I love seeing gallery walls at other people’s homes and on Pinterest.  They’re so eye-catching and tell a story about the family living there.  Although a little daunted at first, I finally created my own gallery wall and love the results!  And the whole project only cost $80!  You can do it on a budget too!

Choose the Gallery Wall Space

We have a vast but oddly shaped wall on one side of our straight staircase.  Since whatever hangs there would need to gradually angle up the wall like the stairs, the only thing that really made sense to decorate it with was a gallery wall.

I’ve also seen great gallery walls over a sofa, above a console table, and in an entry way.

Select Gallery Wall Elements

After browsing many gallery wall ideas on Pinterest and looking at my own home, I decided to go with uniform white frames for a clean look.  Plus, the white frames would put more of the emphasis on the photos and artwork inside of them.

I bought two sizes of frames online from Michael’s when they were on sale.  I nabbed the 8×10 frames for about $5 each and the 11×14 frames for about $7 each.  With tax, I spent $72 on all of them frames.  That was a total bargain considering they include mats too!  Keep an eye out for a sale and a coupon to apply on top of that.  Black Friday is coming up…

I liked the idea of wood arrows to add some interest too.  My husband cut these arrows out of plywood using a band saw, each with a different “feather” end.

A few coats of white satin spray paint, and they look awesome!

Lay Out the Gallery Wall

This was the most painstaking step for me, but it’s such a time-saver in the long run!  I created silhouettes of the frames and arrows using white printer paper.  Then I taped them in an arrangement on the wall and played around with their placement until I was happy.  [And if I’m being honest, these paper cutouts decorated the wall for a few weeks until I got around to hanging the frames!]

Frame the Artwork and Hang the Gallery Wall

When we hung the frames, we nailed directly into the paper placeholder on the wall to ensure placement was just right.  After everything was hung up, I went back and took down all of the papers.

I used a combination of family photographs, artwork, and printables for my gallery wall.  I used some family portrait prints I already had from prior photography sessions and then spent a few more dollars on prints, which got me to the $80 total budget.  All of the printables I used were free, and I’ll provide more details on those next week!  Stay tuned!

I simply love how the gallery wall turned out.  I was worried about frames possibly being knocked off the wall by my kids going down the stairs, but we haven’t had any issues so far (knock on wood!).  It definitely helps that these frames aren’t too bulky or thick.

The ombre watercolor on the bottom left of the photo below was painted by me.  I’m not much of an artist, but I can paint horizontal lines!

The watercolor at the bottom of the photo below was painted by my 2 year old daughter.   I think her painting turned out better than mine!

If you’re not up for making your own wooden arrows, I’ve seen them at affordable stores like Hobby Lobby.  I like how the texture turned out on these!

I printed the printable below on gold card stock leftover from the firefighter appreciation project.  The shimmer and unique color add a lot to the wall!

 

Do you have a gallery wall?  Please share a photo and inspire other readers!