineup: Beth Hunter, Home Stories A to Z: How to find your decorating style Stacy Risenmay, Not Just A Housewife: How to decorate with plants Donna, Funky Junk Interiors: How to Turn Worthless Junk into Decorating Must Haves The Nesting Place, Turning a House into a home on a Thrift store Budget To see the entire schedule of bloggers and learn a crazy amount of decorating tips click here.
Great instructions, Courtney. I should seriously think about adding a gallery wall! 🙂
Do it, Sue!!!
Love these tips on all of the different ways to add gallery walls to your space! And how cool is it that your dad was into gallery walls back in the day? Thanks so much for joining the hop!
My dad paved the way for so many of our DIY ideas and interests! So much fun being apart of this with all of you, Beth!
Perfect timing. I am in the beginning stages of planning a gallery wall for our front staircase. I plan to use a lot of framed quotes/sayings rather than pictures since we have gallery walls full of pictures in the upstairs hallway (and they are partial seen from the stairway). Great tips about including a few round objects. And, I love your "empty" frame and the meaning behind it. I hope to incorporate one too.
I am so happy you can use some of these tips, my friend. And I love that you will do an empty frame, too!
As soon as I saw your HomeGoods room I knew that I wanted to create a similar gallery wall around the TV in my bedroom. Thank you for the additional tip about the heavy white frame to distract from the black box. I have not been brave enough to do a gallery wall along my stairs, but maybe with your tips I will give that a try, too. What a great post, Courtney.
You are so welcome. I hope the tips make it easier for you. They really can be such fun spaces in a room. Good luck and thank you for the sweet comment!
Great tips for gallery walls. You show some really fun examples. I especially love the stair gallery, and rounding the top is a wonderful suggestion. Very helpful post.
Thank you, Marty! I really appreciate it. Hope you are off to a great week.
Great tips…I love a good gallery wall!
Thanks, girl.
So many great ideas! I have a small obsession with gallery walls…need to create one in the master next!
I may or may not be obsessed. Yes. . . master bedroom is next. I want to see it!
Oh gosh… you certainly are the master with wall galleries. I adore each one! There's a wealth of valuable information in this post… thank-you! Your home is gorgeous!
Thank you so much. You're so sweet. So fun being a part of this blog hop with you!
I LOVE gallery walls! Yours are gorgeous.
Thank you Stacy! Happy Monday . . .and happy blog hop!
Such a great post and tips Courtney! This helps so much and maybe I can reduce the number of holes in my wall next time from re nailing over and over… Makes so much sense to start with the large frames first! Thanks girl!
LOL! Been there! I've learned a few things over the years. Have a great day!
Your gallery walls look great, Courtney. Thanks for the tips.
This post couldn't have come at a better time. I have a gallery wall layout sitting on my floor as I type this. And I feel so lost. We have a huge empty wall that I just don't know what to do with. I think I may use the collage I have now for the stairs and do a symmetrical one for the big wall. You make it look so easy Courtney! 🙂
do you have approximate sizes of the frames you used in the childs room witih the shelves?
im trying to do something exactly like this in my daughters room on a big empty wall and i never know what size frames to buy.. so i never start this project.