How to create a Gallery Wall

Gallery Walls are timeless, they can be incorporated into any interior and style. Simply changing the frames or images can give your gallery wall a different look and aesthetic. Here at 135Oak we have had some practice creating gallery walls. It may seem daunting at first but we have some tips and tricks to designing a tasteful art gallery wall.

1. First off start by deciding on your theme or style. Having a distinctive colour palette will help you to create a cohesive wall. Try to stick with no more then 3 colours of frames to start.

2. Pick your pictures and frames - you don't need to use all of them and can switch up the frames/pictures but have a good idea of which ones you want to use. (Tip: we used all old picture frames from around the house and painted them to create the style we want).

3. Don't be afraid to mix and match frames - we love the look of mixing gold and silver so go for it! Also make sure to use different sizes and shapes to create dimension.

4. Add in other elements! You don't just need to use picture frames. Road signs, antlers, clocks, sconces and other art objects help to create depth.

5. Plan, plan, plan. Once we decide on the frames/pictures we make space on the floor and create a layout (Tip: make sure to create the layout the same scale as the wall). Don't be afraid to play around with different layouts, mixing vertical and horizontal pieces.

6. Okay, so you've got a layout you love. Now take a picture, it will help when transferring the pictures onto the wall.

7. Alight, it's time to transfer the pictures on the wall. I suggest having two people doing this especially if you don't have a level (we highly suggest investing in one though, it' makes things a whole lot easier!)

8. Start with placing your largest piece of art first, then you can build around it. If you don't want to put holes into your wall, or you are renting and aren't allowed to hang pictures with nails we suggest command strips.

9. Place the command strips on the backs of the frame so they are ready to be hung. Have one person stand back & make sure that it looks like it is in a good spot and straight. Loosely stick it to the wall & use the level to make sure it's straight. If it is push the frames securely to the wall.

10. Continue for the rest of the frames! & there you have it your own timeless art gallery wall.

Adding in other elements such as antlers, signs, other art objects create depth and dimension to the wall.

Mix & match frames & colours. We repainted these old black frames gold & white to give a more feminine and classic look.

Art can be expensive so we used old photographs of family to frame. Middle top row is my great aunt & uncle and the middle/bottom is my mom! Get creative - use old photographs, kids artwork, your own paintings. It doesn't have to be expensive, you can frame anything you think is art!

Again, Sherry (my mom) used a few of my old paintings (black lines/black & yellow lines paintings) & framed them to use in her entryway wall gallery.

Create an affordable art gallery wall by using pictures from trips & vacations. All these photographs were from a relatives trip to Asia.

We know how daunting it can be but we hope this will help you create your own unique art gallery wall! Go for it and get creative with your wall galleries!

135 OAK