From Holiday Tradition to Home Decor: DIY Personalized Gallery Wall

In the past I would add the most recent photo to the collection by hanging it on our refrigerator with a clip magnet.

This year there wasn’t enough room on the fridge for a new photo. So I decided it was time to give each photo a more permanent and polished home on the wall along our staircase. 

Personalizing Your Gallery Wall: Find Your Inspiration & Style

I decided that I wanted my gallery wall be a mixture of eclectic and bohemian frames. I like the idea of mixing and matching different patterns and textures, and I was excited by the thought of searching for different but complementary frames for future family photos.

There are a lot of different ways to personalize a gallery wall. Below are photos of some very different but equally beautiful gallery wall styles. These photos from A Cup of Jo, CellarDoor, Sarah Joy the Blog, and Designing Vibes will help you to consider the various types of the art, objects, or photographs you can add to your gallery wall.  

Planning Your Gallery

As you plan your gallery you will want to think about the best place to display your photos, art, and other items. These questions will help you to pick the best space and wall for your art. 

• Do you have a lot of photos or just a few?
• Do you plan to add photos or other pieces of art to your gallery in the future? 
• Which area is the most suitable for your gallery:  the living room, dining room, hallway, along the staircase, or somewhere else? 
• Will your gallery look best on the wall if it’s symmetrical, diagonal, or something less conventional?

Keep in mind the shape of the wall and any surrounding pieces of furniture as you arrange your gallery. No matter the arrangement or wall you choose, you’ll want your gallery to be balanced. MyDomain.com offers some great advice for selecting the right layout for your gallery wall. 

MyDomain

MyDomain

Then decide what materials you will use to hang the frames (and other objects if you’re including them) up on the wall. I used Command Strips. They’re my go to frame hanging adhesives. No hammer is needed so the wall doesn’t get damaged, and the pictures remain secured to the wall.  

 

Arranging & Hanging Your Gallery

After framing each photo, I laid each frame on the ground and moved them around until I found a lay out that I was happy with. To make the process easier, I selected one photo as the focal point and moved the other photos around it until the spacing seemed proportional. Here are the different combinations I came up with while making the gallery arrangement. The differences are subtle. Can you spot them?

Pro Tip: Next I took a photo of the final arrangement on my phone and used it as a reference to hang the frames. This part was key to making sure my gallery turned out the way I planned.

I used a leveler to make sure the frames were level, and I followed the instructions on the back of the Command Strips package to make sure my photos were secured to the wall.

…and that’s how I planned and completed my gallery wall!

What started as an annual update to family and friends during the holidays has turned into a full fledged holiday tradition. I look forward to selecting the next frame for the upcoming year’s family photo and involving Nicolas in the process as the years go by.

What are some holiday traditions you and your family participate in each year? I’d love to know. Please share below 😊