How to create a gallery wall & decor pieces to compliment! Thank you to Joss & Main for sponsoring this post! All views and opinions are of course my own.
A very long overdue post on our gallery wall! We recently finished the space thanks to a few beautiful pieces from Joss & Main. While the gallery wall made a statement on it’s own, it really needed a few additional decor pieces to pull the space together. As well as make the space feel a little more warm and cozy. My first step to accomplishing that was to find the perfect floor lamp. A floor lamp is a great option when trying to add additional light, create a warmer space, and add some height/fill a space. Joss & Main offers a wide variety of floor lamps – height, color, and style. My personal selections and favorite options brass & antique brass floor lamps and swing arm floor lamps. These two filters lead me to find the perfect antique brass swing arm floor lamp for our space! Once the floor lamp was selected I only needed a few small decor items to complete the space.
I opted for a few knit throw blankets to throw over the backs of the accent chairs that sit in front of the gallery wall. As well as a beautiful vintage inspired vase filled with dried eucalyptus to sit on the mantle closest to the gallery wall. Y’all this vintage inspired vase is truly the vase of my dreams – vintage inspired, exceptional quality, oversized, and beyond beautiful. Joss & Main always has the absolute best decor gems!
Now let’s rewind a bit and talk about creating a gallery wall to compliment…
How to Create the Ultimate Gallery Wall
1. Choose the Location
First and foremost you need to choose the location of your gallery wall! Is there a blank wall in your living room, bedroom, or hallway that has potential to make a statement? Or possibly a small nook or corner that could use a little something. Or maybe there’s a piece of furniture you already have that is kinda blah with nothing around it – maybe create a gallery wall around your television or mirror or bench.
We selected a big blank wall in between our family room and dining room. These spaces needed pulled together and a gallery wall seemed like the perfect way to make that happen!
2. Decide how many pieces of artwork/photos you want & a color scheme or theme.
After choosing a location, decide how many pieces you want to incorporate in your gallery wall. During this step it is also important to decide whether you want to have a theme and/or color scheme. Do you want every piece to have a specific color incorporated in it or rather a color palette for all pieces. Or not specific colors but a specific theme. A few theme ideas – florals, animals, black & white, paintings, landscapes, vintage, abstract, family portraits.
If you’re using art pieces vs. family/friend/wedding photographs it is easiest to start with one piece you really love and build around that. Either choose a specific color from the piece to build the rest of the gallery wall off of, select a color palette around it, or go the theme route.
I personally opted for pieces in blue, green, and white. While they are all wildly different, they compliment one another due to the colors they all include. The gallery wall was built around the Bless Your Heart piece which was created by one of our sweet friends.
3. Plan out the layout
Now is the toughest part in my opinion – planning out the layout of your gallery wall. My top recommendation is to spend some time on Pinterest. Check out a wide variety of layouts such as square or symmetrical, asymmetrical, climbing, baseline, or on a shelf.
Once you have the layout you want, actually lay it out on your wall. To do so, get a roll ofkraft paper or brown paper bags from grocery stores. Then trace each of your frames (or artwork pieces) onto the paper and cut accordingly. Now tape these pieces to your wall – laid out exactly how you plan to hang the gallery wall. Now is the time to measure and remeasure to make sure everything is exactly how you want it – before holes are made! Also, don’t forget to step back and view the layout from several different angles. Make sure you really love the layout! *we left ours up for days to make sure we loved it after a few days*
Here is the layout and frame size for our gallery wall…
4. Hang Your Gallery wall
Now hang your gallery wall! With the kraft paper pieces in place, simply measure where your nail needs to go in based off the backing of your frame and hammer your nail in. Once you place your frame/artwork on the nail you can pull down on the kraft paper and remove it from the wall. My recommendation is to start with the center piece and go out. If you’re doing rows, simply start at one end or the top/bottom.
5. Compliment your Gallery Wall
Now that your gallery wall is complete it is time to compliment it with additional decor! Sometimes a gallery wall makes all of the statement and doesn’t need a thing. Other times, additional decor is necessary! Like a piece of furniture such as an accent chair, bench, console table, or bar cart. Or maybe the gallery wall just needs a little light – if that’s the case, try a floor lamp or a sconce or two.
We added a beautiful antique brass swing arm floor lamp that compliments the gallery wall perfectly and warms the space. Additionally, a few knit throw blankets over the backs of the accents chairs that sit in front of the gallery wall. To finish off the space, I added a vintage inspired vase filled with dried eucalyptus and a stack of paperback books. These decor pieces are simple and allow the gallery wall to take center stage! But the gallery wall also compliments them perfectly and really makes the floor lamp pop!
Hopefully this gives you a little bit of gallery wall inspiration whether you’re deciding what kind of gallery wall to create or how to compliment you’re already completed creation! Shop more of Joss & Main’s furniture, decor, frames and wall art!
antique brass swing arm floor lamp, vintage inspired vase, knit throw blankets all c/o Joss & Main | similar accent chairs
gallery wall: 11×14 gold frame | 21.5 x 17.5 white frame | similar wood frame | 21.5 x 17.5 gold frame
13×13 white frame | 21.5 x 17.5 white frame | similar off-white wood frame
What does your Ultimate Gallery wall look like?
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You’re so good at gallery walls! This one looks great and compliments your home so well
-Morgan
the HER chronicles [] http://theherchronicles.com
aw thank you lady! I super appreciate that 🙂 I am so happy with how it came together.
xo Laura Leigh
LOVE how this gallery wall came out! Such gorgeous colors that compliment the rest of the space so well.
xo Jessica
My Style Vita
thank you so much! definitely very excited about it!
xo Laura Leigh
Your gallery wall looks absolutely amazing! Love all these fun prints!
thank you so much greta! really appreciate it!
xo Laura Leigh
What a neat and fun idea for a wall space! I would love to do something like in my home!
Kileen
aw thank you lady 🙂 you absolutely should!
xo Laura Leigh
Your gallery wall is gorgeous!! I love how it’s set up and the photos you chose are perfect!
Lizzie
http://www.lizzieinlace.com
thank you so much lizzie! cannot tell you how much I appreciate that!
xo Laura Leigh
Love this gallery wall! I’m playing with the idea of creating a photo gallery wall in our hallway with lot’s of pictures of our family & friends.. As smart phones definitely has many perks, one of the downsides is that valuable pictures are almost never framed anymore (at least I need to to better!), so creating a photo wall is a great way to display some great pictures! 🙂
thank you 🙂 oh you absolutely should – that would look amazing. and I completely agree with you – I don’t know the last time I actually printed out a photo and displayed it around our home. definitely needs to happen more!
xo Laura Leigh
I love how well these prints flow together. The mix and match frames are so cute.
thank you! definitely took some planning but love how it came together!
xo Laura Leigh
I always think gallery walls look great on a large expanse of wall. Love how yours came out! xoxo, Sarah
couldn’t agree with you more! thank you 🙂
xo Laura Leigh
Oh my goodness, this turned out so good. You’re so amazing at actually putting the pieces together. Such a good eye!
thank you girl friend! I super appreciate the sweet compliments 🙂
xo Laura Leigh
Thanks so much for the detailed tips. I’m currently collecting wall art to redecorate, so this came right on time. The picture frame sizes for Planning the layout is a great save for later!
love when posts are published at the perfect time for people!
xo Laura Leigh
I love gallery walls. They always make a statement on a wall and bring it to life.
completely agree with you!
xo Laura Leigh