Getting that pared back, minimalist look right can be tricky, right? Here are my top tips for how to create a minimalist gallery wall…
Today I’m talking about how you can create a minimalist gallery wall. Gallery walls are everywhere, but paring it back and creating a simple, minimalist vibe can be trickier than you might think. Here are my top tips!
Are gallery walls out of style?
There’s always going to be some chatter about whether gallery walls are style ‘in’ in 2021 or not. I don’t really care all that much about trends but, for what it’s worth, most of the reviews say gallery walls are definitely still on trend in 2021.
To be honest, I see gallery walls as timeless and incredibly versatile. Instead of committing to wall paper or an accent wall – these definitely are out this year – you can simply swap different prints in or out to fit with the seasons or when you want to freshen a room.
You may also be interested in this post on choosing art for your home…
How do you build a good gallery wall?
Anyone can buy a bunch of pictures, hang them up on the wall and – ta dah – create a gallery wall. But how do you make sure you build a great gallery wall? Well, I’ve been through this a few times now as I’ve renovated various rooms in my property.
When it comes to gallery walls the most important thing you need to think is what you want it to do. Do you want it to add interest to an otherwise boring wall? Do you want it to align with your minimalist space you’ve already created? Do you want to keep it pared back so that another area of piece of furniture in the room can really shine?
The latter was certainly the case in my living room. I wanted to keep the turquoise velvet sofa centre stage and that meant the gallery wall had to be minimalist. Keeping the tones neutral meant that that those beautiful jewel tones really popped!
What art should you include in your minimalist gallery wall?
There are a few different styles of art that are the perfect fit for your minimalist gallery wall.
- Nudes
- Typography
- Abstract brushstrokes
- Sketches with clean line work
- Black and white photography
- Geometric artwork
- Botanical art
However, as I will go into below, it’s not just about the art work. If you want to create a calming and minimalist gallery wall you also have to pay attention to the other elements…
How to create a minimalist gallery wall: my top tips
1) Consider the background
Creating a minimalist wall with a really busy background is tricky. If you just want a more muted gallery wall to offset a patterned wall paper then that’s great, but if you want to create a true minimalist feel then your walls are also important. Wallpaper probably isn’t the route to go down as the backdrop for a minimalist gallery wall – I would stick to plain paintwork in muted shades: white, neutrals, pastels or soft hues of green, blue or yellow.
2) Wall or shelves?
You don’t have to hang all your prints on a wall. No, instead you could put up some shelves and then place your prints along your shelves. I have a personal preference for this…
I don’t mind shelves, but if you only have one it can look like everything is cluttered in one space – with lots of surrounding empty wall space. My preference is to have two or even three shelves which mean you can have your prints at varying heights. If you’re going for the minimalist look it’s also important not to crowd shelves with too many prints.
3) Stick to neutrals
If you’re going for a minimalist look then it’s important to consider the colour scheme of your gallery wall. Add in too many bright or clashing colours and it’s not going to be minimalist… and it may even verge into maximalist. Not the aim of the game.
When I think of a minimal gallery wall I think of a limited colour palette. You can go for a few variations but a good starting point would be the following:
Minimalist gallery wall colour scheme
- White
- Cream
- Black
- Nude
- Beige
- Taupe
You can add a few variations into the mix too, of course. Pinks work well or even a soft blue or splash of yellow can also look great. If you want to go really minimal you can stick to a completely monochrome look but, for me, a pop of colour always works nicely.
4) Plan your gallery wall layout
I’m not really a planner but when it comes to gallery walls it really is essential. My starting point is always Instagram. I search through relevant hash tags and then save them so that I can refer to them at a later date. In fact, I came up with my minimalist gallery wall layout based on one of my favourite interiors peeps on the gram, Lisa Dawson. I love her style!
Once you know what you’re after I would look on Pinterest and save various gallery wall layout planners. The final step
5) Keep the frames simple
Think a gallery wall is all about the artwork? It’s not, your frames are as important as what’s inside them. While decorative and ornate frames can bring a luxurious and boutique feel to a room – I’m thinking French baroque style frames – they don’t necessarily scream minimalism. If you want the pared back look then keep the frames simple and narrow.
True story: I always get in trouble for this with the framing place I use. They always email saying the print frame I want is too narrow to support itself, but that’s the look I like!
6) Avoid too much black
Minimalism doesn’t necessarily equal zero black, but what I have learned is that lighter frames create more of a stripped back vibe. Originally when I created my gallery wall I had pretty much all black frames. Set against the white wall, however, it just looked really busy. I swapped in a few white and light wood frames and that made a big difference.
When it comes to the prints themselves, you can get away with one or two bold textured print with a lot of black – but not all of them. Add something cleaner to balance it out.
7) Choose prints with mounts
Similar to the point above – if you’re looking to create a gallery wall with a minimalist feel than I think mounts are essential. If every print comes right out to the edge then you won’t have a lot of white space… and that can result in your gallery wall looking busy and crowded. The only irritating thing is that mounted prints are often a bit more expensive. For me, however, it’s a price worth paying to get that minimalist gallery wall right.
I even discovered a mount on one of my favourite websites – eFrame – called a gallery mount. This is a mount that’s even larger than standard and I reckon it creates a really stylish and minimalist look. Add this to one or two frames for a winning look.
8) Leave space to breathe
There are lots of different ways to arrange a gallery wall and one style is to place your prints really close together – sometimes without any wall space between them at all. For me, this makes everything look a bit squished together – not exactly minimalist. If you leave a bit more of a gap between the prints then it lets them breathe. Much more calming!
You can also vary the space throughout the gallery wall. I’m a fan of hanging a smaller print with a larger amount of space around it rather than keeping it close to larger prints.
9) Consider what else you could include
I’m putting the cat amongst the pigeons here, but you don’t just need to include art in your gallery wall. Textures add warmth whereas a mirror bounces light around the room. From a practical perspective, if your gallery wall is in a high traffic area a clock could be an idea.
Here are a few suggestion of what else you could include in your minimalist gallery wall…
- Mirror
- Tapestry
- Plants
- Clock
- Shelf
- Empty frame
10) Think of the surroundings
If you’re searching for how to create a minimalist gallery wall then you’re probably into the minimalist look as a whole. Why not bring that into your gallery wall? If your minimalist gallery wall is above bookshelves in your hallway, for example, then consider what other objects you could have surrounding it. A plant, a decorative object, a stack of books, or a vase could all add interest. Everything has to speak the same language.
How do I create a budget gallery wall?
There are several ways to save money when it comes to creating a gallery wall. It’s a bit trickier when you’re looking for a specific look – such as a minimalist gallery wall – but I still think there are a few ways that you be creative…
1) Collect everything
Flyers, posters, leaflets – who says your art has to come from a gallery or website? You can adapt lots of things into your gallery wall to make it unique and individual to you.
2) Upcycle old frames
I talk more below about the importance of frames to your minimal gallery wall. If what you currently have isn’t working then upcycle it with a lick of paint.
3) Don’t frame everything
Washi tape or even brown tape can be a cool alternative to frame and something I’ve seen great examples of on Instagram. It saves you money and looks slight more ‘undone’.
4) Make your own minimalist art
I love ?? person on Instagram who makes her own minimalist art! What could you do with a few strips or fabric – or by printing shapes onto a textured background!
5) Don’t fill the whole wall
Gallery walls often end up being expensive because you feel like you need a certain amount of prints to fill the space. Actually, if you’re creative with your layout you can save ££!
Keep reading to find out exactly what I mean by that…
How to create my minimalist gallery wall
This is the moment where I go a little rogue.
I was inspired to create my gallery wall based on the white hexagonal floating wall shelves you may have seen. I follow someone on Instagram called the @the_chapel_conversion who created a super minimal gallery wall using some of these shelves. She’d arranged them in groups of three or four over a whole wall – like a honeycomb – I thought it looked inspired. Clean, minimalist and contemporary – everything you want, right?
I wanted to put my own spin on it so I didn’t go for the hexagonal shelves – instead I used six or seven white Ikea box prints which had a similar feel. So what to put in them? Well, I chose my favourite album covers.
For the layout, I wanted to do something that would fill the whole wall while still having a minimalist vibe. So what I did was envision the wall as a grid and place the prints in three groupings across the space, some corner to corner and some with gaps in between. I didn’t measure anything and just did it by eye but if you want to be exact then you can measure everything to make sure everything is arranged exactly.
We shouldn’t feel like we have to fill every space on a wall. What’s the phrase? The negative space is just as important. This is key to creating this minimalist gallery wall.
Those are my tips for how to create a minimalist gallery wall – thanks for reading!
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