How-to: A Gallery Wall

For some reason, it takes me literally FOREVERRRRR to actually get anything onto my walls. I do this thing where I let them sit (blank) for months or YEARS before I tackle them. Can anyone relate? I’m not sure if it’s a commitment thing or what, but we’ve lived in the house for two years and well…here we are. I think it’s time.

I wrestled with many ideas for this big, blank wall in our living room. It’s nestled between our built-ins and an exterior door and I knew that whatever I decided on, it needed to be minimal. Mostly because this is a high traffic area and I didn’t want anything to get in the way of the flow. I also didn’t want to hang something that would compete with the character and decor of the built-ins right next to it. Soooo I decided this would be a perfect spot for a gallery wall, right? I thought so!

Here’s a few step-by-step instructions to make your gallery wall a little straighter, and your life a little simpler when hanging your frames!

What you will need:

1. Large paper
2. Frames 
3. Command strips (strips only)
4. Scissors
5. Ruler
6. Nails
7. Painters tape
8. Your photos!

Step 1

Trace your frames onto your large paper to create frame templates, then cut them out. You can create enough templates for each frame if you need to, but I only cut out 4 to determine the spacing for the width of my gallery.

Step 2

Tape your templates to the wall to determine your spacing & layout. I started with 3 in a column to figure out how high/low I wanted the gallery. Then, I did 4 in a row to determine the width. I used my ruler here to map out spacing between all of the frames. I simply did the width of the ruler for the spacing of the frames (on top, bottom, and all sides) to keep it easy.

Step 3

Once I had spacing figured out, it was time to start hanging! I simply marked a nail hole on each of my templates. It’s important that your nail hole is in the exact same spot on each template, so that your frames are spaced correctly and hang evenly. I decided to hang from the top lip (the gold part) of the frame instead of the picture hanger (black piece) because those were not mounted in the same place on each frame. It would’ve thrown everything off if I used the picture hangers.

Once your templates are back up on the wall (with your nail mark) go ahead and drive a nail through the paper into the wall. After your nail is in place, carefully remove the template without damaging or stretching the nail hole on the template (if you’re reusing templates).

Step 4

To save some time, determine the layout of your photos BEFORE you put them into the frames! I printed these using Walgreens photo center, and be sure to always check for a promo code! I got these half off. *Missing a photo here that I already framed.

Step 5

Take your command strips and cut them in half length wise. These will go on the back/bottom edges of the frames to hold them in place once on the wall, and to prevent them from shifting over time. Like…when someone slams the door right next to the gallery wall and they all decide to go crooked. This step isn’t always necessary, especially if you have two nails holding up one frame. 

That’s it! 

Be sure to check out my highlight bubble on Instagram labeled “gallery wall” for more behind-the-scenes! I’ve also linked all sources at the bottom of this post. Please leave a comment if you have any questions & happy hanging!

xx – ash

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