Thrifty tips to create a summery gallery wall for a happy home

_{Some items have been gifted}

Bringing colour into your interior is a great way to create a happy mood within the room. I’ve wanted to add a pop of colour to my plain white walls for a while and what better way to do that than with a gallery wall? That way, you don’t need to commit to painting the whole wall a new colour just to freshen up your interior – and you can switch out the images to suit the seasons.

This month, I’ve gone all-out with a summer theme for my gallery wall with vibrant colours, glowing neon and beachy prints to evoke a feeling of holidays and sunshine.

If you want to recreate the look for yourself and perhaps bring a bit of extra happiness into your home, here are a few thrifty ways to get the look on a budget:

Gather summery items

The first step is to have a look around your home and see what artworks, photos and accessories you already have on a summery theme. Even if you’re not yet sure what your gallery wall will look like, just grab anything that fits in with the colour scheme and style you’re thinking of. If it makes you feel happy when looking at it, even better!

If you pull together everything you can find that might work, you can curate the display once you know what you’re working with – maybe some of the items won’t make it into the final gallery wall, but you won’t know until you try combining your favourite pieces.

For my happy gallery wall, I’ve chosen a mix of letterpress by @mitchellfinch, light-up neon-effect signs in vibrant yellows from Lights4Fun, risograph prints by Abby Sumner Designs on Etsy and some embroidery hoops handmade by my best friends, which always make me smile when I see them.

And that’s really the key here – as long as it makes you happy that’s all that matters and will help the gallery wall to brighten up your day whenever you look at it.

Try different hanging options

To save money when creating a gallery wall, try to think of different ways to hang your artwork. You don’t need to splash out on expensive frames or have everything matching – in fact, I prefer a gallery wall that’s full of different shapes and hung at different levels.

So, why not try a wooden poster hanger to clip onto artworks? This type of hanger makes sure that the print hangs straight by weighing down the bottom edge for a lovely neat look. It also allows you to remove the print easily and switch it out for another print when the seasons change.

Or, an even cheaper way to display your artwork is to simply use bulldog clips from your home office to loosely hang prints. Use white ones that match the background of the print for a barely-there look, or choose a vibrant colour to make a feature of them. Luckily, I have some yellow clips that fit in with my summery theme.

Alternatively, if you don’t mind making holes in the corners of your poster, you can use fine pins to nail it straight on the wall. And, remember Blu-Tac? There’s no reason why items need to be framed at all if you don’t mind using tac on the back.

The deck chair print, orange caravan, ‘Here Comes The Sun’ and ice lolly are all handmade lino prints from @UnrulyPrint on Instagram and they provide the ultimate summer holiday vibe!

Include unexpected items

Your gallery wall doesn’t only have to feature artwork. In fact, I think it’s really fun to mix in alternative textures, shapes, fabrics and even lighting. This makes the wall even more striking and looks really fun – giving a great summery feel.

The unexpected elements of my gallery that I’m most pleased with are the neon Hello Sunshine and the sun and cloud lights. Because they’re wall lights, they have integrated hanging holes so can be added to the gallery wall just like any other artwork. Plus, their power leads are clear so are barely noticeable on the wall.

The addition of something that lights up really draws the eye to the gallery wall AND casts a warm glow over the space, making it irresistible to look at and giving the feeling of the sun shining inside your home. I’ve noticed many interior designers bringing neon into the home recently and I love the fun look it creates.

The trouble with neon is that it’s usually rather expensive to buy BUT, because these signs are made with vibrant LED lights within the neon flex, they’re a fraction of the price of neon tube lights (and are currently on special offer!) Plus, they won’t break like fragile glass neon can, and they’ll stay cool to the touch, making them a safer option, too.

I also love using fabric pieces in my gallery walls to add a bit of extra texture. These hoops were hand-stitched by my best friends for me as birthday gifts and they’re two of my most cherished possessions. The colours of the embroidered daisies fit into the summery theme perfectly and what could be more reminiscent of a tropical holiday than a cross-stitched pineapple??

Arrange your gallery wall

Now, all that’s left to do is figure out a lovely layout for your gallery wall. You can do this by laying all the prints and neon lights on the floor in an area that’s the same size as your gallery wall. That way, you won’t need to make any holes in the walls until you’re sure of the position of your art.

If you’ve got light-up pieces, consider where the nearest power socket is and where the clear leads will run. If possible, you might be able to hide the leads behind other framed artworks for an almost-invisible look. Once you’ve got these in place, you can position the other pieces around them, with larger prints in the centre, tapering off to smaller artworks at the edges to create a pleasing ‘just-thrown-together’ shape.

Another tip is to hang darker or bolder-looking prints lower down in your display rather than at the top, as that looks more natural and the gallery wall won’t feel ‘top heavy’. Likewise, keeping light-up signs near the top allows the light to bounce off the walls and ceiling for a very sunny effect.

What do you think of my summery gallery wall? Will you have a go at creating a space for your holiday-inspired artwork to bring a sunny feel into your home, whatever the weather? And do you plan to switch out prints and photos to create a gallery wall that suits each season? Let me know in the comments below. 🙂

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Some items in this blog post have been gifted to me and the pink links indicate a gifted product, affiliate link or information source. All thoughts and opinions in this post are based on my own experience and I am not responsible for your experience 🙂