Just over two years after I started, I’ve decided to continue working on the gallery walls that will line the second floor teevee room and wrap around the staircase. While I ended up putting up 12 total pieces on the two walls in question since I started this endeavor, I’ve been too chicken to go any further. Recently, however, the amount of framed posters, records, and even magazine covers has gotten kind of ridiculous. They sit on the floor, leaning forlornly against the walls all over the house, and I think it’s about time that they found a proper home.

This brings me to the image above. If you’ve never tried mocking up your artwork like this before, I highly recommend it. The concept is extremely simple. Gather what you’d like to hang, create a mockup of each piece using newspaper (for larger frames you will often find yourself taping multiple pages together to get to the right size), then tape those mockups to the wall in pleasing arrangements. This makes the final step of the process far easier… simply measure where your nails should fall in relation to the frame’s length and width, and hammer the nail straight through the paper. Once you take the paper down, your frame is ready to hang.

As you can see, I’ve still got a ways to go. In the meantime, I’ve filled out the gaps in my plan with some clearly professional drawings. I plan on wall mounting some of my guitar collection as well (once I figure out a way to swallow the cost of the guitar hooks… 10$ a pop = ouch!), so I’ve included them in my drawing.

The toughest part is always creating the arrangements. Here are my personal preferences and tips:

Groupings unified by straight lines tend to be more visually appealing. I personally prefer groupings similar to this one (although I would never use matching frames), over more casual groupings like this one. As you can see, the plan for the groupings is to have all the edges line up ~1’ below the ceiling. I also plan on having the groupings end approximately 35” above the floor.

Take your space into account. I had to make exceptions to the measurements I’m using. You’ll see one exception over the couch (where I generally measure the natural landing place of the human head on the wall, then make sure that the frame’s bottom edge clears that), and the other on the staircase. As you can see from the earlier post linked at the beginning of this article, I used painter’s tape to help me follow the natural cascade of the staircase and determine a pleasing diagonal arrangement. Evaluating how to integrate or modify arrangements into the existing space and how it will be used is key.

Use your artwork to unite, not divide. Because I want to create a gallery wall effect, it was extremely important to ignore the half wall between the room and the staircase. In fact, by placing an arrangement of frames squarely over that divide, I erased any division that would have otherwise been highlighted by letting the break between frames fall directly on that line.

Consider the scale. Another thing to keep in mind when creating a gallery arrangement on unusually high walls, such as those found in a staircase, is to make sure that artwork placed higher up on the walls is larger or more graphic. For example, I was recently given a poster full of detailed information (this one, thanks D!). Hanging it high up on the wall won’t allow the viewer to appreciate its content. Similarly, very small posters or drawings, or items with smaller or moderately sized writing on it won’t be appreciated that high up. It’s best to keep the more detailed stuff closer to eye level.

Finally, the most important tip is to put up stuff you love, even if it’s corny. If it makes you smile, or reminds you of a special event or time in your life, or if it’s just so beautiful that it makes your eyes feel good, you should be looking at it every day.

Oh, and I couldn’t help but highlight Kvelertak, my toothy, smiling stuffed bat… can you blame me?