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Yesterday I shared a look at my updated gallery wall with Simply Framed, a wall that definitely doesn’t shy from the bold or colorful. And while gallery walls tend feel very “one-and-done,” I touched upon the process of continually adding to your collection and making room as I’ve always been a believer that a spectacular gallery wall should feel truly collected, and evolve over time.
I know the process of actually laying out and hanging a great gallery wall can be quite intimidating. So if you’re feeling hesitant in the time it will take, and putting a bunch of holes in the wall, I’m here to tell you that there are several steps to consider even before that hammer is in your hand.
Below, I’ve broken down a few easy steps, tricks and tips to keep in mind as you’re beginning with your wall. Yes, it involves some planning and the right tools (I’d recommend this easy, ready-to-use tool kit), and will take some time to get it just right. But the beauty of an amazing gallery wall, is that it’s ever-changing alongside you. So don’t be afraid to mix-and-match because there really aren’t any rules. That’s the beauty of art; you like what you like, and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, you’re the one that has to live with it. So here’s to great gallery walls that reflect your personality, and to ones that never take themselves too seriously! Good luck! Truly, MKR
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Always start with a large hero, or anchor piece where your eye will go first. While yes, you want your wall to house all different shaped and sized pieces of art if you have a ton of smaller pieces with no large “wow” piece your wall won’t make the impact you want a gallery wall to always make.
The best way to do this is by laying the pieces on the floor. This way, you’ll be able to visualize different setups, making easy adjustments and tweaks as you decide. You can then reproduce the layout with blue painter’s tape on the wall; it will accurately reflect the sizes of your pieces and how they’ll look placed together. Try not to hang everything too closely together, you want about 2-3 inches at least between pieces. Mix up the levels at which you hang, you don’t want it too look like perfect rows, instead try to hang pieces just above or below the other pieces. And one last tip, once you have everything on the floor the way you’d like take a picture of it with your phone in case you forget exactly what piece went where as you begin to dissect it.
You want the gallery wall to have a personality and feel that it’s been collected over time. By mixing and matching frames, as well as incorporating illustrations, paintings, prints and 3-D objects (like a juju feather hat, skateboard or sconce), you create an eclectic, lived-in feel.
Save yourself some sanity and gather all of the tools you’ll need to see the project from start to finish. That includes: a hammer, nails, level, tape measurer, pencil & eraser, blue painter’s tape, a small notebook (which is helpful for writing down the measurements of the art) and a screwdriver.
Simply Framed is genius and sells a ready-to-use tool kit (only $39), which contains everything you’ll need to do the job right, all in a durable carryall that won’t take up too much room in, if you’re anything like me, is an already overstuffed garage or closet.
Remember that there is no specific formula for laying out a beautiful gallery wall. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Know that your gallery wall can always move, evolve and grow!
Photography, Rustic White for Waiting on Martha | This post is in collaboration with Simply Framed, a brand we love and adore. All opinions are 100% our own.
To think that I’ve been with Waiting on Martha for three years (!) is pretty remarkable. I joined as a bright-eyed intern at five hours per week, and even from those early days I knew I was joining something to be reckoned with. Mandy Kellogg Rye (or MKR as she signs and everyone lovingly refers to her on here) had been blogging for a little over a year by the time I jumped on board, and even then she had already begun to create a brand that captured beauty in the everyday and celebrated the details that could inspire. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it at the time, but there was this electric energy in everything she did, and I knew that joining the WOM train would open up my world to an even better place. It was apparent that MKR’s passion to share the best in entertaining, food & drink and interiors served a growing audience by the day, and I saw first-hand how we made waitingonmartha.com into an online destination for all of that and more.
Now, in our fourth year, waitingonmartha.com shares content across the board, ranging from beauty and fashion to entertaining, tablescapes and interiors. And let’s not forget about travel, career advice and interviews on some of the best creatives in the biz. As we look to the summer and beyond, our editorial calendar is as stacked as ever, and we’re eager to challenge ourselves to bring you even better, and possibly different, content than before.
We’re conducting a brief-ish survey for all of our readers to learn what’s working (and what’s not!) on waitingonmartha.com. I say “brief-ish” because there are under 30 questions, (we’re all busy people here), but we’d really love for you to take your time and be honest with your answers. Within the survey, you’ll find questions covering general usability, as well as editorial content and topics you wish to see more, or less of. We have some big updates and projects in the pipeline, and we want to best serve you, our lovely readers and friends, because you help keep this crazy train going. From all of us at WOM, thank you so much for being part of our world. Cheers, Kat
Click here to complete the Waiting on Martha reader survey. xo
Featured image, Rustic White for Waiting on Martha
