When I was a little girl, I dreamt of being an artist when I grew up.
It was inconceivable that I’d be anything else, to be honest, as I spent my days drawing, painting and colouring.
Then when I was a little bit bigger I studied for an art A’Level, followed by a graphic design course at art college, before finally leaving home and doing a degree in Illustration in London.
A creative career was definitely on the cards, from a relatively early age.
But whilst I do still paint very occasionally — and I also create prints and paper-cuts to sell in my little shop — I certainly wouldn’t consider myself an artist. Designer, yes, definitely. Artist? Sadly not.
But I still love art — in all it’s forms. I’ve always got such a buzz from going to a gallery; seeing an exhibition wall filled with amazing images is one of my favourite things to do but given the fact we don’t live in a city anymore, trips to galleries are few and far between these days.
So I have decided to create my own gallery wall at home.
We went to a lovely hotel, in the Cotswolds, a couple of weeks ago and one of the things that I loved the most was a gallery wall they’d created up the main staircase.
It has given me the inspiration to do the same at home.
Quick View of What You'll Find on This Page
Creating a Gallery Wall at Home
I LOVE the dark painted wall in the picture above. But I’m envisaging charcoal grey or perhaps navy on our own staircase (I’m thinking ‘Drawing Room Blue’ by Farrow and Ball). Or maybe Downpipe.
With a wall filled with glorious colourful and graphic art, that will really make an impact and look amazing against the dark background.
I’ve tracked down a fab website called King & McGaw, where you can buy the most fantastic range of art prints.
They’ve a huge selection. Everything from modern — abstract, pop art and Bauhaus — to photography prints, typography based prints and even street art reproductions.
There’s such a wealth of beautiful imagery, that I’ve really struggled to narrow down my favourite pieces. But given the fact that I’ve always been obsessed by colour, my magpie tendencies draw me straight to the riot of beautiful shades in Amy Sia’s work.
And my love for all things graphic has also seen me obsessing over these gorgeous bold prints by Inaluxe.
So to try and see if this mix of styles would work (particularly in the kind of setting that I’m imagining them in) I found an image of a hallway, with a similar feel to ours, on Pinterest.
Then with a little bit of Photoshop trickery I’ve created a mock up of how our gallery wall could look.
It’s so eye-catching and such a gorgeous riot of colour.
I don’t think my eyes would ever tire of looking at such a fantastic display; it would be like going to an art exhibition every-time I went up and down the stairs! And it also goes to show that a mix of graphic prints, combined with less regimented, painted pieces work really well together.
I can feel a painting weekend coming on ;)
Watch this space.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
I am planning on making a picture wall with a mix of photos and prints in our house but haven’t yet decided whether to do it in the Kitchen or Hall! It is a lovely idea and brings brightness to an otherwise plain boring wall!
Ooh kitchen could look fab! Especially if it was food inspired prints or quotes! I have a family recipe print that could work really well! ;)
https://www.mooksdesign.co.uk/product/family-recipe-print/
Ooooh what a colourful wall :) Amazing!! And such striking prints. You are such a creative person and I am so inspired that you do what you love each day. Jess xx
p.s. Thanks for being a superb #HomeEtc co-host too!! :) xx
HOW gorgeous?! It would be such a treat for the eyes to have such an explosion of colour on the wall wouldn’t it?! I think creativity is a curse as well as a blessing to be honest!!! Sometimes you have no choice but to follow your heart — and your talents!! An academic career was never in the pipeline for me, sadly!! I’d have loved to have been a forensic pathologist but NO CHANCE!! Am not clever enough!! ;)
I’ve been working on a gallery wall in my bedroom for over a year now – I have loads of pictures, all framed, I just can’t quite decide how they should be hung. I made newspaper cutouts of them last weekend, but I’d never thought of using photoshop to plan it out – that’s so simple but it’s a genius idea!
Ah Katy — I tend to use photoshop for EVERYTHING!! What colour to dye my hair, paint a wall etc!! I always like to get an idea of how something’s going to look before I make a start ;)
These are some lovely ideas, I have been trying to do something similar in our living room and we are looking for some good quote options to add to it and add some colour!
They got some AMAZING Andy Warhol quotes on their website — really graphic too :)
We’ve been adding more and more artwork around our house. I think it really adds a personal touch to a home.
I totally agree — I think you can really tell a person’s personality by the artwork they like :)
I’m more of a modern picture person and just adore the modern abstracts on the last picture
They’re gorgeous aren’t they Candace? SO many fab pics to choose from on their site!
I really would love to create an art wall, maybe incorporate some of the kids work too
Aaah incorporating the kids art is SUCH a lovely idea!!! I bet it would look amazing!
The wall looks great, I have seen some lovely dark walls too. They have some really great prints on that website, don’t they? Tonnes of choice too! Xxx
Honestly — the amount of choice on their site is fantastic!! I certainly couldn’t just pick one!! ;)
I am creating a gallery wall behind our bed, only got three pictures so far but getting there
Aaah you’ll have to write a post when you’re finished Kara and come and link up to #HomeEtc with me on a Wednesday! :)
Your artistic sensibility shines through in your blog for sure! Love your photoshopped gallery wall, very clever. Off to check out King & McGaw now …
Thanks so much lovely — they’ve got some fab things. I couldn’t narrow it down to a couple of things I liked, that’s for sure ;)
Oh my word Caro I am in LOVE with that wall you’ve mocked up! The bold, bright colours are absolutely beautiful, and all ‘my’ colours too – love it! That Amy Sia (Abstraction II) print is my favourite – reminds me of petals from a pansy xxx
Aah thanks lovely!! I DO love a bit of colour — and I just couldn’t narrow it down to one or two pieces! I think a wallful is perfect ;)
Your mock up looks fantastic. I wouldn’t normally consider such a strong colour in a hallway but with the riot of colourful prints it really works.
Thanks so much Louisa. It’s funny, I can always envisage how something’s going to look, but often, in order to convince my husband, it’s always worth doing a little mock up so he can see if he likes it!
I’d love to do a gallery wall up the stairs – they look so stunning! #homeetc
I can’t wait to do ours, now I’ve made my mind up. Sadly it’s got to join the end of a VERY long list!!! ;) xx
Oh I am in love, I am one for beautiful bright prints and these fullfill that box for sure xx
ME TOO!! Totally bowled over by all the gorgeous choices!
Oh and ps can’t wait to see what you paint, I wish I had such talent xx
Aaah bless you lovely!! think I’m going to cheat in this instance and BUY some lovely prints for my wall!!
what a beautiful idea! Looks lovely, and so vibrant with all the bright colours.
Aah thanks so much Kate! I LOVE colour — always puts me in a good mood :)
yes, I need a bit of colour with these grey days!
Aah I totally agree!!! Colour really lifts the mood doesn’t it? :)
I have been wanting to do this for ages but not known where to start! I really love the abstract stuff. I just don’t have the talents for art though lol I always use blog posts for inspiration. xx
Thanks so much Georgina :) xx
I always love how gallery walls look and would love to have one. I’m just not good enough at picking out the right places to put the pictures to make it look effortless x
Aah I bet you’d do a grand job Michaela! :) The trick is to pick the things you like the most — you can’t go wrong then ;)
I love that colour – so stunning. I am just about to tackle our hallways that have got a little neglected with all the other hime improvements. A gallery wall is a really good idea. #homesetc
Me too!! LOVE it — and really makes the artwork ping out too :)
I love these gallery walls, I really want one in my landing or up the stairs.
Aaah do it!! And take some pics when you have and link up to #HomeEtc with me on a Wednesday!! :)
Ooooh, you clever clog! That looks FANTASTIC! We have two gallery walls in our home at present – one in the stair well and another in the kitchen/diner and I LOVE them. The only thing is, ours are mostly photographs so I kind of hanker after an ‘arty’ one like the one you’re dreaming up. Can’t wait to see it!!
Aah thanks chickie!! Yes — we had a photo one up the stairs which has now been disassembled and we’ve put the pics on photo ledges. I’m not 100% happy with it — it looks a bit weedy. I want something really impactful for the space :)
What a great idea, the wall looks fab. I’ve been persuading my husband that we need a picture wall in our dining room and I’m not sure he entirely gets the image I have in my head! xx
BRILLIANT! Then show him this and hopefully he’ll be able to see what you’re talking about!! ;)
Caro I love Ling & McGaw the choice is incredible, I love the bright bold prints, ooh I could spend a fortune on art I love it x
Gosh — they’ve got some gorgeous things haven’t they? Choosing from such a range is really, really hard!!
Now this is something my wife wants to do. We have a couple of large, underused walls at home and a gallery would be ideal. Just need to get some prints and pictures sorted out! King and Mcgraw could be the place to go. Thanks for hosting #HomeEtc
It’s SUCH a great way to make a feature of a wall. We’ve currently got a photo gallery up our stairs but think that the colourful artwork would look amazing!! DO IT! Your wife is a genius ;)
I just don’t even know where to start with this, the colour on the walls contrasted against the gorgeous vibrancy on the prints, this could be a hallway that would make you SO happy all the time. Brilliant creativity X
Thanks so much lovely :) I’ve been hankering after painting somewhere in the house in that inky blue for a long time — I think up the stairs would be amazing!! Particularly with some gorgeous prints!! Can’t wait to do it!!!
This is a great idea, I love the colour choice too as it will let the colours in the prints shoot out. Looking forward to seeing the real thing!
Thanks lovely — I can’t wait until we’ve the time to get around to it!! SO excited to see it in the flesh!
One of my few regrets in life is that I went the business route rather than the creative route after school. I never wanted to and don’t know why I did. Security I suppose. Buy anyway,..
Your mock up is a fab idea! Looks great.
We had a gallery wall in our first flat in Germany and I loved it. I was so sad to leave the flat, but the house is brilliant. Just totally different.
Aah I WISH I’d had the option!!! Business — or anything academic (apart from English lit and language studies) — is just not in my blood!! There was not a choice about whether I went down the creative route. It’s the only thing I know!! ;)
I want some sort of gallery wall. I’ve just got a new desk in a corner of our living room, so I’m thinking there would be good. Just got to decide what to put up! x
#HomeEtc
You should put a gallery wall in your lovely, bright new kitchen!! It would look amazing!
I had no idea you were an illustrator! Oh goodness me. That is so brilliant! I didn’t realise I was ‘arty’ and quite creative until I was in my early twenties because I was always good at science. It’s funny to think how things might have been different. Love this idea! xx
I don’t often draw things these days to be honest — I tend to use my Mac for EVERYTHING!! I bet my skills are so rusty!!
Your mock up looks stunning, I love it! We’ve got a photo collage wall, which I love xx
Aah thanks so much Hannah! Let’s hope it works as well in real life :)
Oh that is just gorgeous!! I am hoping there is a painting weekend coming on very soon indeed. The bright colours against the deep and dark wall just look stunning. If this is a true mock up of your hallway, it would look perfect. And I’m ever so jealous of your Photoshopping! I want that kit in my life too! Steph Xxx
HA! I’ve been vetoed from painting indoor until my garden office is finished!! As soon as that’s done I’m moving indoors and the staircase is the FIRST thing to get a makeover!! Aah I LOVE my Photoshop — I’m not sure how I’d live without it to be honest! I’ve been using it for over 20 years now!! *gulp*
Love these ideas – we have yet to decorate our hallway but a gallery wall would be lovely – and a great way to liven up a boring spec too! I like the thought of lots of family pictures and kids picture like in Brothers & Sister TV show…. And, I would totally call you an artist! #HomeEtc
I got totally carried away on their site — SO many lovely pieces to pick from!! I could spend a small fortune :) We’ve got a photo gallery wall up at the mo but we’ve had it for nearly a decade now — I fancy a change :) xx
Such bright and fantastic colours! I’d love the million stories on my wall! I’ve yet to put our gallery wall back up since we moved (ahem 2 years ago) x
Haha!! I’m just as bad — we’ve been here for 5 years and we’re still no nearer to finishing our home improvements ;)
It’ll look fantastic. We’re currently planning something similar in our hall and up the stairs, though we’ll need to go for a light colour as it’s such a dark place. I love using a mix of new prints, old paintings and prints, photos, ephemera… #HomeEtc
Ooh I can’t wait to see yours Lizzie!! Ours is currently all black and white photos in frames but I REALLY fancy a change! :)
I really love green interiors at the moment and that dark green used in that gallery wall is perfect! It must have been a lovely hotel. I really like the art you’ve chosen, the watercolour one is very pretty indeed! #HomeEtc
I agree Nancy — the bottle green wall is lovely — I was so struck by how they’d arranged their prints too. Can’t wait to recreate it — and put my own spin on it — at home :)
Ooh, that does look beautiful. Actually much more beautiful than I envisioned when you described it. My mum is an artist. Her paintings aren’t abstract as such but she does paint these vivid, bright colours that I love on huge canvases. I wish I’d inherited half her talent!x
Aaah that’s so lucky!! You should create a gallery wall with her paintings Natalie!! That would be amazing!!!!! And so personal too xx
Oooh Caro, you have inspired me… I’m already planning what pieces I can put onto my suede painted chimney breast…
Blimey! Check you with your ‘suede effect’ chimney breast!! :) I’m impressed — and shall expect to see a full report when you’ve created your masterpiece!! :) xx
Oooh, that sounds fab – love the prints you’ve chosen and against a dark background they’ll be even fab-ber! thanks for hosting #homeetc xx
Thanks so much lovely!! Can’t wait to do it for real! :)