How to: A Step-by-Step Guide on Creating a Great Gallery Wall

So you own a lot of art, and you want to put it all up on your walls. Having all your pieces arranged together like that is called a gallery wall, and doing it well can be tricky. That’s why we asked Ally Doman, founder and owner of interior design service Doman Decors, for some tips on how to make your vision real.

Here’s a how-to on how Doman approaches gallery walls:

Step 1: Choose what art you’re hanging up, and where.

Do you want this gallery to be the backdrop for your Zoom meetings? Do you want it to be an accent wall where people can get an up-close look at your collection?

“It’s like a puzzle. And I have to find a way to make it fit along whatever wall they want,” Doman said. “Say it's an accent wall behind a sofa, or they want it around their TV. I just recently created a gallery wall around my client’s Samsung Art TV. There’s fun to be had with it.”

Step 2: Figure out the “theme” or the “vibe” you want.

You could establish a color pattern, like a gradient, or you could take size into consideration and organize your art that way. Or maybe you want certain types of frames — if they don’t all match — to be closer or further apart.

“There are a multitude of gallery wall styles that can be incorporated in a space. Personally, I like going with a more collected and eclectic wall that feels almost like random, but of course it's not,” Doman said. “There’s quite a lot of thought behind it.”

Step 3: Lay it all out, starting with the big stuff.

If there is one particularly large piece in your collection, Doman said it’s a good idea to build the whole display around that. You could pull out a notebook and sketch a blueprint ‌to help you envision your wall’s design.

Dorman takes a more three-dimensional approach.

“I try at least to lay them out on the floor, if I can find an empty floor,” she said. “I start with the larger pieces and I use those as ‌my anchor pieces. I measure out the wall, the width, the height. I think about how much space needs to be ‌in between the furniture piece that it's above and I think about those ratios.”

Step 4: The 60-inch rule.

Doman said there’s one thing people often overlook when they’re putting up their frames: the gallery’s height.

“You want art to be within eye level. People think they need to hang their art higher up because they need to fill that space that’s close to the ceiling, because they’re feeling like it’s an empty area,” she said. “But it's‌ very important that we can see the art. If we put it too high, then we're actually straining our neck to look at the art. And that's not what the purpose is.”

The best practice here, according to Doman, is to center your gallery wall 60 inches from the floor to align with most people's eyeline.

Step 5: Consider nails versus hooks.

Depending on what your art is like and how you want to hang things up, the choice on how to secure your pieces to the wall can be a big one.

“Things like hanging curtain rods, hanging art; a little hole can be filled,” Doman said.

If you decide on using nails, make sure you measure things out and mark your spots before you pick up your hammer. And if you’re using things like stickable wall hooks, be sure to follow the directions and weight guidelines on the package so that they’re secured well and you’re not risking damaged walls — or damaged art.