TIPS FOR CREATING THE PERFECT GALLERY WALL

ARTWORK FROM LEFT TO RIGHT | VOGUE MAGAZINE COVER- KING & MCGAW, DAVID HOCKNEY ART- TATE LONDON, MATCHSTICKS- ROCKETT ST GEORGE, COLOURFUL ABSTRACT WORKS- DESENIO, DAVID HOCKNEY PHOTOGRAPH- HOMESENSE, UNIVERSITY OF LIFE- OLIVER BONAS, FLOWERS- KING & MCGAW, LAS VEGAS PHOTOGRAPH- KING & MCGAW, NYC SKYLINE- HUTCH CASSIDY, DAVID BOWIE- MR PORTER

This post has been so highly requested recently and I'm thrilled to be able to bring it to you. I've shared only one post from our new house so far which you can check out here but in the past I've shared a number of interior related posts that you can find all under one roof here.
Today however, I'm going to be chatting you through how George and I go about building a gallery wall. We had a really awesome lay out in the dining room of our last house but tbh, that was something George did on a whim while I was away. It worked out really well (luckily for him haha) but I like to do things a little differently which is exactly what I'm going to talk you through today.
With our new home being a complete blank canvas currently, artwork is our opportunity to add some personality into the space and of course lashings of colour too. I'm really enjoying the whole "art gallery" vibe that the white walls give to our space and currently have absolutely no plans to change the colour of the walls which I'm sure you'll all be shocked to hear. But anyway, lets get cracking on exactly how I created the stunning gallery wall going up our impressive staircase.

Tip One

First of all I tend to gather up all the artwork that we own into one space so I can see any reoccurring themes and colour palettes that might work well together. We had accumulated quite the collection from our previous homes and had also invested in some newer pieces so it was safe to say we had an awful lot of artwork to choose from.
At this point it's important to decide what colour scheme or theme you fancy for your gallery wall, I decided on a colour scheme which was based on the palette of pinks, mustards and blue with contrasting black and white works.
I find that a mix of photography, modern prints featuring abstract art, typography and then a mix of vintage-esque designs work well to create an eclectic mix.

Tip Two

Once the palette or theme for the wall is decided I then set to work at working out the order and layout of the wall. Laying each piece out onto our living room floor I designed the layout you can see above, however, it's worth a mention that I didn't factor in the incline of the stairs so some pieces had to be rearranged to suit. After a bit of rearranging and shuffling, I was happy and took a quick snap on my phone that George and I then referred to when we set to work on putting art on the walls which was useful as to not keep moving back and forth to the living room to see which print was next.

Tip Three

Next it's time to decide on where you want to start your gallery. Select a point whether that's starting at the furthest right or left point or if there's a centrepiece you had in mind then start with that.  Once we'd decided that we'd like the gallery to start directly above the first step of the stairs and we'd agreed on the suitable height of the lowest piece, on this occasion it was our awesome David Bowie Photograph, we then built up from there, somewhat guessing the space between each piece. I think winging it in this way makes for a more natural and fun gallery wall rather than having things too perfectly positioned.

Tip Four

With finding the perfect place to put the nail in the wall (we tend to use nails rather than picture hooks as picture hooks make a real mess of the wall, unless the prints are hanging above where you sleep or sit in which case we'd use something a little more sturdy) George holds the string of the frame taught and measures from the top of the frame down to where the string hangs at it's tightest point, he then measures this out onto the wall, marking with a pencil, and thats the perfect place to hammer in the nail for your print to hang from.

And that's it, building up from the first frame to create a really statement wall of art. I simply love creating eye catching gallery walls such as this as they're such a great talking point amongst guests and also inject personality and colour into a space. We've since added to this gallery yet still have tonnes of space to add to it further as and when the perfect prints and art come into our life. That's what I really love about gallery walls, how easily they can be mixed up, you can simply update them, rearrange them or change them entirely when a new colour palette or inspiration comes into your life.
We're hoping to create another gallery wall on the second floor so do let me know if you have any further questions or if there's anything you'd like to know about and I'll be sure to create a second post to support this one soon.

x M