Gallery Wall Details {from my Hallway Makeover!}

Two Fridays ago, I shared my hallway makeover (with stenciled walls and board and batten!) and I promised I'd share a bit more about my gallery wall. The gallery wall is at the end of my hallway and makes me smile every time I walk past it. :)

Remember my before/after shot?? Yes, it was a long, drab, dark hallway before the B&B. We still need to update the lighting (and add more!), but the white and gray paint help brighten it up a LOT. Also, you might see that my table got a little paint job. Hello sunny yellow! It's a lovely, fresh color, don't you think?!

My gallery wall is pretty eclectic, but I kept to 3 basic colors (yellow, aqua and red) and repeated each of those colors 3-5 times. I like odd numbers. I think it helps keep everything cohesive. Which brings me to my first tip:

Tip 1: Add varying textures, shapes, colors and finishes. This will help your wall feel "collected". I have burlap, reclaimed wood, a glossy finished frame, faux brick (on my favorite Evie Ivy "Be Kind" sign!), paper, metal and a woven basket (s souvenir from Uganda). Talk about varying textures!

The tutorial for my chalkboard "FUL" sign can be found here, by the way.

So, I don't really have any tips for planning your wall, as far as where to hang things. Because, honestly? I just wing it. One picture up and I go from there. I've done a handful of gallery walls and the "just wing it" mentality always works for me. My trick is to just go for it and patch holes later. :)

But, this leads me to my second tip...

Tip #2: Gather more gallery wall elements then you'll need- especially small items. When I'm creating a gallery wall and getting to the last few elements, I always find myself with small or oddly shaped spaces to fill. For that reason, I always have extra fillers to help me round everything out. In this case, the metal M and the two long, thin paper tags came in handy for filling some odd areas! :)

Tip #3: Use a piece of painters tape (or, ahem, washi tape) to place pictures. Huh, you say? Let me tell you. The above picture demonstrates a brilliant tip I picked up somewhere that changed my picture-hanging life. This is for items that have 2 fixed hangers on the backside. You know the type? Those things are impossible to get right without a ruler or a string or a wish and a prayer! Well, this trick is so simple: Stretch a piece of tape between the two hangers, poke a hole through the tape in the appropriate places, place the tape on your wall and hammer nails directly into the holes. Easy, peasy!!

Tip #4: Use a laser level. Seriously. I can't hang pictures without one. Especially if you wing it, like I do, the laser level will be your BFF. It's so simple to line everything up with this puppy! Trust me on this one.

So, that's that. My gallery wall full of family pictures! Do you have a gallery wall? I have a whole pinterest board dedicated to them, so you know I'm a fan! :)

Happy Friday!

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