Inexpensive DIY Gallery Wall
I love the unique, eclectic feel a gallery wall gives to a home. It has a way of silently communicating so much about a home's style, personality, and its members living there. I have always desired to create one, but, honestly, felt intimidated by the task.
When we recently moved into our new home, we had a large, open wall above our couch in the living room. I knew it would be a perfect space for a gallery! During the process of creating one, I discovered that I didn't need to be intimidated and neither do you. In this post, I have gathered some resources and tips I learned along the way that will help you DIY a gallery wall in the easiest and most inexpensive way possible.
Tip 1. One of the best (and most interesting) characteristics of a gallery wall is how unique it is to that specific household. My gallery wall and yours will look and feel completely different because of the differences in our styles, home decor, personalities, histories, and so forth. Spend some time researching your style preferences, as well as the photographs or prints that will be placed within your frames.
Some ideas include: art from a time period that you love, a collection of botanical art, a collection of Scripture verses, photographs of your family or ancestors, places you've visited, or any set of prints that reflect your style (modern, minimalist, bold colors, rustic, etc.)
For my gallery wall, I chose beautiful prints purchased from a lovely Etsy shop called Old Oak Prints. This shop is located in Germany and its owner, Amber Rose, restores original artwork from the early 1800s to early 1900s. 'Vintage' is one of my buzzwords. I love history, as well as discovering the beauty and simplicity that the past holds. When I stumbled upon Old Oak Prints, I knew I wanted to use their charming art for my gallery wall. I found this beautiful set of prints that Amber masterfully restored in her vintage French country home decor collection. The digital download cost me a whopping $12 (!!!) because the shop was having a sale! I got it for 50% off. After purchasing the set of prints, I received an email with a link that contained each print in multiple printing sizes.
Tip 2. One of the most important aspects of creating a gallery wall is choosing the frames you'll be using. The frames will dictate the placement and organization of the gallery. Assorted antique frames will give it a vintage feel, while using the same frame in various sizes will give it a more uniform, structured feel, and so forth. My first thought was to thrift my frames. I wanted wooden frames in a warm hue. Our new home has a lot of gray and white features that can make it feel a bit "cool" and sterile, so our goal has been to "warm" our home by adding touches of cream/beige, sage green, and honey wherever we can. Since we have a Goodwill right down the street from us, I thought I would have a chance to thrift some frames, but with a limited selection, I couldn't find the sizes I needed. I could have been more persistent in thrifting, but decided to check out the selection of frames at IKEA because they are notorious for selling inexpensive frames.
I ended up going with the HOVSTA frame in a light birch wood. I purchased two 16x20" frames and three 12x16" frames. The 16x20" frame costs $15.99 and the 12x16" costs $12.99. The total for all five frames came to about $70, but I received a 5% discount from being an IKEA Family Member (it's free so you can sign up for it online). I checked the cost of frames at Target just to get a price comparison and a 16x20" frame cost nearly $30 for just one. There may be some cheaper frame options out there (I've seen a pin on Pinterest of DIY gallery walls where the blogger visited her (Canadian) dollar store and found wooden frames for $1), but for where I live, this was the cheapest framing option I could find at the time.
Tip 3. Once you have sourced your prints and purchased your frames, it's time to print! I believe I can confidently say that I have found the cheapest option for 'large formatting' custom prints! I have checked out print pricing at bigger box stores, like Office Depot, and I was quoted that each one of my prints would start at $16.99. The reason being is that any size larger than 11x17" is printed on their large format printer. So, for five prints, I would be paying at least $85. But don't sweat it! I found a very inexpensive solution! Hold onto your seats because I am about to tell you what I spent on FIVE prints! I had two 16x20" and three 12x16" prints printed...and my total, including taxes AND a $13 shipping fee was...$31!
I saved $50 in printing costs. This is the second time I have ordered with Shortrunposters.com and both times I have been very pleased with the product and print quality. It is by far one of the cheapest printing options around for large format, custom printing.
So, below, is my final total for my entire gallery wall -
+ digital downloads - $12
+ frames - $66
+ printing - $31
_________________________
total - $109
Next, I began brainstorming the placement of the frames within the gallery wall. Once I had a general template, I asked my hubby to help me hang it on the wall. We decided that most of the frames within the gallery would have a 2-inch gap between them and the placements of the two larger frames (16x20") would have a 4-inch gap between them.
My little one was such a big helper! She loved unpacking the frames and helping me put the prints in each one. She is also quite the budding photographer. She asked if she could take a picture of me. :)
My husband found the center point of the wall above the couch and we chose the larger, portrait (vertical) print to be the "center" point of the gallery upon which all of the other frames would be placed. He also measured the length and width of the gallery when it was laid out on the floor to see how high he needed to place it on the wall. Once that frame was in place, he went about hanging the rest, working off of our template.
I am very pleased with the result. This wall had looked so barren for the past two months. Now, when I'm in our kitchen and happen to glance over into the living room, I see these frames of beautifully-restored vintage artwork filling up the empty space.
However, I don't think this wall is complete just yet.
I would also like to add these charming wall sconces to each side of the frames to bring some symmetry and depth to the gallery wall. I love the warm wood and the black lantern attached to it. All of the hardware in our home is matte black (especially in the kitchen), so I think it will also bring a level of cohesion to our living room.
Thanks for sticking around, lovely readers! I hope you gathered a few tips from this post to help with your next gallery wall! Let me know below if you have any tips on creating a gallery wall for under $100. I'd love to know for my next project!
Warmly,
-Kate
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