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How to Decorate a Gallery Wall

February 7, 2019

Gallery walls are a popular feature of stylish homes in Smiths Station AL. Hanging a grouping of photographs, paintings or other artwork makes a dramatic impact. However, if you don’t know what you’re doing, a gallery wall can look cluttered and awkward.

Here’s how to make a gallery wall live up to its art-inspired name:

For best results, choose art pieces that are meaningful to you. If you’re looking to create drama, choose contrasting colors, light and dark tones, and a variety of sizes and shapes. For a more soothing aura, select items with subdued colors or similar intensity. There’s no need to match frames or sizes unless that’s the look you want.
Collect your chosen artwork on the floor or a large table. Try different arrangements until it looks pleasing. Aim for a fairly even distribution of colors so you don’t have all your dark colors to one side, for example. Make sure the overall layout will fit the wall area you have in mind. Take a photo for reference.
Using large sheets of paper, trace the outline of each item and cut out the tracing. Mark the location of the hanger or wire so you’ll know where to put the nails in the wall. Now you can use painter’s tape to attach the cutouts to the wall in the pattern you’ve determined. You can rearrange the cutouts if needed until your plan looks balanced.
Anchor your arrangement around the largest or most important piece, which should be at eye level. Make sure any large or heavy pieces will be nailed into a wall stud. Use a stud finder if you need help locating the right spot. Remember to leave space for any furniture that will be along that wall.
Leave 3-6” of space around each piece. Make sure items are evenly spaced from each other on all sides.
Put a nail or picture hanger through each paper cutout at the marked spot. Then remove the paper and hang the artwork in its place.

Rose Anne Erickson Realty offers new homes with plenty of space to create beautiful gallery walls. Call 706-257-1776 today to see our listings of homes in Smiths Station AL.