One of the most helpful things you can do before you start putting together a gallery wall is choose a gallery wall layout. Choosing a layout to follow means that you don’t have to end up with millions of holes in the wall trying to figure out how to arrange your gallery wall (you still might end up with a few miscellaneous holes, but who’s counting ๐).
My favorite way to choose a gallery wall layout is by using gallery wall templates. Before all of this, I definitely like to browse Pinterest and get some inspiration for what I like. Once I have some ideas of what I like, using a gallery wall template becomes super helpful. It gets all of the logistics out of the way.
No one likes all of the measuring, math, and logistical parts of putting together a gallery wall. No one that I know at least! And once I discovered gallery wall templates, it completely changed the game for me. I felt so intimidated by putting together a gallery wall before, and then once I started using templates and seeing which arrangements looked best to me, it became so much more approachable.
That’s exactly why I made a free printable of my 5 favorite gallery wall templates to share with you! I know how incredibly helpful these can be, and I wanted to create a curated selection for you.
Choosing a gallery wall layout before you start putting together your gallery wall makes the entire process so much easier. But how do you choose a gallery wall layout that you’ll love? These 4 simple steps will help you choose a gallery wall layout that you will love for years to come.
This post is all about choosing a gallery wall layout that you love. These are 4 super simple steps that help you make the process of putting together a gallery wall easier. Thinking through what gallery wall layout you want in the beginning helps you to get the hard part out of the way early, so that you can enjoy picking out art and photos for your gallery wall that you love.
1. Determine what wall space you want to use
First things first, you need to choose what wall space you want to use for your gallery wall. This will help you get a sense of the dimensions of the overall gallery wall, which in turn will make it easier to determine what size of frames you’ll need.
When you’re choosing your wall space, you want to go with your gut. One thing to keep in mind is that the larger your wall space is, the larger your frames should be. So if you have an extremely large blank wall, there are two ways you can go about your business. You can get super large frames, but that might get expensive, especially if you need custom frames. You also can add on to your gallery wall layout and bring in additional frames to help fill the wall.
All of that is to point out that it’s best to avoid having a huge wall with tiny frames because it will look kind of silly. My rule of thumb is that bigger is typically better. It looks better to have a wall that is very full than a wall that has awkward empty space.
If that’s not your thing, do what you prefer instead! Take what you like from this and leave what you don’t โ my intention is never to shame you or make you feel less than with your design choices. It’s your space, so it’s most important what you think and how you feel in it ๐ค
2. Figure out how large your frames need to be
Again, when in doubt, go for a larger size! Bigger tends to be better with wall art frames. Especially in a gallery wall. That being said, I try to stick to pretty standard sizes to keep things more affordable. However, that might not be the best option for you if you have a really large wall to fill (as discussed in the last step).
Part of why I made gallery wall templates for this is because they have measurements included with the gallery wall layout. This is literally a life saver because then you don’t have to guess (and guess wrong) what size of frames to get. It also gives you a sense of all of the proportions, so that even if you have to make adjustments, you have a starting point.
Remember โ the size of your frame is not always the same size as the art or photo that you put in the frame. Most often, the art or photo will be smaller because it will fit within the borders of the matte of your frame. This is a helpful thing to keep in mind when you start picking out your frames and thinking about what you want to put in them.
3. Use a gallery wall template (this will make your life so much easier)
As mentioned earlier, gallery wall templates help with figuring out the best gallery wall layout for you so much. They just make life so much easier. You can get the free printable I made with my 5 favorite gallery wall templates by clicking here.
Gallery wall templates are basically like a diagram for your gallery wall. You can see how big the frames are, how close or far apart you like to space out your frames, and see how the dimensions of everything relate to one another all in the same place.
It also can be really useful to compare different gallery wall templates so that you can compare different layout options. That’s why I included 5 unique gallery wall layouts in the free printable, so that you can see which one you like best.
When it comes to spacing out your frames in your gallery wall, I recommend spacing between 1 and 4 inches apart. More than 4 inches apart will probably feel like a little too much space. Again, use this tip at your own discretion and do what looks best to you.
4. Now that you know what layout you want, you can start to put together your gallery wall!
Yay! You made it ๐ I know it can be a little overwhelming, but hopefully you have a much stronger sense of what you want for your gallery wall.
Choosing a layout for your gallery wall is one of the first steps to putting together a beautiful gallery wall. If you want more help with how to make a gallery wall at home, click here! I wrote a blog post with steps from start to finish with how to make your own gallery wall. If you’re someone who likes to follow a process so that you don’t have to overthink things as you go, that post is for you. Because those are the steps I need to follow when putting together a gallery wall so that I don’t go insane during the process.
I hope that this helped you feel more confident in choosing a gallery wall layout for your home, and I am wishing you the absolute best of luck with putting it all together. It can feel a little overwhelming during the process, but after it’s done you will enjoy it for years.
I hope that this helped give you the information you needed to choose a gallery wall layout that you love.
Here’s the link to the free printable with my favorite 5 gallery wall layouts if you need it! By the way, if you have any trouble downloading the templates be sure to check if they were emailed to your spam folder, because that happens sometimes.
I know that this only covered figuring out your gallery wall layout, so I put together some more resources for you in case you’re looking for more information on all things gallery walls. I have posts about how to put together a gallery wall at home, the best frames, and cute art print ideas.
Additional gallery wall resources:
If you need any additional help with making your gallery wall, here is a list of helpful resources for you:
Curious about how to make a gallery wall at home?
Click here for my 5 step guide on making a gallery wall at home!
Do you need help finding the best frames for your gallery wall?
Learn about the best black gallery wall frames!
Learn about the 15 best picture frames here!
Are you looking for cute and unique art for your gallery wall?
Here’s a list of cute and unique art prints!
Alsooo…
You can see all of the Garland Collections blog posts here โจย
And if you’re still searching for more inspiration, follow @garlandcollections on Pinterest! I have a board completely dedicated to gallery walls and am pinning different kinds of wall art all of the time.
For Garland Collections video content, make sure you check out the Garland Collections YouTube channel.
I hope that you enjoyed! Thank you so much for being a part of the Garland Community. You are always welcome here ๐ค I appreciate you more than you know.
