Stairway Gallery Walls

To me, gallery walls are tough to get right.  Poorly done, they can end up looking cluttered, confused or too themey.  But when they’re done well—ahhh!!!  The beauty and pleasure of having a little slice of life’s memories displayed for you to admire on a daily basis is so wonderful and rewarding. As you know, our home has a curved staircase and wall, which really had me wondering if a gallery wall was even possible, image  until I saw this at Emily of A Well Dressed Home’s blog; a curved staircase gallery wall! image Then, I looked further and saw Emily’s gorgeous gallery wall and fell in love.  Hers isn’t a curved wall, but nonetheless, it is perfection! image image  I love everything about it (and trust me, I’ve really studied it!): the color pallet she used; how she mixed the mirror, sign and letter in with the frames; her use of twine to hang some of the frames, frames of different sizes, some matted and some not; and how she spaced everything.  It just works so well together, don’t you think? Here’s a closer look.  image image I’m so happy I stumbled upon Emily’s blog because she also has done some amazing transformations around her home.  Check out her kitchen remodel here, and see what she’s done to her living room here. I’d love to do something like Emily did in her stairway, but the wall in our staircase is really high and poses the practical problem of how to actually hang the photos and objects.  When the blinds were being installed on the window, they had to use a special ladder and two people.  I’m not sure I want to (or am even able to) go through that.  Maybe I could hire someone to hang everything once I figured out the layout??  But can you imagine, “no, a little to the right, okay, now down an inch.”  Ug.  I wonder how they did it in that first photo.  We do have another wall that might be perfect for a gallery wall, we’d just have to find another home for our zebra (from Z Gallerie). image  If we don’t do a gallery wall on our curved staircase, do you think we try to put a large piece of art on either side of the window? Leave it bare?  Here’s the picture again. image  And . . .  I wanted to let you know that Cassie at Hi Sugarplum! is celebrating 100 posts this week by having a $50 giveaway to a retailer of your choice!  Go here to enter!  Congrats Cassie- that is a big accomplishment, especially with a job, two kids and hubby to care for:)

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

14 Comments

  1. Thanks Megan! So glad you love the stair wall designs! I will be waiting in suspense to see what you decide on!!

    Emily
    awelldressedhome.com/blog

  2. We have several groupings in our upstairs hallway, and love them! I used the same PB frames throughout however…I love the uniform look. I love that the simple black frames with white mats don't take away from the pictures. (They are all pictures of our girls, by the way…series that were done by a photographer). I can't wait to see what you decide.

  3. I think you should definitely do a gallery wall on the staircase. Check out the blog, Little Green Notebook. I think she had a tutorial a few weeks ago about how to figure out placement of a gallery wall.

    Hope this helps!

    Jade

  4. Thanks Megan!

    Wow, you have a beautiful staircase…a gallery wall would be gorgeous. You can do mock-ups in photoshop to see if you like the look. How would the zebra pic look on the stairway and a gallery wall on the landing?

    There is not a wall in my house that doesn't have a cluster of pictures…some photos, some 'art', some framed pics from art books.

  5. Such a gorgeous staircase. It really will make a beautiful statement no matter what. I can see the challenge in doing a gallery wall though . . .tough to swap out or change once it's in place. Could you do anything with a paint treatment and then hang a statement piece?

  6. I have a similar staircase – curved walls tall ceiling – so frames must be a certain size – and it's such a large space – it will take a bzillion small frames! Will save the "inspiration" photo for sure!!

  7. Love your staircase. It's so beautiful!

    Anyways I think it would look awesome with a Gallery wall. Gallery walls just seem more 'fun' and fill a space with character.

    As far as two pictures on either side of the window, im stumped. Im trying to see it but I just can't… My eye keeps being drawn back to that beautiful staircase 🙂

  8. I can't wait to see what you to do. I am having the exact same dilemma! I love gallery walls and think it would look amazing on the curved stairs. But I am not sure practically speaking how it would work for the same reasons you pointed out (the curve; the height; not injuring yourself; etc.)

    If you don't do it on the stairs, I think the wall where the zebra, which I love, is would be perfect for a gallery wall.

    I thought a lot about what to do with our curved staircase when we first moved in and got frustrated and gave up . . . so I am anxious to see what you come up with!

  9. That curved gallery wall is a.maz.ing and I think it would be perfect for that curved staricase. It is amazing on it's own but a well degined collection could be perfection.

    But I agree that the install may be a little tricky….so designing it yourself and then hiring it out may be the way you have to go. Or just trying to rent the specialized ladder??

  10. Such a beautiful staircase. I would incorporate both large art and a gallery wall. Using large frames will really help it from becoming too cluttered looking for that massive wall space. Sometimes less is more right?

  11. Just found your blog thru Melanie at Scout. Aaaaahhh!! You have a curved wall? Dying of JEALOUSY. Yes to the yes on the gallery wall. I agree – it would be a pain in the arse to hang everything, but DANG it looks bananas. Also saw a pic of your closet on Mel's blog and I am REALLY dying of jealousy over it.

    Sigh.

    Ah well. OOoooh, one more thing – love that zebra art. TRES cool.

    Merci!
    Shannan

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