How to Create the Perfect Gallery Wall

How to Create a Wall Gallery

This post is sponsored by VELCRO® and Her Campus Media and is also in collaboration with Desenio. All opinions are mine alone, and I thank you for supporting the brands that make Quartz & Leisure possible!

How to Create a Wall Gallery

Hey friends!

So, as most of you know, we recently moved to sunny Los Angeles, CA. I was so excited to furnish our new place with decor that was totally my own style. And let me tell you, I have been taking my sweet little time because I keep searching and waiting to find things that are the perfect fit!

I couldn’t be happier with the layout of our new place, however, one of my main issues, aesthetic-wise, is that there were some unsightly wall outlets and a TV wall mount system in the middle of the wall.

Mike is firmly against mounting TVs on the wall for some reason (you’ll have to ask him for details on this, but there was no negotiating this point, trust me, I tried), so I knew I had to find a solution to mask these ugly things. I was not going to be forced to stare at them every time I sat down on the couch to watch some quality Bravo programming. Know what I’m saying?

Velcro Hangables wall gallery

Also, the key was that I had to find a solution without ruining the walls with nail holes and weird hooks, as our landlords have a strict no damage policy. That one month’s deposit fee, ya know? VELCRO®Brand
HANGables® Removable Wall Fasteners.

Luckily, while browsing at Home Depot I discovered these little things called VELCRO®Brand
HANGables® Removable Wall Fasteners.
And the VELCRO®Brand team was awesome enough to partner with me for this post! So, let me explain.

Velcro Hangables wall gallery

The HANGables® Removable Wall Fastener strips allow you to affix items on the walls without nails and without creating any damage by using VELCRO®Brand’s hook & loop technology. They can also be used on painted brick walls which were in our old NYC apartment and are impossible to hammer nails into (trust me, I tried that, too). In this place, I was planning to choose something beautiful from the peel and stick wallpaper collection by Simple Shapes to decorate the walls with, so something that didn’t cause any damage was an absolute must.

They are also super easy to use, which is perfect for someone like me who doesn’t want a complicated project. So, now that I had a solution I had to determine exactly WHAT I wanted to hang on the walls to transform them from plain and drab to beautiful and eye-catching.

I knew I wanted to create some kind of wall gallery, and I’ve had my eye on a few posters from this amazing site called Desenio for a while now. Luckily, when they found out about my idea, they were more than happy to collaborate with me as well and sent me some gorgeous posters. To say I was beyond excited is an understatement!

Desenio has the most beautiful imagery, shot by their in-house photographers, and each photo is so unique. They were also nice enough to send me a coupon code to share with my readers for 25% off all posters (*excluding handpicked and frames), so keep reading for that info at the end of the post!

I had the hardest time deciding which prints to choose, but after spending more hours than I’d like to admit, I finally made my selections. (Trust me, I went back and forth so many times…why am I like this??)

Honestly, what helped me the most with the design layout was actually taking a photo of my blank wall, uploading it to my computer, and creating a “mock up” in Photoshop. Then I went to the Desenio website and screenshotted an image I was considering, and inserted it on my blank wall photo in Photoshop. I was then able to move the prints around, manipulate size and positioning, and make sure everything was exactly how I wanted it. Photoshop is amazing from an artistic point of view, it can really help you mock things up, create and correct photos, there are a multitude of tutorials that you can find to help you navigate your way through it, such as how to whiten teeth in photoshop, there isn’t really a limit!

How to make a gallery wall

I know not all of you have access to Photoshop, (plus, I mean, that kind of perfectionist behavior is typical of only a few crazy people such as myself. Again, why am I like this?), so I also created physical cut outs of the posters in the sizes I was considering. To do this, I just took a huge roll of white paper, measured it to the corresponding sizes, cut them out, and then taped the mock ups to my wall with some non-damaging painters tape.

This was also a great way to double-check on sizing and to see what would look too big or too small on the wall. As you can see, I ended up adjusting the sizes a bit on some of the prints once I saw them up on the wall. This wall is fairly large and some of the smaller prints were looking overwhelmed in the space.

So, now the fun part was hanging them. First, I prepared the walls by quickly wiping them with a rubbing alcohol solution. *Important Note: Do NOT use any household cleaners or soap because they will cause the VELCRO®Brand HANGables® Wall Fasteners to not stick as well.

How to Use Velcro Hangables

I then took my VELCRO® Brand HANGables® Removable Wall Fasteners and affixed one to each corner of the frame. Each HANGables® strip comes with 2 parts, the hook and the loop, just like anything regular VELCRO®Brand would. One side sticks to the frame (the permanent side), and one side sticks to the wall (the easy-removal side). The strip with the red sticker should always be facing TOWARDS YOU on the frame!

I wanted to make sure the frames would be really secure on the wall, so I chose the VELCRO®
Brand HANGables® strips that held the appropriate weight. I strongly advise using them on all 4 corners of each frame, and some larger frames may need additional strips in between, depending on its weight. I say, the more strips, the better!

Desenio Prada poster

Then, make sure the frames are lined up exactly where you want them on the walls and press firmly on all corners for 30 seconds. And voila! A perfect wall gallery without any damaging hammer and nail holes.

Desenio Posters Review

Desenio Posters Review

So, what do you think?? I am so in love with all of the prints I chose from Desenio! Here are the names and links to each print, in case you want to order the same ones. From left to right: Pool Edge, Highland Cow, Moon Phase, Cactus Wall, Prada, and Leopard Profile. And click here to see another gallery wall I did with Desenio’s newest collection, featuring photographs from all the most iconic New York City spots.

As I mentioned earlier, they were also nice enough to offer an exclusive coupon code for 25% off your entire order on the site (*not including handpicked or frames). The code: ‘quartzandleisure25‘ is good only from October 2-4, so hurry on over to Desenio if you want to take advantage!

I hope this post helped you if you’re looking to create a wall gallery in your home. If you need more inspo or ideas let me know, I would love to help you lay out some poster ideas for you!

Desenio Poster Review

How to Create a Wall Gallery

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6 Comments

    1. Thanks, Briana! So glad you like it as much as I do! 🙂
      Xx