How to Create the Perfect Gallery Wall
Words by Michaela Quinn
October 23, 2025
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3m
A gallery wall is a classic way to add a unique touch of personality to your room, and is one of the interior design trends in recent years. By arranging your favourite prints and pictures with eye-catching frames, you can give your design a unique focal point that’s sure to stun your guests. There’s more to making the perfect gallery wall than you might expect, however, and it’s certainly not a simple task.
Our guide will show you how to create a gallery wall that suits your room’s design. Whether you’re adding a splash of colour to your living room, or putting your finest art on display in your dining room, our gallery wall ideas are sure to give you the inspiration you need. Read on to see how you can decorate your home like a true patron of the fine arts, without needing to break your budget!
Curate your collection
Once you’ve decided to create a gallery wall, the first step is to build up a collection of pieces to display. There are plenty of items you can display as part of your gallery wall – from paintings and art prints to photographs and documents. The best gallery wall ideas use a variety of art mediums to mix and match their styles, so make sure you don’t just stick to one look. Try looking at art suppliers, online stores, and vintage shops to unleash your creativity.
Make it personal
To create a gallery wall that feels like your own, try to add a few personal touches to show off your personality and history. Some of the best gallery walls have interesting stories behind their pieces, so try to pick designs that reflect your personality.
Whether you’re including postcards from bygone travels or paintings with strong personal memories attached, you should try to choose pieces that will give you an interesting discussion point if a guest asks about them. You could even incorporate your interests – choose posters of your favourite films and bands to start a conversation about your tastes, or if you’re particularly creative, include some of your own work.
Co-ordinate your colour palette
One of the key things to consider when designing your gallery wall is colour. Although some variation in tones is fine, by choosing one central colour to theme your gallery around, you’ll be able to complement the rest of your room’s design nicely.
Monochrome shades are perfect for a modern home, while bright colours or pastel hues will add a fun statement to a room. Choose pieces with common shades and tones throughout to create a cohesive look. If you’re looking to brighten up your room, you can even add a wall mirror to help reflect light around your space.
Use a range of sizes
Size matters when it comes to your gallery wall layout. The key to an eye-catching design is to vary how much space on your wall is being taken up by different pieces, drawing attention to each of your pieces rather than letting them all blend together.
Try to buy a range of prints in different sizes, then combine them to create an interesting effect. You can choose one or two larger prints to create focal points for your layout, then incorporate more medium- and small-sized pieces to complete the look.
Choose the right frames
It’s not just your prints that matter when finding your ideal layout, as your choice of frames also plays a massive role in your gallery wall design. Finding the right frames to suit your design can help you iron out the final details of your wall arrangement, giving a unique touch of personality.
Choosing framed prints with a variety of colours, textures, and sizes will give your design a playful feel, and is perfect for boho chic rooms. For a cleaner look, though, try finding matching frames that will give your gallery wall a cohesive feel.
Think about placement
Choosing the right area to bring your gallery wall ideas to life is also an important consideration. Wall art can look stunning in almost any location, as long as you have an appropriate amount of wall space, so try experimenting to find spots that may need more décor.
You could add a gallery wall to your hallway to draw your guests in, or create a colourful display above a desk in your office. You can also use your wall art as a unique focal point for your room – try pairing it with a statement wall to add a standout piece of decoration to your dining room or living room.
Plan the perfect layout
Your gallery wall layout should reflect the style of your room effectively. Consider the rest of your design and experiment with your combination of pieces to see which provides the best effect.
For a modern, minimalist look, try choosing uniformly sized prints and arranging them neatly, with even spacing between each piece. Meanwhile, for a more fun and vibrant look, you could try placing your pieces at different heights for a more freeform feel.
A reliable method for testing your gallery wall ideas before fully committing to them is laying your pieces on the floor. This lets you rearrange them easily to see what layout works best for your space, without having to keep moving your frames around your wall. Once you’re happy with an arrangement, you can begin to hang up your pieces.
Hang it up
The final step to achieving the perfect gallery wall is to hang your artwork. Once you've decided on your favourite arrangement, take a few photos and use these as a reference when placing pieces on the wall. Get a friend to help you hang each piece and check how it looks as you go along.
We hope our guide has given you all the gallery wall inspo you need to bring new life to your décor! For more ideas to help style your home, check out our blog, where you'll find all the latest tips and guides, like three ways to style your TV unit for a great-looking living room.