Creating a gallery wall is a great way to display a collection of your favorite photos and prints!
Do you have more photos, portraits or pictures than you know what to do with? Are they stacking up on every surface and forcing you to eat meals on your lap? There’s a solution to your problem in every open space of empty wall that you can find.
Gallery Walls are simple and appealing construction projects that take just a little effort and time and a couple of picture frames to turn a blank wall into an artistic expression for your home. You may already have everything on hand to make them, just nails, picture frames, and a wall. Anything else you can get at IKEA.
6 Step Process
Making a Gallery Wall is easy. It’s something you can do for a day – even something a family can do together.
Step 1
First, you pick a wall and use a tape measurer or ruler to measure the full space that you want to fill with pictures.
Step 2
Second, choose the pictures. Take them from places that are hard to see or get new ones printed out where you can.
Step 3
Third, take the wall measurements and find an open space on the floor where you can match those measurements and lay the pictures out in an appealing way. This lets you visualize how they will look once they’re on the wall until you get the perfect layout before putting a single hole in the wall.
Step 4
Fourth, assemble the picture frames. Each one should be sized appropriately for the pictures themselves, and they come in many different sizes. They will also have paper inserts that fill the full size of the frame. Take these out and tape them up to the wall in the same arrangement as your pictures on the floor.
Step 5
The fifth step is where all the work takes place. Up until now you’ve prepared, but now you’re working with tools. Specifically nails. Mark each place where the photo will hang using the tape from step four. You can do this manually OR you can use a ruler, stick a nail through the hole at the end, just enough to hang the matching photo frame on, and then guide the tip of the nail to the point in the wall where the frame will go.
Step 6
The final step is assembling your Gallery Wall. Drive in the nails and hang the frames right where they belong. Don’t drive the nails in all the way. Don’t worry too much about wall studs. A lightweight photo frame can be hung on drywall. You can find all sorts of light, stylish frames at an IKEA or online. If it’s on the heavier side, try using a drywall anchor to give the nail a more solid base.
Now you’re done! Step back and admire your work. Give your empty walls more vibrant life as Gallery Walls. It makes your precious photographs easier to see, and keeps your shelf and table space clear for the future.
