History In High Heels: How to Create a Gallery Wall

Have a vision or theme before you get started. This can be as simple as a unifying color (maybe a color palette) or a theme all of your images and sayings play off of.

Be creative and play around with your gallery wall arrangement! Before you drill into your walls (I actually like to use command picture hangers, if your frames are not too heavy) you should play around with arrangement of your images. You can even cut out contact paper to match the shapes and sizes of your frames. Place these on your wall for a non-damaging dry run.

Think about your frames and mats. Some gallery walls mix frames while others keep it uniform. I think both work if you plan carefully. Sometimes you love a print but can't find a frame that fits it and works with your other frames. Matting prints can easily change the shape/size of an image and allow a non-stadard size print to fit a standard frame.

Plan, plan, plan. I recommend collecting all of your images and frames before you start hanging. You can create a growing gallery wall (where you add images from a central layout over time) but even that requires a good compositional start.

To save money I recommend using Ikea frames. The RIBBA series comes in great shapes and sizes (the really large one is only $19.99). They also include large mats, which enhance any image.

Just in case you don't want to do all of this planning (or don't have time), I have created some curated gallery walls in my Etsy shop! The Fashionista comes with six images (pictured above) pre-sized to fit an arrangement of Ikea RIBBA frames.

I also offer gallery starter sets. These sets come with three to four corresponding images, which allow you to develop a themed gallery wall while adding your own personal pictures.