How An Interior Stylist Made An Eclectic Gallery Wall (It’S So Gorgeous You’Ll Want One Right Now!)

Remember the house tour of Sunita’s gorgeous Chennai home? We had spotted a standard gallery wall of photographs in black frames, laid out in a grid, in her ...

There is no doubt that gallery walls make a space stunning but if not done right it can look tacky. So it’s quite important to plan the process well before you start hitting those nails on the walls. I’ve always been a big fan of gallery walls and wanted one for my living room. But it can be quite daunting to get that perfect look you’re going for. So let me tell you how I worked on mine.

BEFORE

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My gallery wall was a grid of wedding & family photographs above the sofa in the living room. While there was nothing particularly wrong about it, I wanted to add some colour and a hint of whimsy to the area. I also love paintings and really wanted a wall that represented that.

First Step: Determine The Style

Next Step: Pick The Art or Photos

I picked all the artwork that I liked – some were free images and a few from Etsy. I used photoshop to make a mock-up to see if it feels right together.

Editor’s Note: You can even use MS Powerpoint!

Even though the end result was completely different, this set the mood for the gallery wall and the overall look I was going for. It set the colour tone and also made me realise that I was going to go for an organic layout.

How To Achieve The Eclectic Feel

Eclectic means a mash up of lots of different vibes, styles and looks. So I threw together photo frames of various sizes and finishes. I made sure I got the frames from different stores so that they didn’t look alike. I decided to add some of my old paintings (that I had made) to the gallery wall as well.

Once I got the frames, I laid them on the floor in different layouts to see which one worked the best. I started with a centrepiece (that abstract artwork on the right) but then ended up replacing it with another floral artwork of mine as this piece didn’t work well with the other pieces (see the final image). Once I fixed the centrepiece I started building the layout around it.

Getting The Balance Right

Once you fix the layout for the frames, you can figure out which artwork goes where. A gallery wall looks best when there is a perfect balance. For example, don’t place art pieces which are blue next to each other. Or if the artwork is a portrait, don’t place another portrait next to it, instead place an abstract art.

Nailing It!

The next step is to trace out the frames on either craft paper/ old newspapers and cut them out and stick them in the same layout as you had planned on your wall. So now you know where exactly each frame is going to be placed and you can nail them without making a mistake. And there is your perfect gallery wall!

# AFTER: The Final Look!

# Ingredients to Sunita’s Eclectic Gallery Wall

• Mix of ornate & simple frames in a variety of finishes – note how there are multiple metallic shades (from bronze to bright and dull gold) along with glossy white as well as vintage finish neutrals

• The artwork is a mix of florals, botanicals, landscapes and abstract plus portraits!

• A couple of decorative mirrors (love the vintage hand mirror on the left!)

• What lies in front of the gallery wall is equally important – see how the cushions & houseplants pick up colours from the art to give the whole area a cohesive feel

Are you thinking about adding a gallery wall to your room?