We’re not all interior designers. That might sound like a ridiculous obvious fact, but I promise it’s relevant. Because when it comes to using the pictures from your professional photography session, if you want to print and hang them on your walls instead of just having them on your phone, you might feel like you’re not quite qualified to make them look ACTUALLY GOOD, instead of just randomly hung on the wall so you can see them.

And that’s a totally reasonable thing to feel. But I don’t want those feelings to stop you from creating a gallery wall with your photos!! Your images deserve to be seen. And YOU deserve to be surrounded by the people you love, on your walls, all the time. Not just as the background on your phone. I mean, ALSO as the background on your phone, but I think you know what I mean, right?

So, if you’re NOT an interior designer, how can you make sure your gallery wall looks GREAT? One of the ways is choosing a layout that matches your space!! So, today we’re going to talk about gallery wall layouts, and why you might use a specific layout in a specific space. Hopefully it’ll help you feel a little more “qualified” and get out of that procrastination paralysis with hanging your photos!!

First thing: Think about the STYLE of your space

Your first step in this process, is always going to be thinking about the style of your space. And the style you’re going for is always going to play into how you lay out a gallery wall! If you’ve looked at inspiration on Pinterest, you’ve probably seen a whole metric ton of options for styling your space. You can keep things minimal, with lots of white and neutrals. Or, you can go a little more chaotic and maximal, whether for you that means color everywhere, or not!

But the style of the space is going to play into what kind of layout you choose for your gallery wall, because it would look kinda weird to have a chaotic, asymmetrical gallery wall in a super neutral room. Not quite the vibe, right?

Once you’ve looked at some examples, and thought that part through… it’s time to think about layout! In the options below, I’ve organized things by style, to make things easier. They go from “minimal” to “maximal” and “simple” to “complicated”.

Uniform Gallery Wall Layouts

Uniform gallery wall layouts might sound less fun if you’re someone like me who thrives on everything everywhere being a little bit “extra”. But, they’re a GORGEOUS, simple, elegant way to bring your images into your home! Uniform gallery wall layouts are also a ton easier to work with because you can go find some frames that all match at a craft store, or at target, if you’ve not ordered your prints to arrive already framed.

These layouts also don’t need to be exclusively done with framed images – you can do them with canvas prints, metal prints – as long as all of the images are in the same style, this layout will look great no matter what material your photos are printed on! The key is uniformity here, and the energy it can bring to a space is calming, and super chill.

The row of three

Rows of three are a great way to highlight a few images from your session. They go amazingly above a sofa, or in your hallway – just like any symmetrical layout of photos!

The grid of 6

If you have more than three photos you want to put together in your gallery wall, you don’t have to stick to three at all! You can bring in another row. Consider how your space might look different if you used square versus portrait orientation images for this one!

The grid of 9

If you have a BIG space you want to use, or you wanted to use smaller prints, you can even expand this to a grid of 9! Now, this being said… you’ve probably figured out by now that any number of images (except maybe 7… that doesn’t work as well!) can be arranged into a symmetrical, uniform gallery wall!

The symmetrical wild card

Grids and rows aren’t the only ways to lay out a uniform feeling gallery wall – you can also experiment with the sizes of your images and still arrive at a uniform, minimal vibe for your layout! Think about mixing portrait orientation images with square ones, or landscape with portrait, and how that can bring some extra intrigue to the wall you’re putting them on.

Asymmetrical Gallery Wall Layouts

The other basic category of gallery wall layouts that you can think about, is asymmetrical gallery walls! These are pretty much exactly what they sound like. They’re gallery walls designed to NOT be symmetrical, but to fall into balance in other ways. Sometimes that’s through color, but other times it’s kind of through chaos!

With the same frames

Your asymmetrical gallery wall can use all the same frames, and bring in some of the uniformity we talked about in the previous section! This can work well in spaces that are meant to feel homey, but still minimal. It’s a great way to create a focus wall in whatever room you’re decorating, without overwhelming the eye.

With different frames

You don’t HAVE to stick with the same framing though, or even the same format of images! With asymmetrical gallery walls, you can get really creative with using different types of prints, different types of frames, and different colors, even!

Interspersed with other kinds of art

Another really cool thing you can do with gallery walls that are asymmetrical, is bring in other kinds of art. It can add texture and interest to the space!

Gallery Walls Bring Attitude To Your Space!

No matter what kind of gallery wall you’re adding to your home, it’s definitely going to be a talking point. And even if it’s in a room that only YOU spend time in, it’s also a great way to surround yourself with the people you love, always!

Remember, when you get your gallery from me here at the studio, you can order prints in a ton of different formats straight from your gallery preview. So you don’t have to worry about sending them to a separate printing service, or any of the stress that comes along with that! It’s all super easy, and super simple. Just the way I like it!