Do you like gallery walls? Are you intimidated to style one yourself? Fear not, my design bestie! I am here to help.

How to Build a Holiday Gallery Wall

First, be sure you have enough nails and picture hangers. Be sure all art prints are ready to be hung. There’s nothing worse than halting a project because you don’t have the right supplies.

I know this because I have been there. Too many times I gave up out of exasperation because I didn’t have enough nails or no picture wire for the rad new art frame I got. Months go by and I lose interest and the project never gets finished.

Think of all the lovely home views you are missing out on!

Laying out Gallery Wall decor

Once I have all of my tools and supplies, I like to lay everything out on the floor. Many advise to use butcher paper and cut out the exact sizes of frames and put on the wall with painters’ tape. I like to take pictures like a flat lay, with my trusty iPhone and tweak the layout as I go. Check this tutorial from Domino for more tips. If you are visual like me, then a video is fun to learn too!

Large items first

So just like a puzzle, I always start with the largest items. A smart puzzler (is that we call ourselves?) will always frame out the corners and borders of the puzzle first.

Think the same when putting up your gallery configuration.

I knew that my heavy, round wood mirror would be the central piece. And I also knew that the vertical rug wall hanging was going to frame one long side. I wasn’t sure which side though.

Next, I wanted the buffalo watercolor to be front and center. I was laying all of this out on the floor first, mind you.

Once I decided the rug wall hanging would frame the left side (I tried hanging it to the right side and it just didn’t feel right), I went ahead and decided my smaller gallery inside the big gallery wall would reside on the right.

Affordable holiday wall decor

Just as when I design a room, I think about shapes, textures, layers and colors when building a gallery wall.

For this wall, the tones were grey, blue and cream. Very cool with a splash of cream to warm it up and give it balance.

Here is the fun and affordable part! I emphasize affordable because decor in your home is often balance of high and low cost pieces. I am a strong advocate of this idea!

Existing items such as my air plant wall planter and M Quan ceramic eye were integral inspo. The Target steer antlers were there from my autumn gallery wall from the previous month.

If you count that, it totals 3 items.

When designing, the cardinal rule of pairing and styling in odd numbers holds true.

Oh yeah, I do tell you to think outside the box, don’t I? Well, let’s just say follow the rules first. When it doesn’t suffice, break them.

Back to affordable wall decor. When Hand and Hearth came out, I was a day late but managed to snag their bell ornament.

I am in love! I knew it would definitely make it to this wall.

As I pushed my red cart to the next aisle, I counted in my head. 1, 2, 3, 4. Hmmm…one more thing to make 5!

Natalie begged to see the ornaments in the seasonal aisle.

And there it was, these gold star ornaments that came in 3 pack and of course a white and gold dream catcher!

Then I saw the mini white wreath and I died. I desperately wanted something round to balance the big round mirror. And there you have it, all set to go home and pound the wall with holes.

As I laid it out on the floor, I knew it is was going to be pretty!

Truth be told, it took me a few times to get the right spacing for the small gallery of objects. This is where pieces of paper taped would be helpful.

But I am a stubborn old soul. The way I work best is hammering away and trial and error. (Much to Travis’ dismay.)

He is so much more precise than me and overthinks the project by a million brain cells. Oh well, to each his own.

The end result for me is near perfect! Annnnnd I promised Travis I would patch up the holes. Later…..doh!

You are not done with just the wall though! I’m not going to let you off that easy, ha!

Anita’s Trinity of Design: Layer, Texture, Prints

To complete a gallery wall, the rest of the space begs for cohesive design. This is where you can start my trinity design rule: layer, texture and color. I swear, I am going to trademark this someday.

I had been looking hard for a runner that I thought would go in the front door entryway. Well, when I saw this vintage rug, it literally nagged me several days in and I succumbed and clicked buy.

After that, it was all downhill. And I stroked it pretty when it arrived. This beauty is mine, allllll mine.

Hanging Hats as Home Decor

Last, add some coordinating pillows with different textures and prints and you are good to go! Opposite the gallery wall, I hung up a hat. Folks, hats are another design hack I use on the daily.

It’s much like plants, it is an instant life giver. Sterile room with the right touches but something missing? Put a hat on it! (If you are not a fan of Portlandia, you need to be ASAP)

So…..are you going to try a holiday gallery wall in your home? I promise even if you make mistakes, what’s the big deal? A few holes in the wall never hurt anyone.

Happy day!

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