How to Curate the Perfect Gallery Wall

Here at Hudson Home, we are great believers in the power of decorative accessories and finding the perfect finishing touches. How you dress your home is how you bring life to it; how you show your personality; how you put your stamp on your space. Photography courtesy of Pinterest

One of the most impactful and meaningful ways of doing this is by curating the perfect gallery wall. Have you been thinking about how to incorporate wall art or make the most of your wall space? This is the post for you and our range of framed and unframed prints might prove to be an indispensable tool when it comes to curating your own perfect gallery wall.

What is a gallery wall?

A gallery wall is a curated display of photographs, posters or prints, creatively arranged on a wall. Every now and then we hear proclamations of ‘the gallery wall is dead’, but it’s not going anywhere. This ‘salon’ style of decor has been around hundreds of years and will continue to endure. Not least because gallery walls are an easy way to update or refresh interiors by jazzing up a bland wall, adding character or creating a focal point in your home. With the renters holy grail, Command strips, at hand a gallery wall is a brilliant way to make your rental house a home and inject your story and personality into the interior.

Photography courtesy of Pinterest

A perfect gallery wall could find a home in any room in your house, but the most popular interior locales for hosting this wow factor are perhaps a hallway or staircase and the living room.

Creating the perfect gallery wall doesn’t need to be complex or onerous and we’re going to share our tips for ‘nailing’ your gallery wall with aplomb.

There are ‘rules’ when it comes to creating a gallery wall, but we believe that rules are often there to be broken, so forget what you’ve heard, we want to get your creating your perfect gallery wall.

Start somewhere…

It really doesn't matter where! Collecting your favourite pieces and adding in a few pieces you’ve been lusting after is the best way to start thinking about what will make up your perfect gallery wall. We created our ‘Print trios’ for exactly this purpose; to give you a starting point that you can build your gallery wall around.

Eclectic is beautiful…

And is an absolute win when it comes to curating the perfect gallery wall! Take inspiration from everywhere. You might look at mixing some new prints, with some family heirloom pieces, old photographs, vinyl records, posters or prints from your favourite places or exhibitions and perhaps even a wall hanging, wall mounted or hanging plant or a special, antique plate. Yes, anything goes! Remember, we have thrown the rule book out and with the rise of macrame and crochet, wall hangings are becoming an interiors trend du jour.

Odds or evens…

That is the question. If you are going sleek and classic with your perfect gallery wall, you might choose to keep things very linear and very even. Think the same frames to provide uniform sizing and everything beautifully aligned; in this scenario, symmetry is your friend. 
But, if you are embracing the eclectic, then let’s get odd. Think random arrangements, different frames (size and colour) and odd numbers.

If in doubt, Marie Kondo it out…

Does each piece bring joy? Does it make you smile? Transport you to another place or time? Have fun making these choices and allow your gallery wall to tell your visitors a little about you. Love every piece you single out for your perfect gallery wall, but don’t be worried by the prospect of a long term commitment. One of the enduring positives of a gallery wall is that you can chop and change and refresh whenever you wish; swapping out prints, updating frames and shaking things up a bit.

Mock it up before you hang it up…

Lay it out on the floor and play with different combinations and spacings. Or cut out pieces of paper the same size as each of your works and tape them up with masking tape. Either of these ways allow you to try many different layouts; and this is something you will want to do. There is much to be said for impulse and gut instinct and you may come back to your first vision, but don’t be afraid to take time to consider your layout and how best to use the space in front of you; are you going to create a central cluster on the wall that you might expand over time or go high and wide and fill the space for maximum impact?

Think about the spotlight…

Do you have wall lighting that you have to navigate in creating your perfect gallery wall? Command strips and hooks will be your trick to navigating around any hidden wires feeding your wall light, so why not make the lighting part of the show? Throw the spotlight on one of your key pieces with our Booker Wall Light or make a modern statement with the stunning Noah Wall Light or the more industrial Troy Wall Lamp.

Some quick tips that might help bring it all together:

Start with a large piece off centre to anchor the gallery wall 
Keep your second largest piece separate from the first to add balance to the wall  
Mix horizontals and verticals 
Not everything needs to be art 
Get that spirit level out!