If you love wall art and beautiful, creative things, a gallery wall can be a wonderful way to add personality to your interior.
It can work in any space - as a focal point in your living room, to add interest to your hallway, to give your bedroom a cosy feel.
Wall art is hugely powerful in setting the tone and atmosphere for your space. And sometimes it’s just impossible to choose a single piece of iconic art - in which case a gallery wall can be the perfect solution.
But how do you choose the art and canvas prints that will create the perfect display for your chosen space?
1. Choose your biggest artwork first
The best place to start is to find a large canvas print that you love. You can use that as the anchor for your display. We make it easy - our collection of designer wall art comes in many different sizes, so you can choose the right dimensions of your chosen artwork for the space. Some of our canvas prints go up to 136x106cm, which will make a big style impact for your wall.
But in terms of the art to choose, how do you narrow down the options? It helps if you know the style of wall art you’re interested in: something with a touch of Renaissance flair, or a fantasy theme, or something surreal.
Many Mineheart fans go for something big and classic - that at first glance looks like a classic portrait - but you quickly realise that something more tongue in cheek is going on with this artwork…
2. Find a common theme or colour
Once you have found the right focus artwork, you can use it to set the theme for the other canvas prints in your gallery.
Having a little order and consistency can help pull the wall together. How far you go with your theme is up to you. You might choose for each image to feature water, for example, or animals, or the moon... whatever you fancy!
Another approach is to theme your gallery wall around a specific colour that matches or contrasts with your decor.
This can be very effective - a shock of pink, gold or a vivid blue can tie all your images together. It also allows you to be more eclectic in the types of artwork - you might like to span many genres of art from surrealism to pop art.
@greenflamingo_anna achieves this to great effect using our Submerged 4 canvas print in her pink wall art theme.
Image credit: @greenflamingo_anna
3. Mix up your frames
Some of the most effective and high impact gallery walls take steps to have a haphazard feel, by using different frame types and sizes. Our own art designs often feature a series of frame options to consider.
Our canvas prints are cleverly designed to give the sense of an ornate frame, printed directly onto the canvas. That way you can choose from a variety of styles to suit your tastes.
The layout below is a great example of how a mixture of frames can look fabulous. Some of the artwork featured in this image by @picturesplusuk are The Blue Pencil canvas print, Madam Blush in Gold, Winter’s morning canvas print, Mirror Mirror and A Breach Between Dimensions.
It’s good to aim for a few gilt-edged frames as well as more understated black surrounds to add interest and unpredictability to the display.
4. Vary the orientation
A gallery wall where every piece of wall art is portrait-orientation can seem too contrived. It helps to mix the orientations to suit your space.
While there are usually more portrait designs than landscape-oriented canvas prints, finding a good blend creates a better overall effect.
@aprettygate_home/ has curated a wonderful gallery wall embracing all the principles we’ve mentioned so far, using our Yellow Mark canvas print as a signature piece of wall art.
5. Plan the space
The final step in creating your gallery is to make sure you nail the layout. Don’t just attempt to put everything up on the wall without any pre-planning. Once you have collected all your chosen wall art, experiment with different displays. It can be a good idea to plot out the dimensions of your wall area on your floor with masking tape.
Start by placing your largest piece of art not quite in the centre, and fit the other canvas prints around it, giving each one adequate space. It can look neater if they all align on the bottom or top edge, to give the display a sense of order.
This gallery wall by @flawsomehome is a great example of how you can plan out the space to minimise gaps and maximise the impact of your chosen wall art. It also has a great pop art vibe, so if you like this kind of colourful, high-energy art, take a look at some of our pop art canvas print designs.
6. Not just canvas prints…
Some of the most effective gallery wall displays don’t just feature framed art. Consider other ways to add interest to the display. Options to consider include plates, mirrors, tapestries, clocks, signs or even hats as a way to add depth and texture to your gallery.
Our clock plates could be the perfect addition to your display. Not only will their circular shapes contrast with the angular frames of your canvas prints, but you will also be able to tell the time as you gaze at your artworks.
7. Add and amend!
Once you have your gallery wall, it doesn’t have to remain the same forever. One of the lovely things about wall art is that it’s so portable. If you’re the kind of person that quickly tires of your interior design and likes to mix things up, changing things around is much easier when you can switch up your gallery.
Move some items out and put them in a different space in your home, leaving space to add new canvas prints to your collection whenever you like. Having an ever-changing display will mean you’ll never tire of your space.
