Big art = big money unless you’re willing to get creative or make your own. For those of us without thousands of dollars to throw around, a cheaper way to use art in your home is to collect cheapersmaller prints and arrange them in a gallery wall. A gallery wall can really make a room look sophisticated. People are always impressed and think you’re some kind of design superstar, little do they know you’re just poor! I recently finished re-arranging my gallery wall after painting the living room. Here’s a photo of the original wall before I painted:

This is the best shot I have of the old wall. Some of the art is cut off but you get the idea.

After painting, (Birds Egg by Benjamin Moore) I had some new annoyanceschallenges to work around. I couldn’t use the awesome polar bear print since the blues were too similar. I had accommodate a wall mounted tv, so there was less space to work with and I had some new prints to add. Basically, the wall needed a complete redesign.

I’m jealous of anyone who can pull out the hammer and just start putting frames up. But I have a really hard time living with the slightest mistake so I do a lot of planning before I get the nails out. Here’s how I make sure I get it perfect before putting a bunch of holes in the wall.

The Process:

1. Trace the shape of all your frames onto big cheap newsprint. (You can buy big pads of newsprint in an art supply store.)
2. Cut out each “paper frame”.
3. Use painter’s tape and arrange the paper frames on the wall.
4. Rearrange.
5. Rearrange.
6. Rearrange.
7. Once you have a configuration you like, replace the paper frames with real ones.

Tips:

• It’s easier to start with bigger pieces and arrange smaller pieces around them.
• If using nails, mark where the nail should go on the paper frame then nail right through.
• For smaller frames, I recommend using 3M Picture Hanging Strips (I buy mine at Canadian Tire). They’re more expensive than plain old nails, but they don’t leave holes in your walls. (Genius and priceless to me!)
• Live with your paper frames on the wall for a few days to make sure you like the design. BONUS: It makes for a good conversation starter when people come over ask what the heck those pieces of paper are doing on your wall!

Here’s are the two configurations I was trying to choose between.

Hmmm... do the five small frames belong on the bottom or the top?

You’ll notice that this gallery wall is fairly grid-like. There are all kinds of layout possibilities but I like mine to be a bit more orderly than most. This design*sponge best of gallery walls post is full of inspiration and features a lot “messier” designs that I just can’t seem to pull off. One of my ideas to make this a bit more unique is to extend the grid to the ceiling and to the floor so it’s a big stripe of art. For now though, I’m pretty happy with this look.

The complete hawtness. Configuration 2 wins! Click for bigger view of the left image.

Do you have any hot tips that might help me out next time? Do you think a floor to ceiling art stripe would look dumb or amazing? Let me know in the comments!

SOURCES
Here’s where each of the pieces came from. All the frames are from IKEA unless otherwise noted.

Top row: Botanical Card set from Rifle Paper Co.
Second row left: ISO 50, custom framed at Frame it on Bloor.
Second row right: Sugarloop.
Second row left: card from Russet & Empire.
Second row middle: Michelle Maude illustration.
Second row right: Empty! But will hold another Michelle Maude illustration when I find it.