The Laissez-Faire Way to Work a Gallery Wall: Layer Your Artwork, Literally

You see it more often with artwork that’s leaning – either on the floor or on a picture ledge. But this post serves as permission to get a little crazy with the frames you hang on the wall, too. Let your artwork overlap to create a dense, rich and laid-back gallery wall.

It will take a bit of creative hanging – either delicately layering frames hung from strings, or by mounting blocks of wood between the art and the wall – but your hard work will pay off by building interest and giving your room that effortlessly undone je ne sais quoi.

If you do opt to go the frame-riser method, you’ll want to check out this post from The Lettered Cottage. Her gallery wall, above and at top, features one standout frame mounted higher than the others with painted pieces of 2×4.

The same technique with a pair of pop-up frames from Shades of Blue Interiors.

Layered frames really stand out against a pink wall, like here in this photo from Traditional Home via Chinoiserie Chic.

In Nadia Geller’s Downtown Design Studio, a bouquet of overlapping frames hang down with strings from a picture rail.

And finally from Songbird Blog, a multi-dimensional grouping of layered frames hung from nails above a mantel.