Mirror Mirror …What’s The Right Way To Create A Gallery Wall?

So Many Ways To Hang Art!

A few weeks ago a reader suggested we do a post about how to hang pictures.  This morning, with the sun streaming into our home, I took a few extra minutes to look at a few of our art pieces.  Sometimes art needs to be hung with precision.  Other times, the way pieces are grouped together is part of the “art” itself.  Today, let’s talk about all the ways to create a Gallery Wall.

Why Is Art Important?

Recently we’ve completed several whole house installations.  Each of these projects have been for clients who have collected art pieces over decades.  Art is the one thing that moves with us from house to house.  The day we get the art on the walls is the day the new house becomes their home.

What Is A Gallery Wall?

A gallery is an area of a building that’s usually long, narrow, and has a specific function. There is not a definition of a gallery wall.  Designers have been hanging pictures, mirrors, and sculpture for years.  It is only recently the term gallery wall has been used on a regular basis.  Therefore, to keep it simple, we say that anytime more than one piece of art is placed with another it is a gallery.  For most of us, our homes are our galleries.

Stacked Art Gallery

Oh how we designers love to stack art!  Frames can be different sizes and finishes.  Content can be of mixed media, photos or paintings, as in the gallery group above.  Or, in the example below, art pieces can be behind glass or open canvas.  William McLure is a master at art display.  In the link below, you can visit his site to see some of the extraordinary art installations he creates.

William.McLure

Can Mirrors and Family Photos Create A Gallery?

Absolutely.  I think the installation of multiple mirrors in the powder room above is creative and charming!  I admire the person who created the family  gallery wall with all the photos being in similar frames and hung with such care.

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Alternative To “Hanging” Art To Create A Gallery

Ledges for art are an interesting way to display multiple pieces of art.  Such flexibility too!

Multiple Piece Gallery Walls

Grey Hunt Interiors

Look how impactful the gallery wall is in the dining area above.  Here the frames and the art have a relationship to each other.  An installation like this one does take precision and patience.  Well worth the effort and so creative with the center mirror!

The majority of galleries are on white walls.  However, after seeing this example on this eye catching hue, I think color can be an asset to create an entire wall as the “art”.  Look closely at the content of these pieces.  Girls rule!

The Traditional Gallery Wall

New Darlings

When I say traditional, I mean the layout is more of what we have come to expect with gallery art walls.   This does not mean the installation above, by one of my favorite bloggers, is traditional in design.  Love how the content of this art wall offers color in similar black frames and then throws in the wood frame!   You can read more about this couple in the link above and see how they continue to create homes that are always uniquely inviting.

Below we have an example of mixed frames and content that all work together so well.  What I want to point out, and finally answer the question on “What is the right way to create a gallery wall?”, is that some of the most interesting art displays appear to have no pattern at all.  Myself, and our clients, continue to collect pieces that mean something to us.  Having groups of art that can expand with new acquisitions may indeed be the right way to create a gallery wall.

Any Group Of Art Can Be A Gallery

Park & Oak

One of our favorite ways to display art is to look for ways to “not” hang the pieces on the walls.  The art leaning on this mantle caught my eye.  Every piece is different without similarity in frame and content.  Yet, oh how they work so well with the wall detail, the light fixture, plant and books.  Learn how the designers created this mantle gallery in the link above.

The right way to create a gallery wall….is your way.

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