Gallery Walls are a fan-favorite part of any home, which we often execute when clients want their space to feel more personal. Usually they've been mulling over doing the wall themselves for 2-5 years and have finally surrendered, realizing this will always hold a special place at the bottom of their To Do list. That’s when we get the inquiry: "how do you work when installing gallery walls?" SO, since this is an oh-so-frequently asked question, and because settling into a new home is quite popular these days, we're sharing the soup-to-nuts rundown on how gallery walls work.
Step 1: We start the gallery wall process by selecting a suitable wall, or confirming the client’s preferred wall. Then, we provide clients with a digital folder where they can upload images of their space so we have a clear idea of their aesthetic.
Step 2: We produce a one-page proposal, sharing our flat-fee pricing and timeline - given the scope of work. This ensures clients have a clear understanding of what goes into the project, including discovering the right template, selecting photos, cropping and printing, selecting frames, having photos framed, transporting all pieces into a home and ultimately having it professionally installed.
Step 3: Once clients sign off on our proposal, we get to work by first recommending a series of frames. Some recent favorites are the New School Black from Simply Framed and the Brushed Gunmetal options from Crate & Barrell.
(Note, we’re not fans of multi-window frames and so we buy frames individually rather than the set.)
Step 4: After the client signs off on frames, we prepare 2-3 scaled templates for their review. We can do subsequent ones as-needed and often serve up a variety of structural vs. more organic shaped templates, and we make recommendations on which photos are to be displayed full bleed (without mat) or with mat.
Step 5: With the client’s preferred template set, we provide a link for uploading photos. Clients are welcome to upload more than we need and also incorporate hard copies - we provide a mailing address where those can be sent. Then we get to work determining which photo goes into which frame, and work with our Printer to have the photos cropped and edited as needed.
A note about photos: We love candid as much as professional and are happy mixing black and white and color. A photo wall with only professional shots can feel sterile, and the wall needs to reflect the beautiful imperfections and laughable moments that make every family unique.
Step 6: We have all photos printed on specific types of paper. We love Epson’s Photo Rag paper but we tweak as needed for each project. And if you’re thinking this is weird, it’s not - PAPER MATTERS! Photos printed from big box shops like Shutterfly and Snapfish look terrible when shown on a wall. Quality paper absorbs the ink so the colors and details show infinitely better. We can even have existing hard copy photos (vintage or current) reprinted on the same quality paper selected to ensure consistency and durability.
Step 7: We insert all photos into the selected frames, then arrive onsite (or send our installer) to hang the pieces properly. This is not a DIY project. Our installers know which hardware to use, where to poke holes, and how to measure so your wall remains intact and your photos hang and stay straight so your family gets to relive the memories every time they pass the wall.
Hopefully this provides insight into what goes into those gallery walls we tout a lot.
Here’s a gallery of past walls and here’s what clients say about their walls and experience in general. Thanks for checking in and please share any questions we didn’t answer!
