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.
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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.
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!! :)