Gallery Walls

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I truly believe every home I have ever entered has had some sort of a gallery wall. While today, the Pinterest era might have sparked a more creative approach to the gallery wall, my childhood was filled of homes with walls covered in pictures of my friends and their families- not to mention that is exactly my mom has the walls of our hallways decorated. Every generic white backdrop photo or beach photo (yes, in the khakis) my family has ever taken is displayed along the tall, tan hallways of my childhood home and serve as a reminder for us of how lucky we are to have each other. Because I have always grown up with them, I cannot imagine having a space without some sort of a gallery wall. Gallery walls are interesting to me because they allow space to be filled with memories, inspirations, and treasures that you want to display to everyone. They serve as a little peak into your interests and beloved memories each time someone new sees it.

desk gallery wall

When getting to decorate my first apartment, I opted for many different types of gallery walls. The first was a more basic, symmetrical frame gallery wall. Set above my desk, I found two frames for photos of me and my friends and I, which I have been continuously swapping these out as the years have gone by. I searched for the perfect prints in stores like TJ Maxx and Hobby Lobby, where I found the flamingo and pineapple prints seen below. I searched online and splurged a little to get the largest print in the middle as it inspires me every time I look at it to push through all the work I need to do and one day (soon I hope) I will be back resting underneath the sun. 

makeshift nightstands

The second gallery wall I have in my apartment came from a need more than a want. Mid semester last year when I decided to rearrange my bedroom and move my bed to the corner nook, there was no longer room for a nightstand beside it. To some, this might be an easy thing to look over but if you’re like me and are blind as a bat you know you need somewhere to rest your glasses after your nightly Netflix binge. To combat this, I decided to use floating shelves. Instead of using the basic floating shelves, I opted for the square shaped ones solely because if I were to bump the shelf with my glasses on it, it would be a little less likely for them to fall off. I also store lotions, lip products, and anything else you would expect to find on a nightstand as well. 

bathroom gallery wall

The last gallery wall I have in my room is actually in my bathroom. It definitely is extra to have a gallery wall in bathroom, I know, but with a large empty wall, what else is there to do? For this gallery wall, I matched the ocean theme of my bathroom with objects and pictures of me and my best friend from our trips to Hilton Head Island.

my roommates gallery wall

This trend is even found in my roommate’s room. Over the course of the year, she has mixed and matched items, frames, and pictures to create the gallery wall that best describes her personality and interests to a T. Most of the fun of creating her gallery wall was helping her search stores and online for anything that would look great on her wall. I even made some of the items for her that she displayed on her gallery wall. 

The Eagles obsession

While I’ll spare you all my families many photographs, one of the coolest parts of my parent’s house is our gallery wall dedicated to The Eagles. I have often said (not even joking, sometimes) that my dad loves The Eagles more than me and my brother combined and the framed record collection proves that theory to be somewhat true. After searching his own record collection and every record store from East Tennessee to Kentucky, my dad has every Eagles record (and some Don Henley, too) displayed on a gallery wall in our basement. The Eagles music is a large part of my family’s history and displaying it is a reminder of something that sets us apart from others and brings the four of us closer together. So who’s to say that gallery walls are just for family beach portraits, anyway?