Gallery Wall- How to:

a few weeks ago i shared that we were working on turning the front office into a playroom and even posted a fun mood board. well the projects are slowly and surely coming together and i am so excited for how it is coming together. i can't wait to share pictures of the entire room when it's completely done!  until then, be on the look out for some fun tutorials because there's a lot of DIY going on in that room.

as with any 'finished' room in my house, i just knew that it needed a gallery wall full of fun art, family pictures and sentimental touches. the first gallery wall that i did in our living room was a bit overwhelming, so i figured i'd share all the mistakes tips i've learned a long the way.

the first thing you want to do is gather all of your frames, art, and objects that you want on your wall.  try to think out of the box and add in fun items that you wouldn't expect. i know it's overdone in decorating and totally not original, but i really wanted ours to include a faux taxidermy in ours-- so i did. no shame. but anyway, be sure to collect your things over time. the more random (& cheaper!), the better. it will come together in a cohesive grouping, i swear.

now, my no fail, can't mess it up, suggestion. trace all your pieces onto paper before you pick up that hammer and nails. i simply grabbed some leftover rolls of wrapping paper and outlined everything. this way, you can tape them up to the wall and mess with the placement until you're happy. you will save yourself (or your husband) a lot of time spackling and painting over misjudged nail holes.

when working on the placement of your art, start from the top. i like to find the height i want and work my way down. this way you won't be trying to fit items into awkward blank space in the middle of the wall- i've been there, no fun.  for this gallery wall, i decided to work off the door trim because i wanted to keep everything on a parallel line.

now tape them up. play with your placement until you're happy! here's what mine looked like:

okay, now comes the part that makes this so EASY, it's idiot proof. before i started to do this, i really struggled with placing the nail in the correct place- so my picture would always hang just a smidge off from where i really wanted. okay, are you ready to have your mind blown? turn the back of your picture over and make not of where the hanging hardware is located. (you can measure if you are feeling especially anal, but i usually eye ball it.) now notice in the picture below, some of my paper had graphed lines in .5 inches. totally on accident, but it made this portion so simple.  even if yours doesn't, find the center of your cut out and drop down to about where your hanging hardware was and drive that nail into the wall. 

you can go ahead and nail all the way if you want-- but then you'll have to rip off your paper template around the nail.  i like to just push the nail into the wall to leave a hole. this way, if it's not in a place you're happy with you can simply start over. (don't judge my disgusting nail polish). 

when you're sure, hammer the nail into the wall and hang your photo! keep it up with the rest of the pieces that will make up your wall.

when you're finished, you will have something that looks like this! i still need to get some family photos printed for some of the blank frames mixed in there, but i am absolutely thrilled with how it came out.

in full disclosure, i used to be one of those people who needed each frame to be exactly level and parallel to what was next to it. but i kind of let that go for this project and i am so glad that i did. firstly, it made the project go a million times faster and secondly, it was much more enjoyable with a kind of care-free (and kid friendly) attitude.  when hanky is jumping on the furniture or throwing a football inside, i am not going to worry if something gets moved or knocked over. this room is for him to play, explore, and learn.  i hope that these items inspire him to embrace his wonderful self.


love,  sarah