{Image Credit: Habitually Chic}

My appreciation for people who have a desire to create a gorgeous gallery wall continues to grow. Gallery walls can be installed precisely with identical frames spaced exactly the same distance from one another, or they can be a mishmash of finishes, sizes and spacing. I love them both. A gallery wall in your home is a collection of what speaks to you visually; a painting that makes you happy or a photograph that makes you smile. It is a personal reflection of your taste and style. And while it does take time and commitment to install a gallery wall, anyone who is passionate enough to make it happen, can do it. They have become an essential part of modern decor and I wanted to share 5 tips on how to create gallery walls. For further inspiration, I’ve curated many images from around the web of different gallery walls. Enjoy!

1. Decide where – Find a focal point in your home to showcase the gallery. Typically, you’ll see gallery walls in foyers, living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms. They can also be tucked away in little spots under stairs and around corners. Some of the most charming gallery walls are miniature vignettes that occupy a small space on a wall and consist of maybe 6-7 small pieces.
2. Start your collection – Once you have decided where the gallery wall will be located, cast a wide net and gather artwork, images and photos that you love – but keep in mind that the pieces that you are collecting should complement the style of the room. To start, look around your home and see what you have. I’ve found that people stick to what they like and you may be surprised to realize that you already have enough pieces in common to begin your gallery wall. Give yourself permission to steal a piece from one room to add to the collection. If you do not have enough pieces tucked away, begin a collection of what you like and you’ll soon be able to get started. I have found some of my favorite artwork from thrift stores, estate sales and tag sales – and I’m a sucker for my kiddos art. Alternatively, you may want a grid of 9 (3×3) or 16 (4×4) of the same size frames with a single theme such as botanicals, maps or figures that you could find at a local art gallery or online. 
3. Begin the filtering process – Bring all the pieces into the room where the gallery wall will be installed. Prop them up against the wall and determine the common denominator. What is it that they all have in common? It is a color palette, a style, a subject, an art type, a theme, a frame? Eliminate anything that doesn’t make sense, unless a simple re-framing will make a piece blend with the rest. If you have been ruthless in your filtering process, you may need to add some more pieces. If you have many pieces, you may have enough for two gallery walls in your home.
4. Design the layout – Woot woot! You are at the stage where you have narrowed the pieces down to the ones that will be used for the gallery wall. The layout is the trickiest and most time consuming part because instead of one piece of art that you are hanging on a wall, you are combining multiple pieces into ONE piece of art. They can’t be treated separately, which is why it is so important that they all have a common denominator. It doesn’t have to be color that ties them all together, don’t get tripped up on that. When it comes to determining the layout that is best for the space, there are many gallery wall layout ideas on Pinterest, here is a link to my Gallery Wall Layouts board if you want some inspiration.
5. Installation made easy – When you have determined the layout, you are ready to start installing. You will need a hammer, nails, a tape measurer and a pencil. The easiest way to make sure that you hang a picture straight and in the correct spot is to hold the picture against the wall and make a small mark on the wall in the center of the picture with a pencil. Then using the tape measurer, measure the distance from the wire (pull it up as far as it can go) to the top of the frame – let’s use 3 inches as an example. Then, measure from the mark on the wall down 3 inches and that’s the place to hammer in the nail. If the picture has hooks instead of wire, the same process can be applied.