I hope you’ve been enjoying my posts (here and here) on creating a gallery wall. Congratulations to Charissa on winning the Minted giveaway! Today I will give the final piece and probably the most dreaded part of the gallery wall process, hanging the art. If you’re more of a visual person, here’s a great video from Porch!
So you have a blank wall…
After you’ve found a number of beautiful pieces to hang, carve out a couple hours of your schedule. Trust me, you don’t want to rush through this part or you’ll end up with a million holes in your wall.
Measure the wall space you plan to decorate. Lay your art pieces out on the floor or a large table and arrange as you would like them to hang. Measure the full arrangement and double check that it will fit on your wall.
Practice first
Trace everything you plan to hang on the wall onto kraft or butcher paper. Label the cut sheets so you remember what is which art piece. Grab painters tape and place all of the cutouts on the wall. Use a measuring tape and leveler to make sure everything is nicely spaced and straight. The great thing about this technique is that you can adjust the cutouts as many times as necessary.
Drill some holes!
Once you have the decoy cutouts in the exact spot you wish to hang, pull out the hooks and nails. Measure carefully where you will need to install the picture hooks. First, check the back of your frames to see where the eye hook is located. Then, measure as best you can the distance from top edge of the frame to tip of the eye hook.
If you have a power drill, start a small hole before hammering a nail. If you’re hanging heavy pieces, use anchors to create a sturdy nail for hanging in dry wall. No worries if you don’t have a drill! As you can see, my husband uses a screwdriver and a screw to gently create a hole before hammering a nail into the wall.
Only install the picture hooks or nails halfway. Hang the painting to make sure it’s straight and looks okay, but stop here. Repeat for all your other pieces and check once again that your happy with the arrangement on the wall.
Get rid of the paper
Have everything in the exact spot you desire? Good! Remove the nails or hooks for a moment and take down the paper cut outs. Place all the picture hooks back and hammer. If using regular nails remember to leave enough of the nail sticking out from the wall for your frame to hang.
And that’s it! You now have a beautiful gallery wall arranged just how you like. So much better than having to go back and shift nails around in your wall.
Have you tried installing a gallery wall? Share your tips or frustrations in the comments below!
