Have you ever looked at all of the walls in your house and felt a little lack luster about it all? Feel like they look a little empty, but end up going about your business because the thought of trying to figure out what to put on them is daunting to say the least? Really don’t feel like spending an arm and a leg just to try to decorate? I’ve definitely been there. Being a graphic designer by trade, it dawned on me that creating and printing my own artwork would probably be the easiest route to go, but what would I put up and how would I make it cheap. After a little searching on good ol’ Google, a gallery art wall was the easiest choice. I could create small 8×10 inch images and print several of them out to cover a few walls. Pick up some affordable frames and away I go. If you are not a graphic designer or don’t feel like learning all the ins and outs of a digital photo editing software, fear not, there are easy and cheap ways to create a gallery art wall for even the laziest of us.
This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through these links, we may earn a commission. Thanks!! Featured image source: Set of 9 Landscapes by NLS Design on Etsy
A Gallery Art Wall In A Box
Well, not really in a box, but finding a set of images that are already put together for you is a big first step. Craft stores, big box retailers and Amazon all have prints in frames that are coordinated and ready to go. All you have to do is buy and hang and you are done. But, and this is a big but, when you buy a set that is already framed and done, you pay a premium for someone already doing all the dirty work for you. So, what’s a lazy person supposed to do? Look into printable digital downloads. (I created two Etsy shops for just this purpose – travel and nature or abstract and abstract landscape art.)
Many pintable digital download sets are cheap, you can print them at home or for a very low price at any photo place, and someone has already chosen their best images and coordinated them all together. Search for a similar theme (recent travel locations, botanicals, beach, etc…) or color palate for the most cohesive look and to make it personal to you. If you have no idea where to start and you don’t have a theme or color scheme even remotely figured out, search for a neutral digital download set that someone has already thought out for you. Print on some nice photo paper or have them printed for you at any photo printing place (Shutterfly, etc…) and hang them on the wall.
Stick to the Same Size
Speaking of things all being coordinated, make life easy for yourself and stick to the same size artwork. As I referenced above in my own quest to fill my large walls, stick to one size image and one size frame. Easy sizes to find frames and mattes in are 8×10 and 11×14 inches. Print off 6-9 of them in either vertical or horizontal orientation and you have a lot to work with. (Check out my post How to Fill A Large Living Room Wall When You Have No Money.)
Gallery Art Wall Grid Pattern For the Win
When you are creating a gallery art wall, you could get all creative and have different sizes and orientations and mix and match elements, but why? Again, make your life easy and print off the above 6-9 images and put them in a simple gird formation. Use a large roll of craft paper or some old wrapping paper and make a template on the floor. Trace around the edges of each frame and mark where the hanging element is and then you can easily place the paper on the wall and hang accordingly. In this way, you can measure and level without having a bunch of hidden holes in your walls. This one I learned from experience.
Cheap Gallery Wall Art Frames
Speaking of tracing your frames, where are you supposed to get such frames? I have had great luck finding good deals online at Amazon or craft stores like Michaels. If you don’t feel like going on the hunt, no problem, you can easily have your digital downloads printed in canvas format, on a thicker board or paper, or in a multitude of ways where you don’t even need a frame. Easy peasy.
Work Your Way Out
If you do want a gallery art wall that isn’t symmetrical, go for frames that are in the same color family, matching styles or not, and work from the center out. Keep the spacing between frames even, say two inches, and start adding frames to the wall in a radius type fashion. If you are working on a wall going up stairs in an odd area in your house, follow the architecture, but still start at the center and work out. This can all be done cheaply if you find inexpensive frames online, at a thrift store, or in the clearance aisle and paint them all the same color. In the same manner, keep the artwork in the same tones and you can easily fill a wall in no time, while still having it look cohesive.
I hope these few tips and tricks for a gallery art wall helped out in some way. Once you decide to actually start, it really isn’t that bad, I promise. Got any tips to pass on to the rest of us? Please let us all know in the comments.
