I DID IT! I made my first ever gallery wall!
I’ve wanted a gallery wall for as long as I can remember. In fact, it’s what’s held me back from ever doing an apartment tour. Wall art is SO important when it comes to interior design, it literally makes or breaks a space. Rooms just don’t look complete without things on the walls IMO. So I’m excited to share my first of many home decor posts.
Interior design has always been a passion of mine and I’m finally taking the leap to share that part of my life with you. I’m not sure how many of you know this but I was actually in real estate for like 10 years before moving to NYC to pursue blogging. So walking the NYC neighborhoods was like being a kid in a candy shop. I was like a Peeping Tom because I always looked in people’s windows (not in a creepy way) to see how their houses were decorated.
Anyway, my gallery wall is no ordinary gallery wall. This baby took me 3 months to create with Desenio, which I feel is fair. I wanted it to be perfect for the room and something that wasn’t too trendy. I also wanted it to mesh with multiple decor styles in case I decided to change my furniture. Interior design isn’t something you want to rush.
Step 1: gather inspo
This was probably the hardest part for me because I’m so indecisive. I knew the style I wanted I just didn’t know which specific pieces of art I wanted because Desenio has so many options! I literally wanted them all. I could easily spend thousands of dollars there but my wall space was limited…
The convenient thing about Desenio is they have hundreds of pre-made gallery walls to stalk so instead of creating a Pinterest board (which you can still do), you can just go HERE and see if something stands out to you.
I’d say my gallery wall is a little 80’s, Parisian art deco, minimalist, and contemporary inspired. I know it sounds all over the place, but it works. I wanted something neutral and understated so it would go with other “motifs” which is exactly what that little combination does.
Step 2: establish a budget
The next step in creating a gallery wall is establishing a budget. This was also a little challenging for me because I wanted everything Desenio had, but I ended up coming in a little below my budget which was great!
I made my gallery wall with the intention to add to it over the years because I am in a rental right now so I’m limited on space and don’t want to drill a bunch of holes in the wall (a great alternative to this is command hooks!).
Within my budget I ended up getting 11 pictures which have been split between my apartment in CA and my home on the east coast. Since I work from home it’s important for me to create in a beautiful space no matter where I am.
I work 10-14 hour days so I need to be surrounded by art that inspires me. You can create an 8-9 frame gallery wall for less than $400 from Desenio.
Step 3: Take measurements
I made my gallery wall aligned with the length of the couch, so I actually measured the couch instead of the actual wall. I spaced the pictures out evenly so they didn’t look too crammed or too spread apart.
I had no idea, but there’s a certain hang height you should adhere to for gallery walls above furniture which I learned on Desenio, so I just looked at where their gallery walls sat and kind of eye balled it for my own.
My couch is about 6 1/2 ft. long so my gallery wall is around 5 1/2 ft. Depending on the size of the area you could space 6 frames to be anywhere from 4-6 1/2 ft. but I wouldn’t go any bigger than that, it’ll start to look odd and disorganized.
Step 4: Create mockups
Before I created gallery wall mockups, I styled the pictures how I thought I wanted them, on the floor, so I get a visual. Then, I traced each frame with leftover paper – newspaper, paper bags, junk mail, etc., cut them out, and taped them to the wall. I actually got this hack from Aimee Song which I thought was genius. It’s so much easier than holding the frames up, moving them over, putting them down, holding them up again, making marks on the wall, and trying to wing it, ya know?
You definitely want to create some sort of outline for your gallery wall first, because if you’re anything like me, you’ll change your mind 194,727 times before settling on an arrangement that works.
*Huge thank you to Desenio for helping me turn my interior design dreams into reality! Use code NOTANOTHERBLONDE now until 2/20/20 for 25% off your order.
So, what do you think? More home decor content?! Let me know your feedback in the comments!
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