How to Design a Photo Gallery WallIt’s time to take those favorite photos off your phone’s camera roll and put them IRL—and what better way to showcase them than in your home? Designing a photo gallery wall or tableau is a fun and easy project for an idle afternoon, and is a great way to really personalize a space.


1) Choosing the Art
First off, choose your photos or art! It's best to stick to a cohesive colour palette, theme or story in your collection. Do you want your wall to feature memorabilia related to an interest of yours? Should it chart your family history? Get creative! While you do want the art you choose to be unified, you can feel free to curate a mix of photos, illustrations, posters and more.

As for frames, decide whether you want your art to have frames of the same colour and style, or perhaps something more eclectic instead. The frames you use can add even more character to the art.


2) Hanging it Up
If you’re making a gallery wall, you’ll need to first plan a layout. Play around with different combinations of your art on the floor to get a good sense of how you want the wall to look. Conversely, you can make paper templates the same size as your images and tape them to the wall in order to test a layout.

Begin with one or two larger, high-impact images to serve as your focal point, then work around them. Get a bit daring during this process—feel free to go off-center and play with composition.

If your wall is a backdrop against or surrounding furniture, be sure to allow room between the furniture and adjacent frames (an eight-inch buffer is a good rule of thumb). Once you've got a good plan, grab a hammer and hang that art up!


3) Showcasing on a Surface
Ideally, have photos of varying sizes, placing the larger one(s) in the back and smaller ones in the front. They should each stand at different angles to create a dynamic space. An overall staggered look is the way to go when placing standing photos upon a surface.

Unlike with a wall gallery, you'll want to make use of some tchotchkes to compliment photos when applicable. For example, place a small souvenir or two beside photos from your family vacation.

Finally, add a lighting source so you can really put a spotlight on your photos! You can place a lamp beside your tableau, but if the light from that seems too harsh, use some candles for a softer glow.


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