Country Living editors select each product featured. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Why Trust Us?

Christopher Dibble

52 Best Gallery Wall Ideas for Every Room in Your House

Make a style statement with an eye-catching gallery wall.

By Amy MitchellUpdated: Aug 22, 2024

Just like shiplap and hardwood floors, gallery walls are one of those farmhouse decorating elements that’s here to stay. Whether you embrace the askew, perfectly imperfect approach or reach straight for the tape measure and level, there’s a gallery wall style for any and every room, nook, corner, or stairwell in your house.

Vintage gallery wall ideas that feature treasured collections like maps and signs pack quite the graphic punch when clustered in a group. Photo gallery wall ideas of family or travel photographs tell a collected story. Art gallery wall ideas work best with a common theme, such as seascapes or all black-and-white photographs.

Here are 4 pro tips on how to easily plan and install a photo wall or gallery wall. (Of course, if you prefer a collected-over-time vibe, just eyeball it!)

1. Pick objects to hang.

Collect items that make sense together, whether connected by style, color, or theme. Some common gallery wall themes include family photos or particular types of artwork like landscapes, portraits, or paint-by-numbers. For a cohesive look, choose like frames (all gold or all black, for example).

2. Trace objects on butcher paper.

Roll out butcher paper on a flat surface (we suggest a large tabletop or the floor). Lay objects and frames you want to include on the butcher paper. Cut out shapes.

3. Arrange cut-outs on the wall.

Using painter’s tape, hang the butcher paper cut-outs, moving them around until you reach your desired arrangement. “Try to balance varying sizes and color of art across the wall,” designer Fran Keenan suggests. “For example, hang mediums with red on the left with smalls, then hang mediums with a strong tone that stands up to reds on the right [with other smalls].”

4. Hang items with nails.

Once you’ve settled on an arrangement, hang your items with nails. Secure with anchors, if necessary. Fran’s number one tip: “Don’t overthink it! It won’t feel like it works until it’s all on the wall together.”

Now, to get you started, are 52 or our favorite creative and eye-catching gallery walls. Each is filled with lots of inspiration on where to install a gallery wall, what to include in your gallery, and how to arrange your collection. Have fun!

For more inspiration on decorating your walls:

Cover Every Inch

a dining nook with a navy leather banquette and collection of camp themed finds hanging above

Adam Albright, styling by Kelly Ryan Kegans

The creative gallery wall in this cozy breakfast nook came together with a collection of thrifted finds including game boards, paddles, and nautical knickknacks. Items hang together tightly to take advantage of every square inch.

Create Balance with Similar Items

attic bedroom with twin beds and suitcases stacked as the table

Marta Xochilt Perez

A gallery wall is an ideal way to add style to awkward spaces, like this lofted bunk room. Here, matching pairs (framed fish drawings and round ship paintings) create a sense of symmetry and balance. A set of antlers fills the peak above the window.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Add Personal Touches

claire zinneckers 1897 folk victorian farmhouse in georgetown texas has gallery wall of framed paintings, wallpaper, flowers

Buff Strickland

In this entryway, vintage frames showcase thrifted paintings and collages made using preserved pieces of wallpaper and clippings from 1930s Swedish newspapers found in the floorboards of the house during the renovation. Dried wedding flowers (top right) add dimension and a personal touch.

Hang an Expanse of Silhouettes

stairwell with a wall full of framed antique silhouettes

Rikki Snyder

If only walls could talk! For the ultimate staircase gallery wall idea, homeowner Shawn Lang collected antique silhouettes for nearly four years to cover the expanse of his stairwell. Each one remains in its existing frame, regardless of scuffs, scratches, or overall condition.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Build an Inspiration Board

collection of antique garden shears and photo inspiration board displayed on walls painted clover green by benjamin moore

ALI HARPER

Landscape gardener Anthony Brewington’s home office is a place where passion meets profession. On one wall, he shows off the antique garden tools he’s collected for nearly three decades. Above his desk, a contained gallery wall of sorts displays favorite pages torn from magazines (“what we had before Instagram,” he says).

Take It All In

pine planked living room with big blue sectional

Christopher Dibble

In designer Max Humphrey’s cabin-like living room, a hip assortment of old and new national park posters, campgrounds signage, and other framed artwork means there’s always something to look at from the oversize linen sectional.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Frame Up Vintage Dog Paintings

a bedroom with a wood frame bed and a vintage rug and a collection of dog paintings on the wall

Brie Williams

Create a mini gallery wall alongside a bed to proudly display beloved collections. To make this grouping of vintage dog paintings complete, homeowner Kay Stanley scouted antiques stores near and far for the hand-carved tramp art frames that encase each one.

Pick a Floral Theme

floral paintings of assorted size and frame style hung above and around a wood entry table on seafoam green wall

This colorful collection of floral paintings wrapping an entryway table creates a cheerful welcome. With a variety of sizes, some paintings in frames, and some bare stretched canvases, this happy arrangement works because of the one cohesive subject matter.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Linger Over Landscapes

art gallery wall surrounding fireplace in nook with two club chairs upholstered in blue and white ticking fabric in a 1920s bungalow in west virginia

Brie Williams

Homeowner Bambi Costanzo transformed a blank nook by the stairs by installing an electric firebox, an antique mantel, and shelves on either side. Landscape paintings line the walls above, giving the room hand-me-down history. The collection continues along the narrow wall on the right, where a stack of five pieces fits nicely.

Get the Girls Together

Brian Woodcock

The ladies in this curated grouping of vintage oil portraits all have one thing in common: a powerful pop of red. The “red thread” holds together this striking arrangement.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Mix Eras and Textures

a living room with a dark brown accent gallery wall and white furniture

Max Kim-Bee

Matte gray-black paint is a sophisticated canvas for a casual gallery wall mix of framed and unframed family silhouettes, oil paintings, and a 1920s deer mount that was a gift from homeowner Annie McCreary’s sister. “My dad was a picker, so I was always collecting things,” she says. “I love mixing eras and textures.”

Envelop a Corner

a reading nook wall is filled with framed art

Rikki Snyder

A comfy chaise lounge makes for a quiet perch for humans and feline friends alike to take in the meaningful mix of sentimental and kitschy collections in this room. Childhood keepsakes, framed family photos, and stacks of books are just some of the personal mementos tucked into this cozy corner.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Play Up a Game Theme

tavern table, green painted rattan chairs, gallery wall of family photos and vintage rackets and paddles in game room of a lakeside cabin

Brie Williams

In this relaxed sunroom-turned-game area, vintage lodge-style games like Bingo and Monopoly make for functional collections and inspire the gallery wall decor items. Black-and-white family photos and artwork mingle with vintage rackets and paddles for a personal wall display that carries on the theme of the space.

Embrace a Perfectly Imperfect Approach

a wood chest of drawers with flower paintings all around it on the wall

Rikki Snyder

A chest of drawers scored at an auction is surrounded by richly colored floral paintings picked up at flea markets. The mismatched collection is casually hung off-kilter, which adds to the charm and authenticity of the vignette.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Choose Wisely

a farmhouse bedroom with a bed and art on the wall

Nat Rea, styling by Matthew Gleason

Thanks to a strict selection filter, an assortment of muted vintage landscapes holds together visually. “I know a painting is good if it looks like a place I’d like to live!” says homeowner Jennifer Barone. Come Christmas, she adds a lush wreath crowning the bed frame.

Display Pretty Pewter

airy blue bedroom with antique bed and silver plates hanging on wall

Annie Schlechter

Hung against a pretty shade of country blue, a collection of pewter plates and platters is displayed in a primary bedroom. Varying sizes make for a more creative arrangement.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Go Graphic in a Powder Room

Brie Williams, styling by Rachel Rivers

Bring personality to a petite powder room with a graphic gallery wall. This corner display shows off a happy assortment of vintage finds, including an eclectic mix of paintings, photographs, flags, and a framed life vest.

Cover a Wall From Floor to Ceiling

living room with gallery wall behind leather sofa

Read McKendree

A gallery wall is a smart way to fill a blank space behind a sofa or other furniture. Here, because the living room’s wall and floors aren’t level, the homeowners eyeballed where to hang their miscellany of nautical flags, maps, ship paintings, and landscapes. Pieces are hung all the way to the floor to completely cover the wall.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Fill a Narrow Space

an artful display of blue and white plates hanging on the wall in a dining room

Buff Strickland

A large grouping—like this arrangement of (mostly) Spode and Wedgwood blue and white china—has more oomph than a solo display. With pewter trays mixed in, the artful dining room arrangement makes a real statement in the skinny wall area between windows.

Check This Out

Now here’s a way to add graphic interest to any wall! Hand-painted vintage checkerboards featuring cool colorways work as bold wall art, especially when grouped together. A pair propped on the black painted sideboard adds an additional layer. Other game-themed pieces, like dartboards and game boards, would work as well.