How to make your own gallery wall

Do you have a wall in your house that you simply don't know what to do with? 

I did! It was too big for just one picture, and I didn't want to go out and get a giant mirror to fill the space. But after living with a blank wall for about eight months, I finally got up the courage to create something that I never thought I could do without professional help: a gallery wall. 

What's a gallery wall? The idea is that you take a bunch of different sized pictures, plaques, paintings, etc. and put them on your wall in an aesthetically pleasing way. That doesn't mean perfectly symmetrical, although if that's your thing, go for it! But it usually means a somewhat eclectic mix of picture frames, styles, and sizes. 

It turns out that creating a gallery wall is actually much easier than you might think! It took me all of an afternoon to put it together, and I had a great time doing it. 

What made me decide to invest the time and effort into creating a gallery wall was that we had finally received the prints from our wedding photographer (I know, it only took a year!). They came in a few different sizes, and I didn't want to have them sitting on tables all around the house. Instead, I decided to get creative. 

I think one of the sad things about using our phones to take pictures is that we don't often take the time to print our pictures and really look at them. Choosing pictures to put up, though,  is like putting a photo album on your wall where you can look at it whenever you want. 

So, without further ado, here are my tips for making your very own gallery wall! 

1. Choose pictures that fit into a theme. When you're choosing pictures for your gallery wall, I think it's nice to have a theme. For us, we themed our gallery wall around our wedding and a few photos we took together about six months into our marriage. You could choose pictures with friends, your family, or even pictures with your dog! But having a theme will tie the whole wall together. 

2. Order your prints in a bunch of different sizes. Once you've chosen your favorites, head to Walgreens or CVS and order your pictures in a variety of different sizes. 4x6, 5x7,and  8x10 are all great sizes, and having different size prints will add variety and spice to the frames you can choose and will add dimension to your gallery wall.  

3. Head to T.J. Maxx or Marshalls. Now that you've got your prints in hand, you get to choose the frames you want! I love T.J. Maxx and Marshalls because they have a lot of great, cheaper options that are really unique and have so much depth and dimension. I highly recommend checking them out.

4. Look for different styles of frames, as well as a few word-art pieces. When I went to look for frames, I knew that I wanted variety, but I wanted them to fit into a certain theme, too. I was looking for something rustic, with muslin bows, metal clips, and weathered paint. You can choose whatever theme you want, or you can just go with a whole variety of different frames: modern, old-fashioned, rustic, or fancy. It's really up to you. But choose a few different types! As well, I liked the idea of incorporating a few word-art pieces to hang among our pictures to add more flair to our wall - I chose a few that said things that we believe in. You can choose whatever fits your theme and the pictures you've chosen. Have fun with it! 

5. Lay out all your pictures on the floor to see what you want it to look like. When you get back home, put all of the pictures in your frames and lay them out on the floor. See what looks good to your eye and make adjustments. There, you can see what looks good to you and change things easily. Take a picture once you've figured out what you like so that you can replicate it on your wall. 

6. Hang it on the wall and enjoy! Now that you know what you want it to look like, take some measurements and start hanging everything up! You'll love what you put together and you'll get to enjoy your pictures so much more frequently than when they're simply stored in your phone's memory. 

I included some options from T.J. Maxx to try for your gallery wall at home - I hope you find something you like. 

If you try this, please send me pictures on Twitter and Instagram! I'd love to see what you come up with. And let me know down in the comments too! 

*Disclosure: This contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click on a link and purchase something. ​​​Thank you so much for your support! ​

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