Gallery walls can make a big impact in a space, but sometimes they are intimidating to put together. It may seem daunting to attempt to hang the frames “just right” so that they come together in a cohesive way and the arrangement appears balanced to the eye. Creating a gallery wall doesn’t have to be complicated, and today I’m sharing my method with you for how I put mine together.
The first thing I do is choose the pieces I’d like to group together. (You can always edit later, so it’s better to start with too many and pare down.) I lay all of my frames out on the floor in different configurations until I find a combo that I like.
Then, I trace each frame onto craft paper and cut out templates. I mark where the hanging hardware will go too.
I tape the templates onto the wall with washi tape or painter’s tape (it’s easy to peel off and won’t damage the paint job), mimicking the configuration I created on the floor. Doing this prevents me from making 5 zillion nail holes in the wall because I can make sure everything is positioned just right before I start hammering any nails.
When the templates look right, I hammer the nails straight through the paper template, positioning the nail where I marked the location of the hanging hardware on my paper.
Sometimes, I use velcro picture hanging strips instead of nails, but if you have lots of frames to hang, this can get pricey.
I remove the templates and hang the art. The templates take away the guesswork since I will already know how everything will look before it actually goes up on the wall.
Gallery wall complete!
Do you have any additional tips and tricks you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them!
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Brian Oliver says
Very Nice!
I love the feathers and the tunnel picture is an awesome shot.
We are launching an app that will help visualize and hang wall galleries, showing you exactly where to put the nails without tracing and cutting out paper templates. You can see a demo on our website.
Erin @ DIY on the Cheap says
Thanks Brian! Very cool. I’ll look out for the app.