Your home is a canvas. Given every possible opportunity, people give their best efforts to make their home beautiful. One way is to create a gallery wall – salon style. This specific style can be difficult to achieve and easy to mess up. But when done properly, it can look effortlessly chic. Create a perfect array of prints with these tips.
• Getting started
If you have unhung collections that you would like to display, begin by laying the items on the floor. Arrange the pieces to see how they fit together. This gives you the advantage of visualizing your options before drilling holes on your wall. Just ensure that the span of the items is the same area of the wall. So note your measurements and lay down some guides.
• Work with the room
The colors and rhythm of your prints should blend with the objects in the room. Everything should come together harmoniously. This does not equate to perfection. Salon style wall decorating is about harmony.
• Create a theme
Organize your collection around a single theme whether based on aesthetics or subject matter. This is helpful for those who are building up their hanged collection instead of starting from scratch. You can center on color by going for black and white or monochrome. Or focus on things you are fond of such as flowers, landscapes, and cars. Why not portraits of family members?
• Choose your Framing
Whether you have photo or art prints, framing can have a great impact on the overall look of the arrangement. For a clean, streamlined wall, opt for thin frames in two to three different finishes. Varying margins on the mat boards adds variety. For something more decorative, choose vintage and ornate frames. Since most of these frames are thick, leave the bigger one dispersed to avoid looking overcrowded.
• Display with the wall in mind
For a small or irregular wall, fill the entire wall with your pieces. Space out the arrangement in a balanced way. For large walls, try creating a focal point by concentrating in one area. Hang a cluster above a couch or headboard. Position your pieces in relation to other items in the room.
• Composition and alignment
A great trick is to trace each framed piece on a large brown paper. Cut them out, label them, and tape them to your wall to build your composition. Start arranging from the middle and bottom then work upwards and outwards. You can keep items square with one another with minimal spacing so that they have some geometric rhythm without being in a grid. You can space out the cluster if you have fewer pieces. Group some smaller items together while giving larger works more room. This approach relies more on intuition. Avoid having your largest pieces towards the outside edges of the cluster. But make sure they aren’t directly centered either as this can draw attention to the cluster’s asymmetry or become distracting.
You can display both similar and varying items. Your choice of medium – paper, canvas, metal – can alter the look and feel of your arrangement. You can group similar items or mix different mediums into one wall. The key is harmony. Consider other factors such as proportion, color, spacing, and theme.
• Other options
Use a shelf. Instead of hanging the items, arrange them all on shelving. Vary the heights and overlap some pieces. No need to worry about drilling holes. The great thing about this option is that you can change the arrangement and the pieces whenever you like without the hassle.
You can also look into integrating a hanging system. There are some that use a track system. Here, a length of track that spans the entire wall is affixed to the wall or ceiling. Cables or rods with hooks to hang the items are suspended from the track. The track system gives you the freedom to introduce a new cable, hook, and item. You can also change the arrangement by sliding the existing cables left or right. Other systems are available.
Salon style wall decorating is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. It takes effort, patience, and a good eye. But when all the pieces are in place, it’s a splendid masterpiece to behold.
