Gallery wall planning

Gallery walls are a great way of bringing a collection of your favourite memories together to showcase in one place. Whether you choose a selection of images from different events or of one special occasion, like a wedding, gallery walls can make a house a home (or even add a personal touch to an office) and help set the personality and style of your interior decor.

But how do you actually go about creating your own gallery wall? (Hint: use inkopia!)

While not necessarily an exact science, knowing some basics about how to hang a frame, and where to place prints on the wall, will ensure that your home has appeal that will make you happy and impress your visitors.

Where is your gallery wall going?

The first thing to do in creating a collage of framed photos is to choose where you want to put it.

This will obviously come down to your own personal space and creativity, but we recommend you keep a few things in mind before starting:

Choose a spot that is easily accessible — This will not only make it easier to hang your photos, but it will also be easier to dust, add in more frames, and/or swap out new photos as time goes on.
Select a spot that is well-lit — You want to be able to enjoy seeing your photos once they’re up!
Consider a theme — If you’re creating a collage of family photos, maybe your living room is the perfect spot. Or maybe you’re creating a gallery of your kids as they grow up and their playroom is the perfect place. Sometimes the theme of your gallery will help dictate the perfect location or vice versa.
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box — A hallway or bathroom may not be the first place you think of, but don’t discount any space you can make work.

What frames will look good?

Some people have a flair for interior design, knowing exactly which colours will complement each other easily and knowing what to avoid. For the rest of us, the temptation to make everything match – just to make things easy – is undeniably strong.

Have no fear. We’re here to tell you that it’s okay to mix and match frame colours when it comes to a gallery wall.

So, get creative with your combinations:

Mix different tones together and throw in some gold or silver frames with a glossy finish to make some pictures pop.
Black and gold work well together for a bold statement
Beech and white enhance the softness of a room without being too washed out
Alternate black and white frames will liven up even the most minimalist space
Hang large frames alongside smaller ones to create a gallery wall that fits your personal style

When mixing frames, try to stick to two to three sizes and frame type/colours to make sure there’s some repetition that ties everything together.

Consider whether you’d prefer your pictures to retain their original full colour, or whether a full monochrome set of pictures will help provide a stylish cohesive gallery.

If you want an easy starting point to keep your gallery wall cohesive, our top selling frame styles are timeless and match well with one another no matter what you’re framing:

How should you position your gallery wall?

You should be able to see your pictures to be able to enjoy them, and if they are too high, too low, too close, or too far, they can be difficult to view and enjoy. Why put them high up and crane your neck to see them?!

We recommend treating the entire gallery as a single unit when deciding on wall placement. This is more true for height than for width; while you do want the middle of your collection to be about eye-level, galleries don’t necessarily have to be centred horizontally if you’re going for some creative flair.

If you’re creating a gallery wall with multiple frames, hanging everything too close together can make it look busy, just as making everything too far apart can make it look disconnected.

While it ultimately comes down to personal preference, plan for picture frames to be hung consistently at least 3cm apart from each other, and if you’re framing above furniture, leave a gap of at least 10cm above it.

Galleries of multiple frames don’t necessarily have to form a perfect shape, but it’s a good rule of thumb to keep prints evenly spaced from each other.

[Read our other posts on Frame placement and How to hang]

What’s the easiest way of planning your collage layout?

There are various methods for how to plan your gallery wall. Here are our personal favourites:

If you already have your frames with the pictures, then you can lay them out on the floor below the wall that you’d like them hung on. This will help you imagine what they will look like altogether, which pictures you’d like next to each other and in what order. You can also measure and account for space between the frames, any light switches, cornicing or other elements. Take a photo of the layout on the floor before you start drilling and hanging.
To be more precise, measure each frame exactly and, using painter’s tape, map out your entire gallery on the wall with tape before drilling any holes. Make sure to consider the string or mount and where the holes should be drilled – use a pencil to identify where the holes should be on the wall. Then simply drill, hang and move from one ‘frame’ to the next, replacing it with the real thing.

Sounds simple but, in reality, its quite tricky. It is really worth the effort, though.

We strongly recommend having two people to help in this process – one to measure with tape, straighten with a spirit level, align the next picture and to help hold the hoover while you drill!