Cleveland Interior Designers Weigh In on the Gallery Wall Trend

Whether you’re eclectic and bold or subdued and modest, we all want our homes to tell our story. The gallery wall is a simple solution, yet it can take many forms: artwork, family photographs, mementos, flags, sculptures or wall hangings collaged together to represent you.

“I try to present a more organic gallery wall,” says Libby Palmieri Schwartz, lead designer at House of L Designs in Warrensville Heights. “It’s collected. It doesn’t feel so stagnant. You want to feel like, Here’s a piece of my life.”

When you’re putting together your collection, the key is balance. Schwartz suggests mixing media that fit with each other but are not perfect.

“It’s not a puzzle,” she says. “Pick a piece that’s your grounding piece, and then you build around it.” 

After finding your focal point, begin placing other pieces around it in a cloud-like arrangement. Sean Carter, interior designer at Sapphire Pear in Rocky River, suggests organizing your pieces out on the floor before beginning to hang.

“​​It’s specific to you,” he says. “There’s not really a wrong answer when you start laying these things out.”

Carter begins by measuring everything and sketching it to scale.

“But I think the more blended and eclectic it is,” he adds, “the better the result will be.” 

As the wall comes together, Erica Yurik of Erica Yurik Design Studio in Cleveland often finds that the sweet spot for spacing is two to four inches between pieces.

“Things don’t have to be symmetrical,” she says. “Each individual piece gets to shine, because your eye kind of travels the whole statement wall rather than just at one piece.” 

Yurik encourages her clients not to be afraid to go bigger when considering scale: “People usually will go for that 5-by-7 size,” she says. “I always try to push them to go bigger, because it just ends up looking a lot better and more balanced.” 

Schwartz warns against placing pieces too high. “Your art should start at a comfortable eye level, around six feet above the ground,” she says, noting that it’s also important to consider the existing furniture in the room. Art should hang no more than six inches above a console table, for example, to create a consistent flow to the room. Pulling from colors and styles already in the room helps maintain a unified visual story. 

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Yurik suggests mixing in ceramic plates, mirrors, figurines or wall sconces to vary visual weight and further diversify style and color; softer media help balance the flow of the display. The true beauty of a gallery wall is that it will continue to evolve.

“Don’t overthink it. Take a chance and be creative,” says Carter. “The great thing about art is, it’s just hung on the wall. So you’re not tied into something permanent.”

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