I’ve recently added a mini renter-friendly gallery wall to the top of my stairs in my rented home and I thought I’d share my top tips of how I went about creating my colourful gallery wall, from choosing unique and quirky artwork from an independent print company National Park Print Shop, to how I arranged and hung it all. I love a gallery wall for being able to showcase a wide range of prints and artwork and it is such a great way to fill empty spaces in your home and add colour and interest. Even better, you can start with a small gallery wall display and add to it over time to create an even bigger and bigger wall art feature.
STEP 1 CHOOSE YOUR ARTWORK
When it comes to choosing artwork, I love unique and quirky art and so I hunt for places that sell independent artists and something a bit different. I’m creating this gallery wall with a mix of different prints, the majority of which came from an online store National Park Print Shop. They are a Risograph press and art print store based in the Lake District National Park. They feature artwork by cool indie artists, so you’ll be able to find something quirky and memorable for your home. They specialise in Risograph prints which are super bright and vibrant and perfect for a colourful interior lover like me. (* Ad pr products featured)
When choosing prints I like to choose a mix of sizes and shapes. As the wall isn’t too big, I’ve chosen A4 as the largest size like the Half Dome Yosemite print which features a pink sky and mountain landscape, with then a mix of A5 and mini prints like the Riso Pisces Zodiac print added in there too.
Although I’m mixing styles, I’m trying to keep a couple of colours that run through all the prints to help tie the whole gallery wall together. You don’t want your prints to all clash and not co-ordinate with each other. I’ve tried to keep pink, red and green as a colour palette which will also come into the framing options too.
Step Two – FRAME YOUR WALL ART
Some of my prints from National Park Print shop came ready framed which is so fab and saves you so much time and money, but some I selected unframed as I really wanted to source some frames myself. I love to find second-hand and vintage frames and give them a coat of paint and upcycle them to display my wall art. This gives you the chance to make your art more unique and to custom make them to the colour palette you want. I painted mine a mix of red, blue, pink and green and chose colours that contrasted with the prints designed to go in them.
Think about increasing the size of your prints by framing them in a larger frame with a mount, like I have with the Blustery Beach print. This can make a print have a bit more impact and an easy way to boost sizes to give your gallery wall more variation.
I take time to frame all my wall art carefully and make sure they are no bits of dust behind the glass and once I’ve finished all my framing, I’m ready to plan out how my colourful gallery wall might look.
Step 3 - PLAN OUT YOUR LAYOUT
I find the easiest way to plan my layout for my wall art is to draw around my art pieces onto brown paper and cut out a template for each. This allows me to lightly tape them in to position on my chosen wall and step back and see if I like the arrangement and spacing. You can easily swap your paper print templates around until you have a layout you are happy with. I like to keep my gallery wall uneven and I start with the piece closest to the wall first and then build out, I also like to leave room for more prints to be added over time too.
Once I’m happy I mark the positions of my brown paper pieces with thin coloured masking tape and remove the paper. Now I’m ready to hang my artwork in line with the masking tape marks.
Step 4 - CHOOSE YOUR METHOD OF HANGING YOUR ARTWORK
There are several options for hanging artwork from picture hooks to screws, but as I live in a rented property I’ve gone for a renter-friendly gallery wall option and used a mix of sizes of Command Hanging strips. These are great as they are damage free. You simply stick one side of the Command Strip to your artwork and the other to your wall. They click together and as long as you buy the correct weight rated strips, they can hold all sorts of sizes of artwork. I use my masking tape lines and a spirit level, just to check they are straight before pressing them to the wall to apply. They are super simple to use and one of the best ways to create a gallery wall that is renter-friendly.
Step 5 - BUILD YOUR GALLERY WALL
Start to attach your art to your wall using your masking tape marks. I also use a spirit level to make sure everything is level. I tend to start with the piece of art closest to the wall and work outwards. Once I'm happy with the positions I remove the masking tape marks. With command strips you do need to wait an hour for the strips to adhere to the wall before hanging your art, but once up it will be pretty solid.
Once finished you can step back and enjoy your gallery wall. I’m super happy with my mix of colourful original prints from National Park Print Shop and my second-hand and budget frames. I love that it is a mini gallery wall and I can’t wait to add pieces into my arrangement over time.
What do you think of my mini gallery wall? I hope my tips help you to plan and create your own colourful gallery wall in your home.
Debs
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