CreativeSteph13: Gallery Walls - create your own unique vision

While taking care of my mom a few weeks ago, I was organizing things (like that's a surprise) and got to looking at her hallway and the bunches and bunches of photos and frames. Over the years, as more frames were added, it got to be a bit of a jumble. So we started talking about creating a photo gallery wall.

Step 1 - Pare Down the Photos

Remove any that are faded, blurred, or don't "bring you joy" to look at everyday. Had a few old favorites so I scanned them and was able to restore them.

Step 2 - Matching Frame Color for a more Polished look.

Some were already black so I pulled out my spray paint and painted the other frames we wanted to keep. Also took the glass out of the frames for a lighter look.

Step 3 - Choose Your Layout/Design

Wanted a simple, classic look so went with a Parallel Split Display where all the upper frames aligned at the bottom and all the lower frames aligned at the top. Laid out the pictures to determine what went where. Mixed up the sizes of the frames for a more interesting look.

Step 4 - The Line Up

Measured the center of the hallway and picked my bottom and top points as well as how much space I wanted between the two lines of photos (I used around 8 inches, but use your personal preference.) Used a ruler, level and painters tape to create a line.

If you have a more complicated layout, a great tip is to use brown wrapping paper to cut out your frame sizes and then play with the layout on the wall before you start hanging.

Step 5 - The Hang Up

To avoid making multiple holes in the wall I used Velcro Command Strips to hang my photos (used at least one at the top and bottom of each frame for stability). Then, with the painters tape as a guideline, started in the middle of the hallway and worked outward. Hung the bottom row first and then staggered the top row. This also makes it so easy if you ever want to change out frames/photos.