Skip to main content

Making a Statement Wall

A fun interior decorating trend that has emerged over the past few years is the gallery wall. A gallery wall is essentially a wall full of art, pictures, and/or objects that are hung in a larger collection. It’s not just one or two pieces of art but usually enough to cover a large section of wall. A gallery wall starts with the right spot in your home. If you live at 82 Flats at the Crossing, apartments at Keystone at the Crossing, then you already have an ample floor plan and luxury interiors that give you plenty of space to work with. But creating a gallery wall can be intimidating. How do you know what to pick or where to put it or how to hang it? Check out our simple tips to get started!

#1: Make It Flow
Before you commit to a certain style of gallery wall, look around the rest of your home. You want your gallery wall to make sense with the rest of your style. If you have a clean, modern look, then you’ll want frames and pieces to match that aesthetic. This will be the most important when you’re choosing frames for any artwork or pictures. Pro tip: if you’re having trouble finding frames that all match, buy frames in the correct sizes and then spray paint them!

#2: Find Cohesion
Your gallery wall does not have to be “matchy-matchy.” You can make it cohesive by using a few different strategies. First, you could focus on matching colors. Pick a color story, then only use pieces that fit within that color story. Second, you could instead choose pieces that are similar styles, such as all larger prints or all family photos. Third, you could let your eclectic flag fly and really pick a fun mix of color and style, even with all different frames. If you go with this strategy, then your cohesion will come from choosing the right arrangement.

#3: Bring the Balance
To make sure your wall doesn’t look off-kilter, you’ll want to pick a large piece or two to serve as anchors for your overall display. Your anchor piece should be in a central location. Everything else should be secondary to that main piece so that you maintain balance across the wall. This will help you avoid creating visual clutter instead of something that looks intentional and well-executed. Pro tip: when choosing your anchor piece, choose something that is not only the largest but already stands out on its own so it gives the eye somewhere to rest.

#4: Plan It Out
Your gallery wall will never look right if you don’t plan it out first. There are a couple of ways to do this. After you collect your pieces, you can take masking tape and mark out an area on the floor that matches the size of the wall you’re using. Then you can lay out your pieces within that area and play with moving them around. Another approach is to go full-on symmetrical. This will work best with pieces that are either the same size or an even number of pieces with at least a pair of each size. You can also take butcher paper and cut it out to match the size of the pieces and hang them with sticky tack on the wall to see what you like. Pro tip: whatever plan you choose, never start putting holes into the wall before your plan is set. Even better, avoid holes entirely! Use something more drywall-friendly, like command hooks.

#5: More Than Art
The phrase “gallery wall” may have you thinking that you have to use only art. You absolutely can choose to exclusively use art prints to create your look, but you can also change it up. You can mix art with photos, including personal family photos. You can also mix in objects instead of exclusively framed things. You could add a macrame piece, a decorative plate, or even a mirror. Pro tip: if you like the idea of mixing things up but are afraid it won’t all go together, rely on color story. For example, an easy way to make your photos blend is to choose a black and white finish for all of them.

Do you need a new apartment home that makes it easy to fit a perfect gallery wall? Visit us at 82 Flats at the Crossing. Our apartments by Keystone at the Crossing in Indianapolis are designed with luxury interiors. In fact, every floor plan is named after a great artist because we deliver exceptional design. Call us to learn more: (317) 661-2850