Becoming Home: Gallery Wall
Home, a place of respite and hope, a collective of dreams, a habitat infused with the nuance of us. Often, we think of home as the structure that houses us; the macro in which we dwell. And it is, but often it's the micro inflections that carry the most poinant highlight, the mundane that carries the most intimate the notes. The little things: images, objects, and forms that speak to our story and reflect our aesthetic.
I've been working with a client for a couple years now, on several spaces in her home - kitchen, family room, and breakfast room. We've worked in stages, taking each room in turn. The kitchen is now complete, and we've begun work in the family room. What's becoming is something better than we'd even hoped for in the beginning. The design plan has evolved into something that truly fits both the house and the people who live there.
One of the final things to be installed will be a gallery wall. Although it's an element that's been part of the plan from the beginning, we purposely left it to the end to give ourselves time to curate the collection. Often, these things take simmering, and searching. Especially if it's to be the image of their story. The discussion around what we might include has turned up several likely candidates: textiles from her childhood in Australia, her boys' elementary art, her own artwork from college, other keepsakes and ephemera.
All this thinking about her space has spilled over into mine. Because our house is my personal canvas, I've recently taken to playing with the tiny gallery wall in our bathroom, bringing in some new (old) additions. A couple vintage photos, possibly some more sketches, maybe some of my boys' elementary art, a small brass-framed mirror. I'll continue to add and subtract, to play until it seems right. For now.
And, since you know me, it's no surprise that I've gathered images of gallery walls to maybe inspire you, too.
Here's my take-away for a successful gallery wall:
+ Gather what you love. When it all comes together, you could read your story right there.
+ Have a common palette. As long as you have a color theme anchoring the grouping, you then have freedom to mix styles, frames, media, and forms.
+ Not everything has to be framed. Washi tape works beautifully. So do brass upholstery tacks.
+ Random placement makes for the most organic outcome.
+ Varying mat widths adds interest and curiosity, as do no mat, and float-mount.
+ Keep adding and subtracting. This is a living wall, to be changed as often as you wish.
