From Postcards to Paintings: How to Create a Personal Gallery Wall

I’ve always loved a gallery wall. My house is full of art, photographs, things my children have made, pieces given to me by friends and little treasures I’ve collected over the years. I hate the idea of them sitting hidden away in cupboards when they could be somewhere I can enjoy them.

For me, a gallery wall shouldn’t look too perfect. I like them eclectic, a little unexpected and, most importantly, personal.

A child’s drawing can sit next to an original painting, a postcard picked up on holiday, a treasured letter or a scrap of beautiful fabric found at a vintage market. It’s the mix and the stories behind it, that makes it yours.

Here are my five tips for creating one.

1. Look for the forgotten spaces

Don’t automatically choose the biggest wall in your living room.

I love putting gallery walls in places that might otherwise be overlooked – hallways, landings, under the stairs, kitchens and downstairs loos. These are often the spaces where you can have the most fun.

The gallery wall under my stairs started because it was a dark, fairly insignificant part of our hallway. I filled it with artwork that friends and family had made or given to me over the years and it completely changed the space.

And don’t be afraid of a colourful background. Artwork can look fantastic against a strong paint colour or patterned wallpaper, it certainly doesn’t always need a white wall.

2. Frame the things that mean something to you

Before buying anything new, have a rummage around your house.

Look through drawers and cupboards for old photographs, children’s artwork, postcards, little paintings, textiles, tickets and things you’ve brought home from your travels.

Almost anything can be framed.

It might be a postcard from a favourite holiday, a piece of textile found at a vintage market, a handwritten letter, an old map or even the menu from a particularly memorable restaurant.

These things might not be worth very much, but they mean something to you – and I think that makes them far more interesting to have on your walls.

In our kitchen, I have a landscape painting by my friend and Bath artist Paul Jackson alongside portraits of my children painted by Sally Muir and pieces I’ve collected over the years. They weren’t bought to go together, but that’s exactly why I like them together.

The best gallery walls tell you something about the person who lives there.

3. Don’t make it too perfect

There are lots of rules about gallery walls, matching frames, exact spacing, perfect grids...

You won’t be surprised to hear that I don’t really follow them!

I prefer to work by eye and mix different sizes, shapes, colours and styles. An old frame can look wonderful next to something contemporary and a tiny postcard can sit alongside a large painting.

I might find a colour that connects a few pieces, but I don’t want everything to match. If it feels a little quirky, even better.

Move things around and play with the arrangement until it feels balanced rather than worrying too much about getting it ‘right’.

4. Lay everything out before it goes on the wall

Use the floor to experiment with your arrangement before you start putting holes in the wall. Begin with your larger pieces and fill in around them with smaller artwork and objects.

Take a photograph on your phone each time you try a layout. It’s much easier to flick between the photographs and decide which one you prefer.

If you like everything precise, make paper templates and measure first.

I’m afraid I’m more likely to stand back, squint at it and move something two inches to the left.

5. Add something that isn’t a picture

A gallery wall doesn’t have to be a collection of framed prints. Adding an object gives the display another dimension and stops it feeling too predictable.

On our landing I painted an old letterpress printer’s tray and filled the compartments with trinkets, scraps of wallpaper and fabrics. Elsewhere I’ve mixed plates, ceramics and sculptural pieces amongst artwork.

Even our downstairs bathroom has its own version of a gallery wall, I turned a collection of photographs into wallpaper so the entire wall became the display.

Look around your home and think about what you could put on a wall that perhaps wasn’t 

The rooms I love have evolved. They contain things with a story, something inherited, something made by a child, a piece of art you saved up for, a postcard from a brilliant holiday or something slightly odd you discovered at a flea market.

A gallery wall is a brilliant way to bring all of those things together.

So don’t worry too much about whether you’re doing it ‘correctly’. Start with what you love, 

Find out more about my interior design consultations or get in touch and tell me about the space you’re struggling with.