Empty walls make the room look boring and cold. Oil paintings, posters, family photos and even postcards give the interior character and make the walls real eye-catchers. In any case, arranging the pictures stylishly proves to be a difficult task and is an art in itself. A new trend coming from the USA is helping decoration enthusiasts to effectively display their favorite photos and illustrations. Whether on Pinterest, in numerous interior magazines or in decoration blogs: picture walls have conquered the hearts of interior designers and decoration fans. We'll explain how you can design a gallery wall and show you various DIY ideas for inspiration.
Design a gallery wall: Choose pictures that fit together!
Black and white images as an accent
It's the presentation that counts: To themWall in the living roomImages are not only coordinated in terms of color, but also stylistically coordinated. Beginners can opt for several black and white images and arrange a few posters in accent colors in between. The experts recommend combining a maximum of three main colors in the gallery wall, otherwise it will look chaotic.
Skillfully combine modern and old images
Decoration enthusiasts can opt for prints of oil paintings that harmonize with the furnishings in terms of color. The combination between modern art and old images creates particularly exciting contrasts. In this case, the picture frames should be kept simple, in a neutral color.
Select images with similar motifs
The images should not only match in terms of color, but ideally they should also have a common theme - for example nature, architecture, love, portraits, etc. This allows drawings in particular to develop their full effect.
Here's how to arrange the pictures!
Depending on how much available wall space you have and of course in which room you want to create a gallery wall, the pictures can be arranged differently.
In the living room, the wall behind the sofa or behind the reading corner are ideal. Several larger pictures can be arranged there that match the colors of the furniture. Other home accessories can loosen up the arrangement. Wall consoles, wall ornaments and designer wall lights bring variety.
If the living room is small and there is not enough free space for a large-format picture wall, then you have the option of displaying the pictures or posters, drawings and illustrations on a picture rail. This means the picture wall remains compact and still attracts attention.
In the stair area and hallway, the pictures are arranged close together in a line. The largest picture serves as the starting point for the design and is hung first, the smaller ones are then arranged around it.
In the children's room, family photos of different sizes, children's pictures, posters and images of comic heroes are usually hung in a row or displayed on shelves and chests of drawers. The picture wall can be redesigned if desired.
In the dining area, one large and four small pictures can be hung a short distance apart and decorate the wall behind the dining area. It looks particularly chic when two additional pictures are leaned on a chest of drawers or from the floor against the wall.
Corners and niches are particularly effective with ensembles consisting of two parts. Half of the pictures hang on one wall, the other half – on another wall. The same picture frames and a common theme prevent the picture context from being lost and create visual connection between the two walls.
In the home office you can let your creativity run wild and, for example, use clipboards as picture frames. Numerous DIY ideas come to the rescue here. Creative bloggers use clothes hooks, multi-purpose clips and LED fairy lights, among other things, and hang the pictures on them. This arrangement has another crucial advantage: it allows you a certain amount of design freedom and is quite flexible. By the way, the home office not only has space for beautiful pictures, but also homemade posters with inspiring quotes. The main thing that is arranged is either several pictures of the same size, or one large and several small pictures.
In the bedroom the wall behind theBed headboardthe perfect display area for family photos. This means the images won't disturb you as you fall asleep and will be the first to see you when you enter the room. It is therefore all the more important that the picture wall is designed as attractively and stylishly as possible. An arrangement in a geometric shape (square) comes into question here.
DIY-Idean
Do you have a bed without a headboard? Then the first DIY idea is exactly for you. Hang several fairy lights above the bed and attach various small-format postcards, pictures and photos using transparent clothespins. The idea can spice up both the Scandinavian bedroom and vintage interiors. It is also suitable as decoration in the girl's room, as the picture wall can always be rearranged.
What is suitable for a fairy-light picture wall? Polaroid photos from your last vacation, beautiful greeting cards from friends, but also inspiring quotes can decorate the wall. The strange picture wall is best displayed on a simple white wall.
The next picture wall is also functional and at the same time very beautiful. Several metal strips are welded together in the shape of a heart, then twine is stretched across them and the small pictures can then be attached with clothespins.
Multi-purpose clamps can be used in many different ways. You can hang pictures on them or use them as unique photo exhibitors with a stand. This means that images can be exchanged again and again if desired. It's the perfect arrangement for small rooms where there isn't much space left, or for rooms where the walls are painted in multiple colors.
From now on the photos can be put on the wall together with the transparent sleeves from the photo album. The transparent covers protect them from dirt and allow for quick replacement if some photos fade over time. It is a creative idea that is particularly suitable for children's and teenagers' rooms. The individual photos can then be arranged so that their colors match well.
Attach posters to the wall with washi tape
In a rented apartmentUnfortunately, drilling is rarely permitted. In this case, paper tape offers a quick and cost-effective solution. And the best thing is, you don't have to hide a washi tape in an accent color because it actually shows off your favorite posters better.
Small pictures, large picture frames
Do you have a free wall in the living room, but want to keep the wall decoration simple? Combine three small pictures and place them in large picture frames in an accent color. The wall decoration in the photo above harmonizes with the leather sofa in camel color. The photos of plants correspond perfectly with the houseplant next to the sofa. The wall decoration was chosen exactly in line with the country house style of the living room. Other decorative pieces such as wooden vases, cozy wool bedspreads and decorative pillows made of linen, cotton and knitted fabric also add a natural touch to the interior.
Skillfully stage black and white photos
When the available space is narrow, creativity is required. Several loosely hanging pictures are perfect for the reading corner in the living room. So that the gallery wall doesn't look chaotic, all family photos have one thing in common: they are black and white. The picture frames are also deliberately kept simple.
Create a picture wall with oil paintings
Creating a gallery wall with oil paintings is not an easy task. Here are some rules that prove to be particularly helpful:
1. For portraits you need a frame that is one DIN size larger than the oil painting itself. For other pictures you don't need to buy larger picture frames.
2. Passepartout is an absolute must. Passe-partouts with a thickness of at least 2 mm are recommended. Many specialist shops will cut the mat to size, so you don't have to worry about this.
3. This is how you frame an oil painting: First, take out the glass, carefully place the passe-partout on the back wall, place the painting on the passe-partout. At the end you have to put the glass back down and then fix the frame with pins.
4. Oil paintings do not necessarily have to hang on the wall, but can be displayed according to the so-called skyline principle. The pictures are simply leaned from the floor against the wall.
Hang multi-part pictures on the wall
Modern, abstract art comes in different forms. The latest trend is multi-part images. The motif is either spread across all images, or all images have the same pattern. In order for the picture wall to look harmonious, all picture frames and all pictures should be the same size. It is also important to pay special attention to the distance between the individual elements when positioning the images. It should be between 5 cm and 15 cm.
Creating a gallery wall is not an easy task. But with our tips you can easily master them and will definitely create creative and stylish wall decorations. You can find more examples in the photo gallery below.
