While Colleen and I were on our trips, we both ended up buying a bunch of art. Â Art is without a doubt my favorite kind of trip souvenir to have. Â Colleen collected her art with the intention of creating a large gallery wall in her family room, but once she got home, she realized that some of her art looked so different than the others (ie. a red graphic French poster ala Toulouse-Lautrec along with a purple and yellow nature watercolor from Provence)Â that she wasn’t sure they belonged in the same gallery together. Â I have been thinking about this ever since our discussion and I thought it may be interesting to puzzle our puzzlers by studying some different gallery walls to see what makes them work.
So this is without a doubt one of my all time favorites.  But it is pretty easy to see why  it works.  Most of the pictures are primarily black and white and all of the frames are the same color/size.  It is playful because the art is very modern and funky.  This one is not so much of a puzzle.
Another serious winner. Â If you notice, this one has some bold pops of color that blend in well even with the more abstract or watercolors pieces. Â If a bright color is used once, it is typically repeated somewhere else in the wall. Â I see the red from the square art in the middle repeated in two other pieces. Â Same with the yellow. Â Also the two pieces with blocks of color are surrounded by large(ish) white mats that help them from overwhelming the wall or looking out of place.
This one is pretty nuts but I love it. Â The minty/sea foam color is used throughout which I think makes it cohesive. Â There are also funny black and white old people pictures which are used several times in different places and I think that makes it so they look good with the more modern or colorful art. Â Bright pink is used in 3 different places throughout the wall.
Image credits  1  2  3  4  5
This one is all over the map. Â But I did notice that the red from the picture of the dancer is repeated in the matting of the words. Â Also items that are not traditionally considered art are used throughout.
In conclusion, after doing some serious puzzling, I have determined that some of my favorite gallery walls are very eclectic but repetition of a few colors and/or similar pieces seem to make all of the other random stuff fit together. Â Does this make sense to anyone else? Â What elements do you guys think make a gallery wall work? Â Any real qualified decorators out there have any input?
Totally agree,I love a more eclectic approach…. makes it more interesting and the entire wall then becomes the art focal. I say she mixes them all up…. incorporating pieces of wall sculpture, etc. Eekkkk….. can you do a post now of the different pieces you brought back with you both?
Thanks Meg! Very helpful! I agree Linds, I think if I mix them up in an intentional way I should be able to incorporate them all. I really need to purchase some more graphic pieces too.
Go crazy! I started my little one awhile back and had the same thought. At first I wanted them to be all similar, but it looked boring. I decided to go with my general philosophy on things and decided not to over think it. I just put everything up there and I think it looks fun. Won’t be in any magazines or on any blogs but I think it will do just fine.
PLEASEEEEEE post the art you bought!!! I want to see!