The modern gallery wall: tips on how to create the perfect eye-catcher

Pictures beautify the living ambience. They turn a living room into a place for cozy gatherings. They make the kitchen a cool location where you simply feel most comfortable at a party. And they make a bedroom a place to dream. There are countless ways to mount the pictures: in a frame, on canvas, pinned to the wall as a Polaroid? Gallery walls that bring different frames and pictures into harmony and thus form a large whole from small individual parts are currently popular in many places. How to design a gallery wall and what is needed? Find out here.

Design a gallery wall: Find the wall, select photos, determine the frame

First of all, you need a wall. It should be large and in the right light, because then the entire work looks best. Where exactly it is is up to each individual. High-profile, crowd-pleasing corners that are discovered by every visitor? They are particularly suitable for great shots from your last trip, family favorites or a compilationlovingly selected still lifes. Should it be more private, more intimate pictures? Then put them in the bedroom, in the hallway in front of the private rooms or where they can be particularly appreciated without being discovered by everyone.

Depending on the wall and picture selection, the frames can also be found. Simple, dark frames provide contrast and a clear line. White, perhaps playful frames step back a little and give the pictures space to work. Colorful, wildly thrown together pieces make the whole thing funkier and a real eye-catcher. Baroque frames with fine gold ornaments and playful floral elements also look great. This choice simply depends on your own style and the rest of the furnishings. It's also worth checking out flea markets and building a collection of special pieces - collector's items that will also show off your favorite photos.

The frames also place their own requirements on the images, which is why it makes sense to have this choice together first and then go to print. For example, frames for canvases need to be lined appropriately, while flat frames with glazing work with simple printed images. The idea here of working with canvases brings in another interesting touch, because the printing on the structured surface is another special feature that is brought in here.

Putting a photo on a canvas, is child's play today. The desired image is sent to the manufacturer online, along with the relevant information about size and thickness. The finished product is then delivered to your home. Personal taste also decides which image becomes the desired motif. And if you like it completely unframed, canvases are the right choice, as these can become a great picture wall on their own. For example, if you took a picture with the panorama function or with an extreme wide angle, you could do thisQuerformatige Resultonto several canvases that are hung directly next to each other. Basically, the format of the canvas should underline the motif. This is possible in several directions. The sunset can be shown in narrow landscape format or the picture of the Eiffel Tower in portrait format.

Images: What goes together?

Wall? Check! Frame? Check! Pictures? This is a difficult choice because, in contrast to individual pieces, photos combined on a gallery wall become a complete work of art. Here it can be quite interesting to place a close-up of the spice market with purple lavender flowers next to the flowing curtains of the hotel room. Cut objects look interesting, and even if they don't really make sense or are an eye-catcher individually, together they are a wonderful search game that makes observation interesting and allows the viewer to always discover new details.

The selection can be based on a specific theme, but can also be impressive due to its contrast. It is important to balance the frames here. Super colorful lomobiles? They're great, but they look particularly artistic when they're calmed and put in order by sober, simple frames. Wedding pictures, classic in white with loving poses and close-ups of rings, bridal bouquet and wedding cake? Look particularly good in magnificent baroque frames, which give the simple motif an eye-catching frame.

Choose, frame, hang

Once the selection has been made, printing must be initiated: What is important here is to pay attention to the frame size and to print the images in the correct formats. Small discrepancies can be compensated for with passe-partouts, and cutting can also work well. Then frame and put together. Today, mix and match is definitely allowed on the wall - if the system is followed consistently, which can sometimes even mean more effort than hanging pictures neatly in a row on the wall. Bringing strict geometric shapes to the wall using many of the same frames is one option.

An important tip at this point: It helps a lot to try out the right constellation beforehand and lay it out on the floor, so you become aware of the effect of colors and can create the right flow. This works better than having to move and remove nails from the wall again and again afterwards. Time and patience are required here, and sometimes you have to leave it and watch it again later. Only when the final decision has been made do you have to measure, nail and hang. Admire. And if there are new, beautiful photos after the next trip, just exchange them.

(Bilder: unsplash.com, Lefty Kasdaglis, Alexandra Gorn, Jonny Caspari, Natasha Welingkar, Vladimir Mokry CC0 1.0)