Hanging a Gallery Wall in Five Easy Steps

Alamo City Moms Blog is thrilled to partner with Framebridge to provide info about affordable and stylish home decor for busy families. 

Creating a great gallery wall can be an overwhelming undertaking. There are so many possibilities—prints, art, photos, family photos, art objects, kids’ art—and how to frame or coordinate them all is a whole other thought process. Added all together, it becomes one of those projects that is easier to put off than get done. To turn an empty wall into a gallery wall, we partnered with Framebridge. Their easy, no-fuss ordering system and predictable pricing (completely dependent on the size of the print or art you’re framing, no surprises!) makes it easy to stay within budget.

I’ll admit that I have a gallery wall problem. I have an art wall in my dining room, a large print wall in my living room, a hallway gallery upstairs, and now this mixed gallery, not to mention the dozens of galleries I’ve helped friends and clients build. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to a great gallery wall, but I have found five easy steps to make it a painless process.

1.Plan the space.

Start by measuring the space where the gallery will go and think about the pieces you’d like to include. If starting from scratch, decide if the final look will be traditional (even spacing, matching frames) or more eclectic (mixed frames styles or colors with varied spacing) and the size of the images and final pieces you’ll use. I had 130 inches to play with!

How To Gallery Wall with Framebridge

2. Coordinate the pieces.

Generally, I’m in the “if you only use things you love, it will all go together” camp. But keeping the formality of the images cohesive will help them each shine—and not get lost. Will you use formal family pictures or snapshots? Create an Instagram wall or mix family portraits with canvases from your favorite artist?

Then decide on a frame style or styles. I love a mix of different frames in the same family (i.e., gold tones in different frames, mix-and-match black frames, etc.).

Framebridge has a small army of designers whose trained eye can be priceless when deciding how and with what to dress your images. They’ll not only make frame suggestions but can even help design an entire gallery wall, literally making the process as easy as choosing your images.

For $99, the designers can help curate and plan your perfect wall, including:

  • Design consultation with an expert
  • Two sets of frame style and layout options
  • Final hanging and measurement plan
  • $50 toward custom framing for your wall
  • More here

3. Frame.

Framebridge makes this part ridiculously easy.

Pull images from your computer, choose a favorite Instagram image, or mail a photograph, poster, or piece of art in to be framed (with free shipping AND packaging both ways!). The pricing is based only on the size of the pieces you are framing, ranging from $39 – $159 (which is at least half the cost of traditional custom framing).

Preview each of your images in the frame(s) you’ve picked to be sure it’s perfect, and order!

4. Arrange.

This is the part I almost always consider skipping—and then do anyways because I KNOW I’ll spend more time adjusting in the end if I don’t.

How To Gallery Wall with Framebridge

Trace each of your framed images onto paper (this is kraft paper, but tissue paper, wrapping paper, newsprint, etc. all work just as well) and cut them out.

How To Gallery Wall with Framebridge

If there are pieces that are similar in size, label the outlines for easy placement on the wall. Don’t forget to mark the placement of the hanger. Framebridge sends all of the pieces with finished backs, hanging hardware attached (sawtooth hangers for the smaller pieces and picture hanging wire for larger/heavier pieces), as well as a nail or picture hanger.

How To Gallery Wall with Framebridge

Use tape (painters, washi, or another easily removable type) to arrange your templates on the wall. Move them around until you’re satisfied with the arranging. I tend to not stress about perfect spacing and go with an “it looks right to me” strategy.

5. Hang.

Because you’ve marked the spot where the hanging hardware is, you’ll be able to put the nail right through the template and only make one hole per piece!

How To Gallery Wall with Framebridge

Then my favorite part: standing back and admiring!

I’ve got to admit, working with Framebridge was so easy and made the process so easy. The hardest part was waiting for the delivery man. In my gallery wall I printed two images from Instagram (the pink peony, top left, and the black and white image on the bottom right), below the peony is a phone pic from my brother’s wedding, and the large print is a hi-res image from a beach shoot with my daughter. I appreciate the quality printing (I’m a pro-photo lab printing snob) and the “warnings” I got from the system when I’d make an image too large for the resolution. The two canvases are from one of my favorite San Antonio artists (Franco Mondini Ruiz), and I mailed them in using the boxes Framebridge sent.

Framebridge is offering Alamo City Moms Blog readers a discount now through November 30, 2016! Use the code CMBNSANA15 at checkout to receive a 15% discount off of your purchase. Happy home decorating!

Amanda
A fifth-generation San Antonionian - who happened to spend her formative years in Austin - Amanda loves the SAT from the confetti in her hair to the bluebonnets under her feet. Never one to miss a reason to host a party or decorate for a theme, Amanda revels in the 'mas Fiesta' attitude of the city. She's mom to Vivi (2012) aka #HurricaneVivi, Mac (2020) and wife to Francois, whom she met at Texas A&M (FTAC '05). She has a Masters in Early Childhood Education and a Doctorate in Making it Up As She Goes - which means she's a sometimes-fun-mom. You can find her on Instagram . She loves confetti, croissants, and a cold Ranch Water. Favorite Restaurant: Piatti's Favorite Landmark: Johnson Street footbridge in King William Favorite San Antonio Tradition: Fiesta Medals