If you're like me and have too much art for your small flat, a gallery wall is a great way to curate your collection, bring personality to your home, and be thoughtful about how your artworks interact with each other.

Whether it's thematic, via interesting colour pairings, or balance of composition, you're bound to discover connections that you didn't know existed.

Here's a few practical steps to create your gallery wall: 

1. Choose your artworks

Choose pieces that have a conversation in some way - don't get too worried about whether the frames match or not, a bit of mis-match is a good thing.

The nicest gallery walls comprise artworks that have been collected over time, rather than anything too deliberate or bought all at once.

Try mixing media, sizes, textures and colours to achieve a not too matchy look. 
 

2. Lay them on the floor

This can help you get your eye in in terms of composition. Think about how much space you want to leave between each work, and what kind of look you're going for. For example, if your artworks are quite uniform in style, then you can be a bit freer with the layout and don't have to worry too much about spacing.

However, if you're going for an eclectic look that mixes media, colour, size and frames, maybe try and have the same distance on one axis between the works to tie them together.

In both cases, think about balancing larger works out so that it's not bottom or top heavy. 
 

3. Time to hang

Once you've found your composition, choose your most central bottom work and hang that, and then work outwards from there, remembering how much space you wanted between each work.

Some people even cut out pieces of paper and stick them to the wall before they start hammering.

Do your research as to what type of wall you're hanging on - as different fixtures are recommended for hard walls vs plaster board walls, and you don't want anything crashing down. Command strips can also be a hole-free solution for light artworks.

You may also decide that you need a professional to help you hang - it's worth the expense if you plan to keep the display up for the long term, and it will save you on re-plastering later!

Remember, you can always change things around and a gallery wall doesn’t have to be for life. Don’t get too crippled by “the perfect hang” as sometimes slightly off-centre and non-perfect hangs make for the best ones with the most personality. 

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If you’d like to speak to us about building a collection that would work well as a gallery wall, we’d be happy to guide you via a tailored consultation.