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Creating an art gallery wall in your home is an ambitious but achievable design project; all you need to know is where to start, and these gallery wall ideas are a great place to begin. Surround your home with collections of art and photographs that add style and color to your walls.
A gallery wall always makes a big visual impact, and it can be done even on a small budget if you’re creative. If you don’t have an art collection yet, try picking up unique finds at flea markets, auctions, yard sales, and online marketplaces, and mix them with a few key pieces you have purchased from a store or on your travels. You can also frame old calendar pages and magazine photos, or enlarge and frame pictures you have taken.
If you don’t want to pay for expensive framing, there are plenty of inexpensive options, such as using an old window to frame objects. Check out our article on Creative Decorating Ideas for Old Windows for some ideas. Have a look through our collection of images below for inspiration and tips on different ways to create your own art gallery wall.
Note: Don’t forget to tell us which one inspires you most, and why, in the Comments below!
1. Loft Gallery Wall with a Statement Photograph
In the above picture, designed by Jay Jeffers, the art grouping helps to balance the tall photograph and helps bridge the distance between the furniture and the ceiling in what is obviously a tall space.
2. Framed Abstract Art in the Kitchen
A grid of eight matching frames brings a gallery feel to the kitchen, and the soft abstract pieces add just a touch of color above the gray cabinetry. (Photo Credit: Jute Interior Design)
3. Antique Map Gallery Wall
A large antique map anchors this wall, surrounded by smaller framed maps and prints. It’s a great idea for a home office or study. (Photo Credit: Bosworth Hoedemaker)
Rules of Thumb for Hanging Artwork
- For a single piece of art, the center of the image should be 56″ – 60″ from the floor, which places it at eye level. The larger the piece of art, the closer to 56″ it should be.
- When hanging two pieces of artwork, one above the other, treat them as one large picture – find the center point between them and use the 56″ – 60″ rule.
- For larger pieces of art hung on the same wall, use a spacing of about 2″ between them. Smaller pieces can be hung a little closer together.
- When hanging art above a sofa or other piece of furniture, the grouping should ideally be about 2/3 the width of the furniture below it. (For example, if an art grouping is being hung over a 60″ sofa, the ideal grouping would be about 40″ in length.)
- When hanging artwork over a sofa or other piece of furniture, leave 4″ – 8″ of space between the top of the sofa/furniture and the bottom of the art. No higher!
4. Choose Art You Love
Emma from the blog A Beautiful Mess designed this gallery wall. Here is her best advice for creating your own:
“If you are planning to hang a gallery wall in your home, don’t feel like you have to make it look like anyone else’s. You can include original art, art prints, kiddo art, family photos, personal photo projects or even found objects that get framed in shadow boxes (if needed). Hang what you love and what has meaning to you. If it helps you to get choosing with your color scheme then pick your color story before you start purchasing art or printing photos. You can use the color of the photo frames to help tie everything together if needed (like how I used all black frames).”
Plan Your Layout with Paper Templates
Here is another clever idea that Emma from A Beautiful Mess had to plan out her art gallery wall. She cut out the shape of each frame from poster board and taped them to the wall. This way they can be moved around to get the arrangement you are looking for before you hang your art, without creating unnecessary holes in your wall. Here are her sources for where she found her artwork, with the exception of personal photos and Polaroids: a pug portrait made by Hope (Katie’s sweet daughter), prints from UO, Pretty Little Thieves, Clare Elsaesser, Lisa Congdon, Vivienne Strauss, Hands Workshop, Ashley Goldberg and United Thread.
5. Framed Bird Prints in a Grid
Framed bird prints hung in a tight grid look striking against the orange walls in this cozy sitting area. (Photo Credit: Courtney Giles Interiors)
6. Bold Bathroom Gallery Wall on Black Walls
Painting a small bathroom black makes a dramatic backdrop, and the light-colored prints and white mats really pop against it. (Photo Credit: The Vault Files)
7. Black-and-White Photos Along a Staircase
A staircase is a natural spot for family photos. Matching black frames and white mats keep this large collection looking neat. (Photo Credit: ILevel)
8. Framed Seashell Prints
Four seashell prints hung in a simple square bring a relaxed coastal feel to this corner with blue grasscloth walls. (Photo Credit: Caccoma Interiors)
9. Create a Themed Gallery Wall
Themed walls can be appropriate in certain contexts. A nautical-inspired art wall in a beach house incorporates found objects such as oars and decorative fish hangings in a blue and white color scheme. (Photo Credit: Marcelo Brito & Pedro Potaris)
10. Red Powder Room with Framed Art
Even a small powder room can have a gallery wall. Here, framed art in mixed sizes fills the red walls around the mirror. (Photo Credit: Lonny)
11. Create an Eclectic Mix
Most gallery walls feature an eclectic mix of modern art, old photographs, small prints, and random items. Our personalities are so multifaceted that the gallery wall reflects everything we like and want to share with our visitors. Anything and everything can make the cut in a colorful and mixed collection of interesting images and objects. (Photo Credit: Corynne Studio)
12. Framed Concert Posters in the Dining Room
Framed concert posters bring color and personality to this dining room, and hanging them in an even grid keeps the look clean. (Photo Credit: MHouse Inc.)
13. Floor-to-Ceiling Family Photo Wall
This floor-to-ceiling wall is covered with family photos in all kinds of frames, turning a plain wall into a favorite conversation piece. (Photo Credit: Alykhan Velji Design)
14. Gallery Walls for High Ceilings
This photo grouping works well with high ceilings, bringing down the ceiling height as well as adding visual interest. When choosing a mat for photographs, go with a wider mat (more than three inches wide) in white or off-white for a crisp look. It will look sleek and contemporary in a gallery-like grouping. (Photo Credit: Maria Killam)
15. Colorful Art Up the Staircase
Bright paintings in gold frames climb the wall alongside this staircase, turning an everyday walk up the stairs into a stroll through a gallery. The large painting of flowers in a striped vase is by artist Erin Gregory. Hanging the frames along the angle of the stairs keeps the arrangement feeling balanced. (Photo Credit: MANDARINA STUDIO interior design)
16. Layered Art on Hallway Shelves
A picture ledge and floating cabinets let you lean framed art and collected pieces along a hallway, so you can change things up anytime without new nail holes. (Photo Credit: moment design + productions)
17. Collected Art on a Dark Green Wall
Vintage posters, oil paintings, botanical prints, and modern pieces in all kinds of frames cover this deep green paneled wall. The dark backdrop makes every piece stand out, and it adds a warm, cozy feel above the rustic farmhouse table. This Mill Valley home was transformed from an 1870s YMCA summer camp into an eclectic family home, and every new detail was designed to look vintage. See the full home tour here. (Architect: G.P. Schafer, Architect / Builder: Jetton Construction, Inc.)
18. Mixed Paintings and Empty Gilded Frames
Empty gilded frames hung among the paintings add an unexpected artistic touch to this gallery wall above a tufted sofa. (Photo Credit: Angella Eisman Design)
19. Picture Rail Displays
Picture rails are a great way to display collections of small images or photos. You get the effect of a gallery wall without committing to one composition and many nail holes. You can easily rotate images by simply swapping out the frames. (Photo Credit: M/I Homes)
20. Ornate White Frames in a Brick Bathroom
Ornate white frames look beautiful against the gray painted brick in this bathroom, and the mix of shapes keeps it interesting. (Photo Credit: Inhabit Design)
21. Gilded Frames Above a Console Table
A collected mix of sketches, landscapes, and vintage finds, mostly in gold frames, fills the wall above this burl wood console, and the blue and white lamp adds a fresh pop of color. (Photo Credit: Katie Rosenfeld Design)
22. Moody Grid of Coral Prints
White-matted coral prints in a large grid stand out against the dark walls of this moody living room. (Photo Credit: Stanton Home Furnishings)
23. Living Room Gallery Walls
The living room is a great space for an art gallery wall. It’s usually the largest room in the house, so it has big walls, and you can even cover an entire wall if you have enough pieces. You can combine framed portraits with painted artwork. (Photo Credit: Stacy Weiss)
24. Gallery Wall Above a Bed
A mix of white, black, and wood frames fills the wall above this tufted wingback headboard from Wayfair (Tufted Wingback Linen Headboard by Skyline Furniture). The wall color is 7532 Glorianna from Cloverdale Paints, and the lampshades have a custom DIY ombre finish. (Photo Credit: L. Weatherbee Design Studio)
25. Gallery Walls Above a Sofa
A gallery wall looks great above a sofa. The horizontal furniture piece begs for large horizontal art above. A gallery wall allows you to create a large display out of smaller images for a fraction of the cost of one giant and expensive piece. Here, a large charcoal drawing sits at the center, framed by ten smaller prints in matching black frames with wide white mats. (Photo Credit: Diamond Custom Homes, Inc.)
26. Use Two Adjacent Walls
You could also use more than just one wall. For example, you can use two adjacent walls in the living room to create a cozy sitting corner and define the space with the help of wall art. It’s a nice idea, especially if you also have a sectional that runs along those walls. (Photo Credit: Tim Barber Architecture)
27. Art Behind a Pedestal Table
Framed art and photos in a mix of colors fill the wall behind this pedestal table, with a pair of cream armchairs on either side. (Photo Credit: Garrison Hullinger Interior Design)
28. Grid of Framed Tree Photographs
Fifteen framed tree photographs hung in a tight grid create a calm, cohesive look above the sofa in this living room. (Photo Credit: Rugo Raff Architects)
29. Colorful Gallery Wall in a Home Office
Bold, colorful art prints in a mix of black, white, and gold frames follow the sloped ceiling in this home office, and the navy sectional gives you a cozy spot to take a break from work. (Photo Credit: Jennifer Grey Interiors Design)
30. Have a Showcase Wall
A good gallery wall should be able to grow and grow without anyone being able to tell where it started. If you are keen on starting one, make sure you pick a large wall so you aren’t limited in your search for small and beautiful framed images. (@sfgirlbybay)
31. Powder Room Photo Gallery
A row of black-and-white photos lines one wall of this powder room, while a subway sign print adds a fun graphic touch. (Photo Credit: Traci Zeller)
32. Rod-Hung Prints in the Dining Room
Hanging frames from a rod is a smart alternative to nails, and it’s easy to swap the prints out whenever you like. (Photo Credit: Alan Mascord Design Associates)
33. Family Photos Under Wood Beams
Family photos in a mix of frames and sizes run along this living room wall, balanced nicely under the wood ceiling beams. (Photo Credit: Jute Interior Design)
34. Oversized Mats in a Stairwell
Oversized white mats give each black-and-white photo room to breathe in this stairwell. (Photo Credit: Landing Design & Development)
35. Colorful Vintage Frames Down a Hallway
Vintage frames in different colors, shapes, and sizes turn a long, plain hallway into something fun to walk through. (Photo Credit: Hufft Projects)
36. Mix Different Types of Art
You can mix and combine all sorts of artwork. For example, you can display paintings along with framed photos, DIY pieces, and even posters. This is an example of an eclectic art gallery wall with a casual look and a mix of colors, textures, styles, and designs. (Photo Credit: Nest Pretty Things)
37. Moody Plum Wall with Framed Art
The deep plum walls make a rich backdrop for this gallery wall, and the white mats help the art stand out. (Photo Credit: Laura U, Inc.)
38. Staircase Gallery Walls
The homeowner filled a gallery wall on the second floor by the staircase landing with vintage prints, Etsy finds, and a skull. (Photo Credit: Mary Prince Photography)
39. Gallery Wall Around a TV
Surrounding the TV with art helps it blend into the wall instead of becoming the focal point. In this bright loft, the designer chose graphic, bold original art that gives the space a youthful feel, and the arrangement balances out the large screen TV. Below it, a Wilhem Cabinet by Mr. Brown London serves as the media console. Even with limited space, this living area seats up to 16 for pre-theatre or dinner gatherings, between the sofa, ottomans, lounge chair, side chairs, lucite bar stools, and dining chairs. The walls are painted in Decorator’s White CC-20 by Benjamin Moore. (Photo Credit: Jennifer Connell Design)
40. Hallway Gallery Wall Above Built-In Bookshelves
Black-and-white prints and botanicals in a mix of black and natural wood frames line this long hallway, hung just above a low built-in bookshelf. It turns an ordinary passageway into a library and gallery all in one. (Photo Credit: Rohleder Borges Architecture)
41. Coastal Art on a Picture Ledge
Beach and sky artwork hung with a picture ledge gives this corner a laid-back beach house feel, with smaller pieces tucked in between the larger ones. (Photo Credit: Nautical Cottage)
42. Grid of Old Master Prints
Fifteen old master prints in matching gold frames create a sophisticated look above this living room seating area. (Photo Credit: Patrick Sutton Associates)
43. Bird Prints on Grasscloth
Twelve framed bird prints hung in a grid look right at home on the textured grasscloth walls in this living room. (Photo Credit: Phoebe Howard)
44. Vintage Finds Beneath the Stairs
Antique arrows, a shell mirror, sketches, and old photographs share this wall beneath the staircase, with pottery and woven baskets lined up on the foyer table below, which came from Memorial Antiques and Interiors in Houston. Mixing objects in with the frames is what gives this gallery wall so much personality. (Photo Credit: NEST Design Group)
45. Layered Frames on Floating Shelves
Two floating shelves let you layer framed prints and photos, and you can rearrange them as often as you like. (Photo Credit: Pottery Barn)
46. Coastal Prints Around a Round Mirror
A round mirror sits at the center of this coastal gallery wall, surrounded by framed fish and bird prints. (Photo Credit: Nautical Cottage)
47. Sketches Above a Sectional Sofa
Framed sketches in a mix of frames create an artistic gallery wall above this gray sectional sofa. (Photo Credit: Miller Design Co.)
48. Gilded Frames with Pressed Botanicals
Twelve pressed botanicals in gilded frames bring a classic, elegant look to the wall above this cream sofa. (Photo Credit: ML Interiors)
49. Bold Graphic Posters
Bold graphic posters in black frames give this living room a modern look, and the strong colors make a real statement. (Photo Credit: Pinterest)
50. Colorful Paintings Above a Striped Settee
Colorful paintings in mismatched frames fill the wall above this striped settee for a cheerful, eclectic look. (Photo Credit: Two Thirty Five Designs)
51. Symmetrical Gallery Walls
Achieve a controlled look with horizontal rows of identically sized frames. This approach is less organic and more architecturally minded. Here, eight frames of vintage sheet music line up in two matching rows above a cozy kitchen breakfast nook. The banquette’s back cushions are covered in Jaipur fabric by Peter Fasano, the Serena & Lily chairs have seat cushions recovered in Kravet fabric, the lantern is from Visual Comfort & Co., and the table is by Redford House. The paint colors are all from Benjamin Moore: Dove Wing on the walls, White Dove on the trim, and Wedgewood Gray on the cabinets. (Photo Credit: Twelve Chairs Interiors)
52. Typography Prints with Personality
Typography prints and photos come together in this cheerful gallery wall above a white sofa. Choose phrases that make you smile! (Photo Credit: The Every Girl)
53. Vintage Landscapes Around a Shutter Headboard
A pair of chippy green shutters stands in for a headboard, surrounded by vintage landscape paintings in gold and wood frames. Hanging a few pieces low and leaning others on the nightstands keeps the arrangement relaxed and collected. (Photo Credit: Leslie L. Hunt Interior Design)
54. Black and White Family Photos
Black and white family photos make for a beautiful art gallery collection in the hallway and keep memories alive. (Photo Credit: Urban Rustic Living)
55. Display Art on a White Wall
By displaying artwork on a white wall, you allow the pieces to stand out more. There are no distractions, and the eye only focuses on what’s displayed on the wall. If you want, you can also accessorize that part of the room with matching white furniture. (Photo Credit: Elizabeth Metcalfe Interiors & Design)
56. Mix Large Art with Smaller Prints
It turns out you actually do have one large-format piece of art to display above your sofa, but you still yearn for a gallery wall for some of your smaller images. Here is a nice example of how that can be achieved with a balanced and symmetrical arrangement. (Photo Credit: Domicile Interior Design)
57. Use Crisp White Mats
The use of crisp white mats unifies a colorful gallery of framed pieces of art. The consistent band of white also adds height and width to each piece, allowing your eye to focus on each individual piece of art. (Photo Credit: Nina van de Goor)
58. An Eclectic Media Room Gallery Wall
We saved this eclectic media room for last; it’s an impressive gallery wall that showcases memories of the family who lives here. What do you think, do you love the idea or do you find it cluttered and chaotic? (Photo Credit: Swanky Couch)
Gallery Wall FAQs
How high should you hang a gallery wall?
Treat the whole arrangement as one large piece of art and place its center about 56″ to 60″ from the floor, which is eye level for most people. If the gallery wall is going above a sofa or other furniture, leave 4″ to 8″ between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the lowest frame.
How far apart should frames be on a gallery wall?
Leave about 2″ between larger pieces. Smaller frames can be hung a little closer together. Keeping the spacing consistent is what makes a gallery wall look planned rather than cluttered.
How big should a gallery wall be above a sofa?
Aim for a grouping that is about two-thirds the width of the sofa. For example, over a 60″ sofa, the gallery wall should be about 40″ wide.
How do you plan a gallery wall layout?
Cut out paper or poster board templates the same size as each frame and tape them to the wall. You can move them around until you love the arrangement, then hang your art in their place. It saves you from putting unnecessary nail holes in the wall.
Should all the frames on a gallery wall match?
Not at all. Matching frames and crisp white mats create a clean, cohesive look, while a mix of frames feels more relaxed and collected. If you mix them, choosing a color story for the art helps tie everything together.
What can you put on a gallery wall besides art?
Almost anything you love! Family photos, children’s artwork, vintage maps, posters, mirrors, decorative plates, metal letters, and even antlers can all work. Shadow boxes are a great way to display found objects.
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