With so many iterations on the classic salon-style gallery wall, it’s not exactly easy to find the right combination for your space, budget, and style. Meet our Grid Gallery Walls. While they’re still customizable, grids couple the drama and elegance of traditional gallery walls with ordered lines for an instantly elevated interior. Here are four reasons to choose a grid gallery wall:
- A grid is high impact. All of the frames come together as one big statement piece for that classic gallery wall look.
- You don’t have to pick favorites. Grids allow you to collect and collage stories and memories. Think of it like your Instagram feed brought to life.
- You get the best of both worlds. Symmetry and clean lines convey a modern vibe, but gallery wall grids are also a touch traditional. Together, these styles create a timeless installation.
- Grids are precise. Have a tricky space you want to fill? With a gallery wall grid, you can customize how many pieces compose both height and width to accommodate even the toughest design challenges.
Ready to give it a try? Here’s how to make your own grid gallery wall:
1. Determine your grid size
Measure only the wall space you want to fill. For example, if it’s the area above your couch, don’t measure the whole wall or the distance from the couch to the ceiling. You can use painter’s tape to mark off the area.
Pro tip: Use the ⅔ rule. Measure the width of your couch, headboard, or other furniture and multiply it by ⅔ (or .67) to get a rough estimate of how wide your grid should be. So, for a 60-inch wide queen headboard, your arrangement should be around 40 inches.
2. Decide on your arrangement
Grids can be oriented horizontally, vertically, or square. They all are beautiful options, so choose yours based on the shape of the space you want to fill. To make it easy to decide, we offer pre-designed, ready-to-hang grid gallery walls in each of these orientations:
Horizontal: The Wide Grid and The Line
Vertical: The Floor to Ceiling Grid and The Mini Tall
Square: The Half Wall Grid and The Mini Grid
Next, choose how many frames you want to feature into your grid. Here are the three most common grid arrangements we see:
6 frames in a 2x3 grid
3. Pick your pieces
We love photography for grid gallery walls, but it’s also great if you have artwork that’s the same size (or can be trimmed to be the same size). Think about whether you want a theme: wedding photos, family photos, kids art, or postcards. You can also mix it up by picking from a variety of images and memories.
4. Measure
Dust off your arithmetic skills and grab a measuring tape. This math may look intimidating, but we promise it’s simple. Pro tip: If you’d rather someone else handle the technical side, check out our Gallery Wall Design Service or choose one of our pre-designed gallery walls that come with a life-sized hanging guide and hardware to make the process super simple.
You’ve already decided the space you want to fill with your grid and how many frames you want in that space. Now, take the total width of the space and divide it by the number of frames you want in the top row, accounting for about two inches between each one. It can help to sketch your plan out and write down the numbers as you go.
So, if your space is 70 inches wide and you know you want your grid to be three frames wide, here's where you'd land:
- 70 inches minus 4 inches (two 2-inch gaps between three frames) is 66 inches;
- 66 divided by 3 frames is 22.
So, each frame should be 22 inches wide.
5. Repeat for height
Repeat step 4 with the desired height to determine how tall each frame should be.
6. Determine the photo size
To figure out how big you’ll need each photo to be, just subtract the width of the frame and mat from the total width you determined in step 2. In our example, let's assume the frame is one inch and the mat is three inches.
- The 1-inch frame plus 3-inch mat is 4 inches.
- 4 x 2 (the right side and the left side of the frame) is 8 inches.
- 22 (the size of the frame) minus 8 (for frame and matting) is 16.
- Each photo should be 16 inches wide.
- Do the same for the height and crop each of your photos to be exactly the same size.
7. Pick your frame style
We recommend using the same frame throughout the grid to keep your look streamlined and consistent. Looking for something modern and clean? Go with Mercer Slim or Irvine Slim. Craving something more classic? Try Newport or Richmond.
