How to Do a Picture Gallery Wall Layout
Trying to figure out the perfect layout for your photos or artwork? Here’s how to do a picture gallery wall layout.
After having recently moved, I soon discovered that putting up photos or artwork on the wall was not a priority. First, it was to get the kitchen and bathroom set up. Then you needed a few clothes.
Being in a new house means new systems of organization to set up. That took a lot of time and thought and so putting things like photos or artwork on the wall kept getting pushed back and became a low priority.
But I will say when that day came, I was so excited! It meant we were settled in our new home.
Now for those of you who have moved, you’ll know. that what worked in your previous home will not necessarily work in your current home.
So how do you figure out the picture gallery wall layout in your new home?
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How to do a Picture Gallery Wall Layout
To do a picture gallery wall layout, all you need is some paper. I used brown craft paper, but any paper will do. If your photos or artwork are large, you’ll need big sheets of paper.
I originally thought of taping smaller pieces of paper together, but that is so much work. Simply use wrapping paper! You could always use the backside as it’s plain. It’s economical (you can get a cheap roll from the dollar store) and it works perfectly for this.
What I do prefer about the brown craft paper, however, is that it contrasts with my walls, making it easier to visualize. Typically wrapping paper is white on the back. My walls are white so it would’ve been more challenging to see the layout. If your walls aren’t white then the wrapping paper will work perfectly!
Using your paper, lay your photos or artwork down and trace around it with a pencil or pen. Then cut it out. To remember which photo or art piece it is, be sure to label it. This is especially helpful if you have multiple pictures to hang. Don’t worry if your cutting is not perfect – you just need to get the idea.
Once you have everything cut out, you can play around with the layout. Move the paper around take a look and see if you like it. If not, no worries – you didn’t do any hammering so it doesn’t matter.
You may wish to work on the floor first to get a better idea of what you like. Once you want to give it a go, simply use painter’s tape to put it on the wall. Then you can get. a better idea of what the finished project will look like.
Keep in mind that the painter’s tape is not too sticky. My brown craft paper was pretty heavy and so it fell after a few minutes. So to deal with that, I took photos of layouts that I thought looked good. Wrapping paper is lighter and may last longer. This is just something that may not work if you want to leave it overnight and think about it. That’s why taking a photo may be helpful.
Once you have your layout, you can start hanging your photos or artwork!
This process makes it so much easier to visualize the end product. There may be a lot of trial and error to get it looking just right, but it’s easy to do using this method for your picture gallery wall layout.
I just used command strips to hang most of my smaller photos (up to 8×10). Those command strips are very handy. I got mine from Costco, but you can also get them online from Amazon.
