When I decided to refresh our living room, I knew I wanted to include a gallery wall. We have some big art pieces on two of the walls and a mirror and T.V. on two others (see my previous blog post about the overall project). I thought a gallery wall would provide some balance against all of the larger pieces in the room and offer an opportunity to showcase a few things I’d been collecting.

I’d never put together a gallery wall before so…I went to Pinterest (and see Pinterest inspiration below). I found gallery wall how-tos, along with so much inspiration! There are so many styles and ways to create your own wall – it can be overwhelming.

What I learned is to find pieces that you love or that represent you and your family in some way and then it’s like putting together a puzzle. I had all of my gallery items on the floor in front of the wall where they were going and kept moving them around. When I liked how I had it, I’d leave it for a while, then come back to it, look at it again, move something around…and repeat! I traced all of the items on brown wrapping paper and my husband helped me tape them to the wall (one of the blog posts that I read recommended this). While it took a bit of time, it did help me see the flaws in my design once they were on the wall (I had them spaced too far apart and in straight lines) and, thankfully, we hadn’t nailed a single hole in the wall yet! After I realized this, I went back to laying them out completely different on the floor and finally arrived at the lay-out below.

I learned that you should look for a variety of shapes and sizes to add interest to your wall. It’s also important to have both horizontal and vertical balance, with an axis point in the middle, and to measure your spacing carefully so that your wall is pleasing to the eye. We had to work around the silly HVAC vent, which really bothers me, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

Gallery Wall Source Information

Now that the “what I learned” part is over, let’s get to the fun stuff! Where I found everything! My goals for the wall were: 1.) create it on a budget of $100 (I’ll tell you what I spent at the end) and 2.) to have some original art mixed in with other unique items. In order to accomplish this, I knew I’d be finding pieces at antique, consignment and thrift stores, and possibly eBay and Etsy, but this would allow me to stay within my budget. Plus, I love antiquing and thrifting if I have something specific in mind.

I’ve numbered each item in the photo below and note the source information wherever possible; however, almost every item is unique/original so I’ve used eBay and Etsy to help you find similar items if something jumps out at you.

A note on the frames: NONE of them are new. The item either came in a frame I liked when I purchased it, I found the frame at a local thrift store, or I already had the frame and wasn’t using it. If you find a piece of art you love but don’t like the frame, you can always change the frame out very easily and affordable (thanks to thrifting)! I note the frame information below!

Source Information:

1. “Call Me Old Fashioned” – NEW Katie Kime 8×10 – Print Only – $18 | Thrift Store Gold Frame – $0.99
2. Small Oil Painting of Kids Sledding – ANTIQUE store find – $6 | Similar here, here and here
3. Black Lab Needlepoint – VINTAGE 11×14 eBay find – $27 | Thrift Store Black Frame – $4.99 | Similar here, here, here and here
4. Minnesota Farmyard Oil Painting – INHERITED 11×14 painting – completed by my mother-in-law | Similar here, here and here
5. Currier & Ives “The Homestead in Winter” Blue Plate – ANTIQUE store find – $3 | Exact plate here and here | Hobby Lobby Plate Hanger – Pack of 2 – $4.99
6. Country Club Plaza Fountain Print – CONSIGNMENT store find – $5 | Similar here and here
7. 1800s Blacksmith Print in Circle Frame – ANTIQUE store find – $12 | Similar here, here and here
8. Small Oil Painting of Ocean Waves – VINTAGE 6×8 eBay find – $26 | Thrift Store Brown Tortoise Frame – $0.99 | Similar here, here, here and here
9. Boston Acorn Street Drawing Print – NEW 8.5×11 eBay find – $20 | Thrift Store Wood/Gold Frame – $0.99 | Similar here, here and here (splurge)
10. Fox Print – CARD from a friend (I cut the front off the card to frame it) | Pre-owned frame | Similar here and here

If you do the math, I spent $101.47 on this wall! SO close to the $100 goal I set for myself!

Over time, I plan to expand the wall to the left and right. The key will be to keep the balance as I find other prints, original paintings, and possibly needlepoints to add to the collection!

What do you think? I’d love your feedback in the comments section below! XOXO, Leah

Pin-Spiration!