Hot Take: This Is How Nate Berkus Really Feels About Gallery Walls

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Olivia Harvey
Olivia Harvey
Olivia Harvey is a freelance writer and award-winning scriptwriter from outside Boston, Massachusetts. She’s a big fan of scented candles, getting dressed up, and the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley. You can make sure she’s doing okay via…read more
published Jul 28, 2024
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Headshot of nate berkus
Credit: Photo: Getty Images; Design: Apartment Therapy

Ah, the gallery wall. It seems like everyone has one somewhere in their home — that is, except for designer Nate Berkus. In a recent video posted to his Instagram, Berkus addresses a question he recently received: “do you or do you not like gallery walls?”

“The answer, and I’ve thought very carefully about this, is that I find them to be really charming,” Berkus said — and yeah, I had the same reaction. Uh oh …“charming?” He continues, “I think there’s something really special about walking through your space in a hallway, or on one wall of a family room, just seeing this collection of imagery that reminds you of everyone you love and memories that you’ve made.”

Warning: Here comes the but.

But, for me personally, my walls are reserved for art or painting or sculpture or things that might be a bit more graphic and a bit less personal,” Berkus shared.

“You hate them. I know what you’re really saying here hahaha,” one person commented on Berkus’ post. Another person added, “Uh oh you’re not going to like my apartment. Nothing BUT gallery walls!!!!”

Even though he’s not a fan of the gallery wall look, Berkus obviously still approves of displaying family photos in the home. He just uses a different method to do so.

“I have — and have had for a long, long time — an enormous collection of vintage picture frames,” he said. “And I love a special photo framed in an old frame on a tabletop, in my dressing room, on my desk at work.”

He even recommends gifting vintage picture frames as housewarming gifts because people tend to hold on to them forever.

Obviously, to each their own when it comes to gallery walls — you need to make your home into a space that makes you happy. But for Nate Berkus, that means graphic art and vintage picture frames, versus a cluster of memories on the walls. Fair enough!