Gallery walls...how to nail one! — Point Dorset Interiors

Nothing adds personality to a home like a gallery wall. Whether in your living room, bedroom or stairwell, gallery walls are a great way to infuse your personal style into a space. The key to a perfectly composed gallery wall is finding the right balance of art, framing, and spacing.

Before you even think of tackling a project like this, first consider what you've got to display. Pull out that stash of neglected prints, photos and art hidden away in cupboards or gathering dust under your beds. A gallery wall of family photos is a classic choice and children's drawings make a great display in a kids bedroom or playroom. Don’t feel you are restricted to one genre - rules are made to be broken! 3D pieces can be striking too - think fun antlers, vintage clocks, or uniquely shaped mirrors.

Next, consider your framing options carefully: If you’re using photos or art that all have a similar tone (say, a grouping of black-and-white images or a collection of drawings), add interest by mixing up the size and finish of the frames. Alternately, if your pieces vary in colour, scale, or medium, hang the collection in matching frames and matting. Picture rails or ledges can also be used to create a gallery wall where different pieces can be moved around and changed over easily.

Finally, if you’re grouping items in a grid, try to display an odd number of pieces, like a uniform stack of three frames or a square grouping of nine pieces. Once you’ve got your art picked out, follow the step by step guide below for how we here at Point Dorset Interiors nail (pun intended) the perfect display.

Step 1: Step Away from the Hammer
Avoid putting unnecessary holes in your wall by crafting a gallery wall game-plan. Lay each piece on the floor in front of your empty wall, leaving at least 2 to 3 inches between each frame on all sides. From here, you can start arranging your art in a standard composition—a loose rectangle, diamond, or square shape - or a freeform grouping, allowing your pieces to come together in a more creative way. Start with the largest pieces and build around them.

Step 2: Cut It Out
Once you’re happy with the floor arrangement, pull out some old newspapers or brown craft paper and place each frame on top of the paper, trace it, and cut it out. You should have one piece of paper per piece of art.

Step 3: Test, Test, and Re-Test
Using painter’s tape to tack up your arrangement on the wall as you had it on the floor. Start at eye level for the larger pieces and move out from there. Don’t cut corners: Be precise with spacing on all sides of each piece (using a ruler or measuring tape), and pull out a level to make sure everything is straight. Also, keep furniture placement and ceiling height in mind - if you have very tall ceilings, for example, you may want to shift the whole arrangement a little higher.

Step 4: Seal the Deal
Once your paper collage is complete, it’s time to put hammer to nail. If you’re using vintage or mixed-sized frames, figure out where the picture wire hits the back of each frame when taunt - this will determine where your hanger should go in relation to the top of each frame. Nail picture hangers through the paper cut-outs in the appropriate spots, removing each paper cut-out as you replace it with a frame.

Then—voila! Stand back and admire your handy-work.