A piece of art here and another there is wonderful, but other than an over scaled single piece of art, there is nothing more impactful than an art gallery wall. Gather your smaller works and group them in a single space and you’ve added amazing texture and interest.

Don’t have the art? You can buy online, but I find it far more fun and memorable to get out there and scour art fairs, small, local galleries, design shops and even flea markets.

My son, Sam, and I travel together quite a bit. We always make it part of our trip to check out the local art scene wherever we go. Our favorite was a trip to Paris where we stumbled upon an Art Fair of mostly silk screened prints. We also had to make purchases with smaller scales in mind to make sure they fit in our bags. We scored big time at great prices: Art gallery walls for both of us and a great family memory created all in one.

How to make your gallery wall perfect:

1. I find that works of varying sizes and a combinations of horizontal, vertical and square, or even round, work best. But you can certainly create a gallery wall that is very symmetrical with pieces that are all the same size , like a wall of vintage album covers, or you can at least frame works to be the same size.

2. If you wish to include objects — small wall sculptures or fiber art for example — go for it. You’ve added even more texture and interest.

3. If the grouping looks too busy or haphazard consider matching frames or mats or both.

4. We lay the art out in Auto CAD, but you can physically lay it out on the floor before hanging. Start from the center and build out from there.

5. Keep spaces between your art consistent to avoid uncomfortable negative space or a distracting tangent when things are too close

6. Don’t forget small spaces and rooms! Here’s a story — a friend created a fun to visit powder bath with a collection of vintage clown paintings. Each painting launched an interesting story about how it was found. My friend loved to throw dinner parties. I remember a night when we all crammed into the powder to hear about them.

7. Consider a theme and make it meaningful to you. You could collect black and white photos, vintage portraits, Retablos, prints, or actual art, all by one artist, works from a specific era like mid Century, botanicals, etc.

Even for a simple and sparsely decorated space, a gallery wall suddenly takes your room from blah to interesting and complete. It can create not only a stunning focal point but one that is personal, tells your story, and creates an intentional space for remembering and revisiting our warmest memories.

-BHE