Every time I venture out to another indie market, vintage store or art show, I somehow come home with an armload of prints, interesting objects – and my favourite, old signage. Figuring out what to do with all of these mix and match pieces is another story.
One of my favourite ways to display my varied collections is to create a salon style gallery wall in my home. Salon style galleries date back to the 1700s in Paris – notably at Salon de Paris they would display up to 400 works of art, all hung in a Tetris-like patter on the wall. At the time, the style in which the paintings were hung was due to a matter of space, however the un-inhibited look caught on and now you see it everywhere from arts museums to hipster lofts in Brooklyn.
Salon style allows you to have more freedom while hanging the art – gone are the restrictions of grids or straight lines. You can really play with each piece and try it in a couple of different places before you finalize the wall.
My favourite part of starting a new gallery wall is gathering all of the pieces that will make up my collection. Pull together pieces that have similar colour palettes or subject matter, bold architectural details or organic elements like antlers or branches. I start off by laying everything out on the floor and playing around with the arrangements – you’ll thank yourself later if you can somewhat finalize your layout before you start putting holes in the wall. When designing a gallery wall, I like to work inwards out. Starting at the ‘heart’ of my gallery I wall I build outwards; first hanging the biggest pieces in the middle and adding surrounding pieces after.
Just remember, as you create inspiring gallery walls in your home – there are no rules. Play with it and make it fun and beautiful. And never forget that you can start from scratch with a pot of wall filler.
Sources: Metal Heart – Vintage Whites Market // Sweet Sign – Goodwill // Hello Fox Greeting Card – Sycamore Street Press // 4 organic geometric shape cards – Veekee Workshop // Party in A Box Bookends DIY – Swerve Magazine // “You are the Best” Trench Coat Print – Blanca Gomez // Pattern Block – yard sale // Metal B – Uncommon Objects – Austin, Texas // Metal H – Reclaimed Trading Co. – Calgary, Alberta // Cowboy Wall Plaque – vintage // Horseshoe – Uncommon Objects // “Keep Austin Weird” Card – Parts & Labour // “You’re the Pickin’ to my Grinnin’” Letterpress Card – OneCanoeTwo Letterpress // Driftwood stick – found by the Elbow River // All frames from IKEA
