Today is Day 7 of a 31 day series on creating and cultivating an eclectic home. For some crazy reason, I have accepted The Nester’s challenge to write on the same theme every day for the month of October. This may end up killing me. Or you. But, I appreciate you reading and welcome your comments.
Eclectic gallery walls are easy to create. In fact, they are so easy that you could put one together this weekend. Gather some artwork, frames, plates, or mirrors that you likely have hanging around your home anyway and get started.
Easier said than done, you think? Let’s check out some eclectic wall displays (via Pinterest) and talk about why they make each room look special.
The first one combines a coordinating color scheme with the proper balance. The mostly white artwork is offset and grouped in such a way that the lamp shade rightly looks like it’s part of the overall design instead of being an afterthought. And although the placement of the art isn’t symmetric, you can draw an invisible vertical line down the center of the large piece and see that it is balanced – the left side is weighted towards the bottom while the right side is weighted towards the top.
This next photo shows a great way to cover a space on a small wall. The overlapping china is grouped so that the heaviness of the large yellow piece is balanced with the five small plates on the bottom. Don’t believe me? Cover the bottom five plates with your and you’ll see what I mean. Without them, the wall doesn’t make quite the same impact.
This next collection is one that I know you could put together right now. Again, the heavier pieces on the bottom are balanced by having a tight grouping of smaller items on top. A hodge podge of art, old photographs, and a lantern (? any guesses as to what that is?) in a coordinating color scheme make for a great display.
This one will take a little more collecting, but this is a great look for a child’s room or play area. An eclectic mix of letters creates a fun alphabet on the wall. A friend of mine is creating a similar wall in her home, and we started her collection while we were at the Round Top Antique Show last weekend (more on the show is coming later). My friend’s letters are much more vintage looking than these, so this is obviously a display that you can easily style to your own eclectic mix.
Lastly, this wall of art makes quite an impact in an entry way. The large pieces feature floral arrangements in vases while the smaller pieces have an almost geometric feel. I think the balance between the two types of artwork give it more of an eclectic feel and less of a wow-that-person-really-loves-floral-arrangements vibe.
I need to work on eclectic gallery wall myself! I have a huge wall going up my staircase to our second floor, and I’d love to find some old paintings to mix in with some other unique items to put in that space. Do you have an eclectic gallery wall in your home?
Oh, I love eclectic galleries. I can’t wait to create one in my new home. I’m totally diggin’ the alphabet!
I was wondering if the eclectic gallery wall would look as good without the chair-rail? I think it might add to the balance of it all, but I’m not sure. Should I put a chair-rail in before adding all the prints?
I have a blank wall in our great room (in the dining area) that I’ve been “saving” for an eclectic gallery wall. I don’t have everything I want for it yet, but I think I just need to start it and then add to it as I find stuff.
Lindsay, I am really enjoying your 31 days series. I’ve always preferred an eclectic mix of decor rather than matching sets myself. The collected over time and travels look feels more authentic to me. Right now I am working on new throw pillow covers so I especially appreciated your day 6 post. Unfortunately my house has many large windows so not a lot of large expansive wall space for a gallery which I would love to do. Although the tiny wall of plates was great inspiration for me. Thanks!
I definitely like the alphabet wall the best! I’m enjoying your eclectic home series (especially because I live in an eclectic home!)
Brittany aka Pretty Handy Girl
I’m loving this series too! I think I would aspire to an eclectic home, but at this point, we’re sporting more of a bad dorm furniture mix… I am hoping to try for that alphabet wall when my son moves to his “big boy” room, though!
Thank you so much for posting this. I am in the process of creating an eclectic gallery wall in my dining room and I have the MOST trouble with arranging the things I want to include! And of course it doesn’t help that I find something new to add or grow tired of one look so quickly. I feel like I am ALWAYS rearranging everything!
I love art groupings. My question is, can I have more than one grouping in my home? Two? Three?