How to Hang a Gallery Wall Without a Mistake!

7 Materials
$7
4 Hours
Medium

THE BIGGEST FEAR WHEN ATTEMPTING TO HANG A GALLERY WALL IS THE DAMAGE TO THE WALL. BECAUSE I HAVE THAT SAME FEAR, HERE IS HOW I WAS ABLE TO HANG MY ENTIRE GALLERY WALL WITHOUT ONE SINGLE MISTAKE. BY FOLLOWING THESE TECHNIQUES, YOU CAN DO THE SAME.

Pick a Theme


In my personal opinion, a gallery wall should have a theme. So, you could use children's photos, vacation photo's or memorabilia , botanical prints, or vintage family photo's. Since I had recently inherited a lot of old family photos, that's what I used to create my gallery wall. Here is the information about framing my vintage photo's.

Gather the proper supplies


  • Craft Paper
  • Hammer and Art Hanging Kit
  • Tape Measure and/or yard stick
  • Sharpie, Painter's Tape & Scissors
  • Level or Laser Level
Trace frames to cut templates


Trace each of your frames onto the craft paper to create a template. Be sure to document which frame you traced. I promise you will not be able to distinguish them once they are all cut out.

Decide on your arrangement


If you are using identical frames of a consistent size, this isn't as difficult. Because I was using multiple size frames and shapes this step is crucial. Keep in mind that you want approx. 2 inches between each frame.

Laying the frames out on the floor to find the arrangement didn't work for me. So instead, I began adding the template photo's to the wall.   

Tape the templates to the wall


Using painters tape to hold the templates in place, allowed me to easily shift the placement without any wall damage. Since I didn't want my photos to hang on an angle, I used a level to be sure each template was level in both directions.

Double Check Your Placement


Once the templates are placed in a pleasing arrangement, I decided to lay the photo's out on the floor in an approximate arrangement to the wall.

This step was to insure that the arrangement was eye appealing and nothing looked out of place. By switching a couple of the smaller pieces, the arrangement was acceptable at this point.  

Hang your wall


Next, you want to place your nails! This is the scariest part of hanging in art. First, I'll refer back to a previous post. Here is a tutorial with step by step instructions for hanging art. If you use your painter's tape to mark the hanger placement and then use your wall template, you will place the nail perfectly every time. All the details are included in this easy tutorial, linked above. I don't remove the template until my nail is in place.

Step Back and Admire Your Wall


Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you'll be inspired to create a Gallery Wall of your own. I'm loving mine. Please feel free to ask any questions and as always, you comments are greatly appreciated.

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  • Dmotan Dmotan on Oct 06, 2020

    Everything you do is wonderful.

    What career did you have prior to moving to the country? Interior designer?????

    Please find for me a clone of your husband who is single and a Christian.

    I have always wanted a small home on a lake and if you can find the clone, I'm in for it.

    You and your husband are so blessed and I look forward to every post you do.

  • Beautifully executed but I'm swooning over your door, did you create that finish? If so how? Thanks.

  • Shelby 🐈 Shelby 🐈 on Jul 23, 2021

    I really enjoyed your wall of photos. It gives off good vibes and the arrangement is just so lovely.

    Did you have to paint any of the frames black? Also, I don't know who mentioned it, but that chippy door is so impressive. I want one. ;)

    Thank you for sharing your project with us.

    🖼️

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  • C C on Jul 27, 2022

    I did my gallery wall on my staircase and added a plaster tree and wooden words “Family Tree”. The plaster tree was done with a plaster stencil and drywall compound, then painted with craft paints.

  • Allison Allison on Sep 27, 2023

    This is a lovely post. You put so much into it! My favorite picture is your grandfather and the receipt for his car- wonderful choice!

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