Designing a Dream Nursery

Gallery walls have been around for some time; however, they seem to be increasingly seen with anything from family photos to framed quotes and decorative accents such as arrows, ampersands, family initials and antique keys. These gallery walls look fabulous, but achieving the look can be a little daunting, as it can be difficult to hang them in a way that looks even and balanced, without looking like a hodgepodge. See below for tips on how to hang a gallery wall.

Figure Out Your Style

First you'll need to figure out what type of style you are trying to achieve. Are you looking for a gallery wall with just a photo collage of your family pictures, are you going for a mismatched look with several different styles and sizes of picture frames, or are you going for a look with decorative elements added into your photos? Once you have your style figured out and your items purchased, you can begin the process of laying out your wall.

Lay It All Out

Use craft paper in large sheets on the floor to use as a guide for later when you want to hang your gallery. Lay out your frames, decor and other accents on the craft paper. If laying out pictures, you can lay it out in a number of different ways. One option is to start with the largest photo in the center and build out from there, keeping the two sides and top and bottom of that one centered photo evenly balanced.

Begin Hanging

Once you have the layout you like, trace around each frame or decorative accent. Next, move the craft paper up onto the wall to the height you want it and tape it into place. You can then begin using either nails, screws or easy picture hanging hooks to hang up your pictures/accents. Once you have the hooks, nails or screws in proper placement you can hang up everything on the wall. Check the placement again before carefully removing the craft paper from behind your pictures. You can do this by taking down all of your pictures/decorative accents, or try to carefully remove the craft paper backing with these items on your wall (this may require a helping hand).

A proper gallery wall can be achieved using a mixture of different decorative elements and varying sized frames. Be sure to keep your wall balanced and even to prevent it from looking too overwhelming. For more assistance with hanging your pictures, check out a company like EXACTAC.