No-Hammer, No-Nails Gallery Wall Tips

An easy gallery wall tutorial that lets you skip the hammer and nails.

Three years ago we finished our wainscoting project. I loved the way it turned out, but it stayed exactly as pictured below.

The wainscoting my absolute favorite projects so you can imagine my hesitation about putting a hole in the wall, hanging pictures or changing the aesthetic. But, I finally I updated the foyer with a beautiful new gallery wall.

Since this is the first thing that guests see, I wanted clean lines in the art that I chose, simple but gorgeous that had a high-impact. So today, I’m sharing a few tips and lessons learned about choosing the right art for your gallery wall.

Easy Gallery Wall Tips

Watch my video for tips on installing a gallery wall with no hammer and no nails!

Gallery Wall Tip #1:  Don’t Overthink It

Gallery walls aren’t new. Our parents and grandparents have been displaying huge family picture walls forever. Choose your favorite family photos….put away the measuring tape, the laser levels and the paper templates. You can’t make a mistake on a collage gallery wall…period. If you have a blank space — eventually, you’ll find something perfect to fill it.  If gramma can do it without all of these complicated tutorials –  so can you :)

Gallery Wall Tip #2:  Determine a color scheme

I’ve decided that I love dramatic contrasts…black and white. In high school, I was a yearbook photographer and always used manual settings on my camera and developed film in the darkroom. These are the things that I love. So as I selected my new Minted.com art, I found new art that complemented my families’ black and white photos.  So I’m getting back to my roots with decorating.  As I find new items, I’ll add photos and mementos where there might be any blank space.

Gallery Wall Tip #3:  Make an Impact with single colored frames

Even though I chose a single style frame for my wall, I did this because I felt like it amped up the drama and helped me keep my theme. It also complemented the dark tones in my art as well…and I was being picky because this is the very first thing greeting guests when they walk into the house. As I find eclectic items to add to my wall, I can certainly do so.  But all-white frame would have worked just as well.  In a more casual area of our house, such as our basement, I would mix frames just to set the tone.

Gallery Wall Tip #4:  Tell a Story

By mixing family photos in with real art, you have the chance to tell a story. From Minted.com, my story started to come together once I found the ferris wheel image. As a family we love riding them at the county fair and have lots of memories. For years, I have collected leaves and framed them and passed them onto my family as gifts. So those memories were weaved into my Minted art selections as I chose art for my gallery wall, making it more meaningful to us.

My boy at 4 weeks old, one of my most treasured pictures.

Here is the art that I selected from Minted.com:

(Click each picture to learn more about the artist) — affiliate links included throughout this post

What’s nice about Minted.com is you can choose color schemes and continue shopping based on that.  I evidently gravitated towards dark blue watercolors, mixed with my black and white images. 

Comment below…which is your favorite?  I’m keeping mine a secret — all I know is that I created this entire “theme” around that one, single picture. Soon after, they were all my favorites since they all complemented each other so well. I adore my wall…the truth is…I didn’t measure — not even once.  All I did was eye up the space and place art where it flowed and made sense.

One last look: