Photo Gallery Wall Part 2…

March 3, 2013

Ever since I blogged about the photo gallery wall last week I’ve been wanting to give it shot using one of the templates from that post.  My journey finally began yesterday with a cup of coffee and a long time deliberating over what template to use and where to put it.  After like 4 cups of coffee I finally decided on the bedroom!

The template I used required 2 8×10’s and 6 5×7’s.  It’s not essential that you have matching frames for the photo gallery wall but every time I’ve tried using ones I have lying around the house I never achieve the same look…so I headed over to Walmart.  They have basic matted frames – $3 for the 5×7’s and $5 for the 8×10’s – so for a total of $28 I got all the frames I needed to pull it together.  And this is the result!

Yay!  It’s amazing what a difference the photo gallery wall made in this room; I love it!  Here are a few tips that helped me finally get this look right:

#1.  Use a Template

Part of the reason a photo gallery wall works so well is the symmetry.  A template will help keep your photos organized visually and allows for better planning before you put them up on the wall.  Try laying the photos out together to work out spacing and decide what looks best where.

#2.  Use Matching or Similar Frames

This really depends on the look you’re trying to achieve.  You can put together an eclectic gallery wall with lots of different frame sizes and colors, but if your going for a traditional look  it’s worth the investment of $3-$5 on matching frames from your local Walmart.

#3.  Add Some Visual Interest

I used the “Eye Chart” from Thursday’s post in one of the 8×10 frames to break up the family photos (love it!) You could use any framed quote, a scenery pic from a favorite vacation, framed scrap book paper or artwork…something to spice things up!

#4.  Line Up the Bottom of Your Frames and Not Just the Top…

I never considered the difference this would make before but it goes back to symmetry.  Line up the bottom of the frames to square off your look.  Once I had the frames up on the wall I realized there would be a gap between the 8×10 frames in the center so I filled that with a “family” decal I had from a previous project.  It helped add another layer to the gallery wall and kept the look polished with even lines.

So that’s it!

I hope this post encourages you to give the photo gallery wall a shot…it was a lot of fun and totally worth the time and investment!