Make a Gallery Wall the Quick and Lazy Way

Hello again friends!

Don’t you just love gallery walls? I certainly do! I had a drawer full of similar paintings and wanted to hang them on one of my bedroom walls. They had sat in the drawer for years. (Seriously) I was totally overthinking this.

One day, I pulled several of the paintings out and just went with it and here’s what I came up with.

There are so many different ways to approach gallery walls: What central theme connects your gallery? Do you use similar frames, colors, subject matter or just go with it? How do you hang them?

For me, I wanted to hang the photos to fit above this beautiful piece of furniture. The piece is black with gold accents. I chose to paint all of the frames white/ivory. Here’s where the quick and lazy part kicks in.

Here’s one of the paintings. I bought it at a local thrift store. It was priced at $1.50 but I got it for an additional 25% off because it was blue tag day! I removed the back and separated the parts. I wiped down the frame, washed the glass with soap and water and looked to see if the brown-ish mat was reversible or could be omitted altogether. The mat was not reversible (I was looking to see if I would turn it over and use a more neutral color for the mat) and the painting was only the size showing so I had to use this mat or get another one. The lazy way solution? Use what I had.

I could have continued my years of overthinking this and either searched for new frames or went shopping for the perfect frame paint color. The lazy way was that I went through my stash of craft paints and found two colors that I could layer to make it work. Lazy way won again.

First coat of paint was white gloss craft paint.

Second coat was ivory gloss craft paint.

The third coat was a little bit of each color used simultaneously until I got the coverage and finish I wanted. I then assembled the print along with the mat back in the painted frame.

To pull the look together, I took some old and dated candlesticks and painted them. Since the furniture had brass-gold handles, I wanted to match those when I designed what went on the top of the piece.

I used two types of Rust-oleum spray paints. I first sprayed a layer of the Metallic Gold and completely covered the candlesticks. This gold is very pretty and I’ve used it for many projects but I wanted a more toned-down color for this project.

After the Metallic Gold paint dried, I went back with the Aged Primer. Instead of full coverage, I stood back from the candlesticks and would spray a quick spray here and there to make little drops on top of the Metallic Gold.

You can see in this photo on the bottom of the candlestick where the Aged Copper left little spots of a darker color.

To complete the display, I pulled together some items from my basement and throughout the house. Again, the lazy way. No new items were purchased! For a good display, here are several suggestions:

Vary your heights. You want the eye to move around on your display. Try to choose at least one small, one medium and one large.
Use similar colors but one pop of color is always good. For me, I chose to pull the gold as my pop (which could also be defined as a neutral here) since there were so many beautiful colors in the paintings. I did try blue flowers in the ceramic pot but it was just too stark for me so I switched it to white.
Books are always a good idea. You can use stacked books to vary the height of your display or sit them up as a filler. I turned mine backwards to avoid a lot of dark colors.
A tray helps to pull display items together. I had a distressed brass-like tray that worked perfectly with the furniture handles and the newly painted candlesticks. I bought it at Hobby Lobby several years ago.
Try to use groupings in odd numbers. I would have preferred to have used three candlesticks but didn’t have it this time. (3 & 5 are usually good)
Vary the materials. I have metal, ceramic, wood, candles and books here. A natural element is also a good addition. I have the silk flowers but something natural like fresh flowers or foliage, sticks, a plant or even fresh fruit or nuts brings the outside in.
Pull in one or two unexpected items. For me, I found a wooden duck in my basement that was the size and color that I needed in that space. I also used the block quote. I bought that quote last year and love to have that reminder each time I pass by…..LIFE IS ABOUT CREATING YOURSELF…..

I’m happy with how I was able to assemble this gallery wall and pull together the display below it for little or no money and NOT have to leave my house. I love how painting items can bring them together in a cohesive way. Keep this in mind when you’re out shopping…if you like an item but it doesn’t fit your room’s color scheme, can you paint it and make it work? Don’t just take things at face value. Think how you can put your own spin on it and make it yours.

Wow, look at the time….I’ve said too much today!

Until next time,