Pages

Monday, March 17, 2014

HOME | MADE :: How To Create a Gallery Wall


home|made, creating a gallery wall, tips for making a gallery wall, photo gallery


Hello! Today I am sharing with you how easy and fun it can be creating a gallery wall in your home. It's part of my series that I started called "Home|MADE" that features room renovations MADE into nicer living spaces and all of the things used to get her there, plus the supplies used and all the DIY details to go along with it! All so you can make your house a HOME. I am so very thankful I can (finally) get back to adding more to this series.


If you missed any of the posts from this series, you can catch it here:
"Creating a CHALKBOARD DOOR".

"Creating a Mudroom"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

 


So just a reminder, I am living in a condo (for now) and am looking to make better use of the space I have all while making our lives more organized in the process. I have been wanting to do something with this space for awhile and finally settled on the perfect "style" of gallery wall as it needed something BIG to command the space because as you can clearly see from this "before" shot below, it certainly wasn't commanding much of anything! ;)
 
The condo I live in is 3 stories and in the shot below this is a huge wall that you see as you are walking up the steps from the walkout basement/ garage area and heading into the living room so it soooooo needed something, wouldn't you agree, as these two pitiful framed pieces were NOT cutting it. lol

So this is the "before" shot:


before shot for gallery wall, gallery wall, photo gallery



and here is my list to accomplish JUST with this space:
- design and purchase all items for gallery wall

- print photos for frames
- paint this entire area (but has to wait as it's shared with the living room)
- paint the ceiling
- paint all of the trim WHITE
- paint the banisters
- hang shelves, picture frames, artwork in this area
- remove everything else
- replace door stops




Step 1: the first step to creating the perfect gallery wall is determining how much space you have to work with. Ask yourself, do you want the design to go from floor to ceiling? Side to side? Or just fill a certain space above a piece of furniture? Measure this area out to determine what you have to work with before getting started. Next design a "color scheme". Mine was easy since this gallery wall is technically in the living room, I decided to match everything with my living room decor. Our living room is black and white with a touch of spring green. So I decided to have all of the photos printed in black n' white and put them all in black or white frames.

Mix it up a bit too and feel free to add other items like mirrors, shelves, art prints or whatever you have and like to give it some variety and keep it interesting.

Before attempting to put everything you have purchased, had printed or bought on the wall, I would HIGHLY SUGGEST you do yourself a favor & lay it all out on the floor to decide on a layout that will look amazing. This step seems like the hardest but it allows you to try out different scenarios to your layout before you get the perfect one.

how o create a gallery wall, picture layout on floor, gallery wall tips


 
Step 2: Clear the wall area that everything is to go on. Remove anything that can get in your way, take out old nails, screws, etc. until you have a bare wall staring back at you.



before photo of empty wall of gallery wall area, blank space of gallery wall





Step 3: This step is the MOST IMPORTANT! And trust me, you are glancing down at these pics and saying to yourself . . . "oh hell no am I going to do all of THAT!" . . . but yes you are! Wanna know why? It's simple, you can change your mind as often as you like by simply re-arranging the paper. So first part of this step is after you figure out an arrangement from (step 1) take some old newspaper, newsprint - anything you have and trace & cut out each thing you are going to want to hang in your gallery wall layout. AND label them accordingly.

I would suggest starting in the upper left hand corner and work your way across and then back to the left side and work on the middle and so on. This way if you need to re-adjust as you go, you can simply move the paper instead of having to re-hammer a nail into the wall. I used some washi tape to hold the paper in place as I stepped back and looked at my layout. It keeps everything in place until you are ready to get the hammer out. Trust me you do NOT want your wall to look like swiss cheese when you are done with fifty billion nail holes because you couldn't make up your mind or you miscalculated something. Trust me - go grab some newsprint & get tracin & a cuttin. You will THANK me later. ;)



layout of gallery wall, tips for gallery wall, newsprint layout on photo gallery


 

Step 4: It's time to hang!!! Start in the upper left hand corner and before you hang up each item, look at where the hook is on the back and mark it on the newsprint paper hanging on the wall. Then go ahead and hammer in the nail before you take the newsprint down, this way you are getting a pretty accurate placement of the nails/ screws used to hang up everything the proper way. Once in place rip down the newsprint & hang your frame/ art. Repeat this process going from left to right, top to bottom.



black and white photos, gallery wall, hanging photos, chevron art
IKEA frame, black and white frames, photo gallery, white shelf, photos in black and white
pictures on a photo gallery, black and white frames, lime green flower, green bottle
black and white chevron art, white IKEA frames, black and white photos
skylar raine art, handmade artwork, black and white chevron, green flower
skylar raine canvas art, black and white chevron, handmade art


So what do you all think of THIS piece in the above photo? It's a hand painted embellished canvas wall art piece that is available in my other shop: Skylar Raine.


hanging photos on photo gallery, black and white photos, IKEA frames, white shelf
black and white photos, green flower artork, faith art, Piet 1 photo frame, family wordart


One of my favorite DIY projects for this wall was the "FAMILY" artwork letters I did for this wall. It was such an easy project and I will be sharing how to make one for yourself in the coming week.


family, word art, paper mache letters, DIY craft, black and white gallery wall
black and white living room gallery wall, IKEA photo frames, black and white
family, paper mache letters word art, black and white
photo gallery of black and white photos, gallery wall, IKEA frames
faith artwork, christian artwork, black and white gallery wall
completed photo gallery wall, black and white photo wall, family


And just so you can see the IMPACT of designing a wall like this, here is the token "before & after photo for your enjoyment . . .



before photos of gallery wall area, after photo of gallery wall, black and white gallery




So what do YOU think? Pretty sweet huh? I love it and have gotten sooooo many compliments on it, so I guess that means it's a keeper. ;) I still need to do some major painting in this area but it feels good to have gotten this done for now.




Gallery Wall AREA "to-do" LIST:
- design and purchase all items for gallery wall
- print photos for frames
- paint this entire area (but has to wait as it's shared with the living room)
- paint the ceiling
- paint all of the trim WHITE
- paint the banisters
- hang shelves, picture frames, artwork in this area
- remove everything else


Well it's a start but it looks like I have a whole lotta painting to do next. ;)

I really hope you are enjoying this series on home DIY.
I would LOVE to hear if you have ever designed a gallery wall for a spot in your home? Did you use the tips I provided here? Do you have any additional tips that worked well for you? Do you think you will try a gallery wall yourself?

Please comment below with your thoughts as I would love to hear from you! 






Are you loving the "eye candy" here? 



Then join me over on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Instagram so you never miss out on an exclusive deal or any behind the scenes photos!




Check out my designs, artwork & decor in my Etsy shop!  
Looking forward to seeing you again! :)


I would love for you to connect with me by email or become a blog follower too! {on the right sidebar}  Looking forward to seeing you again! :)




22 comments:

  1. Your gallery wall looks great! I'm in the process of gathering frames for a gallery wall in my living room now that we purchased a new couch. I have one big, empty wall begging to be prettied up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Heather, I really appreciate it. It was so fun to do & I'm sure you are gathering items from IKEA like I did too. ;) Can't wait to see what you do as well.

      Delete
  2. WOW What a statement wall. I love all the different textures. You did a great job Laura!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. why thanks my dear friend! I had a blast choosing all the goodies to design this & it is definitely a statement wall. ;)

      Delete
  3. Awesome tutorial. I have a friend with a Framing shop, and will share with her as well. Looks beautiful !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you so much Andrea! I appreciate the comment & these gallery walls are so much fun designing - had a blast, you should try it too. =)

      Delete
  4. Laura its amazing I love it please come to Fort Myers, FL and do my wall :-) BEAUTIFUL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh Susan, it would be my pleasure, just buy my ticket & you got it! ;) Thanks for checking it out.

      Delete
  5. This has seriously inspired me to update my hallway! Will be doing this soon! Love it! thank you for sharing this with us today!!! <3 Amy "Dimply Sweet"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amy I am so glad I have inspired you to do one of your own. I'm telling you it is so much fun to pick everything out & you will have a blast. Please share a pic when you get it done. =)

      Delete
  6. I love this idea! The Chevron piece is especially gorgeous! xoxo Kristal, Atutudes

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you so much Kristal - I am adding more designs to my shop soon but I appreciate you letting me know - love the feedback! xoxo Thanks for checking it outl

      Delete
  7. I love your little lists and I LOVE this gallery wall! It's totally my style. The colors and patterns look great. I like how to mixed so many elements so well together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Girl I NEED my lil lists! ;) They keep me sane! lol I appreciate the feedback on this as it was a fun project and I love the fact that it is so BIG! Makes a definite impact! ;)

      Delete
  8. Looks awesome! And I should do the paper thing but I'm always too lazy... :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you should as I am telling you from doing it BOTH ways - it's much easier to use the paper! ;)

      Delete
  9. Truly beautiful! I love how there's so much going on, but none of it's distracting!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love love LOVE this!!! All the pictures, all the different shapes and sizes. I just love it all!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you are so sweet Kaysi - I appreciate you saying that. I loved doing this & am planning another one in a different area upstairs! ;)

      Delete
  11. You did such a good job. Your eclectic assortment is perfect! Love it! Now, can you come here and do mine?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank YOU - that means alot. Trust me, I would come do a gallery wall for you in a minute if you lived closer! ;)

      Delete

let me know you were here . . .