How to Create a Grid Gallery Wall

The gallery wall trend is here to stay, but with so many iterations on the classic salon style gallery wall, it can be hard to find the right combination for your space, budget, and style. Meet the grid gallery wall. Perfectly customizable, grids couple the drama and elegance of traditional gallery walls with sleek modern lines for an instantly luxurious interior.

 
Four reasons grid gallery walls are worth a try:

1.  It’s high impact. All of the pieces come together to look like one big statement piece for that classic gallery wall look.

2. You don’t have to pick favorites. Grids allow you to collect and collage stories and memories. Think your Instagram feed brought to life.

3. It’s the best of both. Symmetry and clean lines convey a modern vibe, but gallery wall grids are also a little traditional. Together, these styles create a timeless gallery wall.

4. It’s 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.

How to make your own grid gallery wall:

An example of a classic grid gallery wall from Meagan Deegan.

1. Measure the total 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. Only measure the area you want to fill. You can use painter’s tape to mark off the area.

Pro tip: Couches usually measure between 75 and 100 inches. Measure the width of your couch and multiply it by ⅔. That’s roughly how wide your grid should be. Same goes for the space above a headboard. For a 60 inch wide Queen headboard, your arrangement should be around 40 inches.

2. Decide on your arrangement. 

There are lots of choices, but you don’t have to feel overwhelmed. Start by choosing the grid’s orientation: horizontal, vertical, or square. They all look great, so choose based on the amount of space you want to fill. To make it even easier, we have pre-designed 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 up: how many pieces are you looking to incorporate into your grid? Here are the three most common grid arrangements we see. 

Six small frames in a grid of 3x2.

Nine framed Instagram photos in a grid of 3x3.

Twelve medium frames in a grid of 4x3.

3. Pick your pieces.

We love photography for grid gallery walls, but if you have art pieces that are the same size (or can be trimmed to be the same size) that always looks great, too. Think about whether you want a theme: all wedding photos, all family photos, all kids art, all 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. We wrote out every step for you to follow along. Pro tip: If you’d rather someone else handle the technical side, check out our gallery wall service.

You’ve already decided the space you want to fill with your grid and how many total pieces you want in that space. Now, take the total width of the space and divide it by the number of frames you want, accounting for about 2 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 long.

Do the exact same thing with the height to determine how tall each frame should be.

To figure out how big you’ll need each photo to be, just subtract the width of the frame and mat from the 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) 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.

5. Pick your frame.

You’ll want to use the same frame throughout the grid to keep it clean and consistent. Looking for something modern and clean? Go with Mercer Slim or Irvine Slim. Looking something more classic? Try Newport or Richmond. 

6. Place your order.

 Pour yourself a glass of wine and relax. You will receive your pieces custom framed and ready to hang in just a few days. Looking for a few tips for how to hang your masterpiece? We’ve got you.