A Simple Gallery Wall
About a year ago I decided to revamp my dining room. Part of my vision was to create a square gallery of photos on this blank wall. The idea was to make it look appealing but on a budget. I didn’t want to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on frames and I wanted it to be simple enough that I could always recreate the look with different photos.
When choosing photos for your gallery wall, I don’t think there should be rules. I think that what makes a gallery wall look appealing is the way you execute it. Some of my photos are taken with my iPhone while others are professional photos from different photographers. Each photo has it’s own style and coloring. It was important to me to have an even number of photos of both of my boys and a good mix of my pup and my husband! Luckily, It was pretty easy to find a balance of both horizontal and vertical photos to alternate. Keeping that pattern helps the gallery to feel balanced.
My main stumbling block were the photos that I loved. NONE of them would have worked in a square format without losing parts of the photo but I really wanted the frames to be square. After a little searching, I found these square 13x13 frames from Walmart that actually already came with a picture mat that would accommodate a 5”x7” photograph. That totally did the trick! I printed my photos from Mpix because their quality is always top notch for a minimal price.
Mapping them out so they fit the center of the wall took some time but went pretty quickly considering. There are times (like today) that I need to straighten the frames to keep them in line but that is mostly because my two sons are like a couple of dinosaurs stomping through my house!
I still love looking at these photographs even though there are some new ones I want to add/swap out. Although it is not perfect, I feel pretty good that I could create my own version of a gallery wall for under $200 total!
Mainstays 13” x 13” Matted to 5” x 7” Linear Frame, Black
