The first order of business after our couch arrived? Figuring out what art I wanted to hang above it. I loved the idea of a gallery wall, but it seemed daunting. After doing a ton of research on how to make a gallery wall, I thought that we’d be able to pull it off. My biggest fear was that it wouldn’t be proportional or that it’d be a frustrating project, and we would regret it. Vagner is the handy one in our relationship, so he handled all the hanging. But it was much easier than we thought it’d be, mainly because of the amount of planning we did. There are a million ways to do this, but I will share what worked for me.
How To Make A Gallery Wall
Below, you’ll find my best tips for making a gallery wall. I will do my best to share all the details I have, including how much everything costs. Keeping things affordable was a massive priority for me because we’ve had a million house projects and don’t want to spend money unnecessarily.
1. Find The Right Art
The beauty of a gallery wall is the freedom it gives you. If you want to use family pictures or items from your art collection, you can. For me, a gallery wall art set made the most sense. I knew precisely what type of frames to buy and what orientation each should be, although I still had to determine the size (more on that later). It’s also an extremely cost-effective option compared to buying art prints. I spent less than $8 on the files and printed them through Seven Paper Prints, which cost about $173 after taxes. If you buy prints online, you can get them printed anywhere, but the quality was important to me.
2. Determine Frame Size
After I picked an art set and decided on the layout, it was time for the most tedious part: figuring out the sizing. Conventional wisdom says that art should be about 2/3rds the width of your couch, but I also wanted to make sure it was centered between the two windows in our living room, so ours is smaller than recommended. If you don’t know where to start, measure your couch and calculate 2/3rds of the size. The frame sizes I bought are:
- Two 20×27-inch frames
- Four 12×18-inch frames
- Two 8×10-inch frames
I spent about $160 on photo frames, which averages out to about $20 a frame. They were surprisingly good quality, and I love that they look way more expensive than they were. I also love that they’re easy to find online, so it won’t be hard to buy more frames if I add more to the wall.
3. Measure It Out
The last step is big: measuring everything to ensure it looks good. Vagner used his trusty laser level because he’s a bit of a perfectionist with home projects, but I think you could hang it without one if you took the time to be precise. He took two of the frames that were going to be furthest apart, started with those, and then worked his way in. I wanted him to leave about an inch between pictures — in retrospect, we could’ve spaced them out more, but I like it as it is. One tip I got is to cut out pieces of paper in each frame size so you can play around with the layout. I already knew how I wanted everything, which made it easier. My biggest concerns were that it was centered and proportional, and I’m so happy with the outcome.
My living room gallery wall cost about $350, and I love it! You could obviously do it cheaper, but I love the pieces and frames I chose. Would you add a gallery wall to your space? Let me know in the comments!
