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Framing for gallery walls
Matching or mixed frames, mounts or no mounts: how framing changes the look of a gallery wall.
Two walls with the same prints can look completely different depending on the frames. The frames decide whether a gallery wall feels calm, eclectic or somewhere in between.
1. Mixed frames for a collected look
The Moroccan Salon, shown at the top of this page, hangs eight warm prints in a loose salon. Mixing frame sizes and keeping the colours close gives the wall a collected, built-over-time feel. If you mix finishes, limit yourself to two, such as oak and black.
The Moroccan Salon: eight prints in a loose salon.
2. Matching frames for a calm wall
When the prints are busy, keep the frames simple and identical. The Green Botanical Wall hangs eight leafy prints in matching frames above a sideboard, so the eye reads the plants, not the frames.
The Green Botanical Wall: eight prints in matching frames.
Studio tip
A white mount around a small print makes it look bigger and more finished, and it helps prints of different sizes sit together in one wall.
3. Let the wall colour lead
On a coloured wall, frames matter even more. The Architecture Salon hangs seven prints above a shelf in frames that echo the warm wood in the room, so the art, the furniture and the wall feel like one scheme.
The Architecture Salon: seven prints above a shelf.
Choosing a finish
Oak warms up neutral rooms, black sharpens bold prints, and white disappears on pale walls. Not sure which to choose? Read how to frame wall art for a fuller guide.
Try different frame layouts on a photo of your wall with the Gallery Wall Builder.
