Bringing a gallery aesthetic into your home is an excellent way to showcase your style, interests, and treasured possessions. The clean lines and thoughtful curation of gallery spaces create a soothing yet visually dynamic environment. You don’t need an extensive art collection or a sprawling home to achieve this refined look. With strategic decor choices and display methods, you can infuse any room with gallery flair. Here are 17 tips to bring the artful ambience of a gallery into your personal abode.
Carefully Curate Your Collections
As with an actual gallery, restrain and selectivity are key when deciding what to exhibit in your home. Avoid clutter and overcrowding to allow each piece room to breathe. Thoroughly edit your collections so only your most beloved and aesthetically cohesive items remain. Apply the mentality of “less is more”- a carefully curated selection has more impact than a crowded mass of objects. Allow plenty of empty space around and between pieces. Group items based on common themes, materials, or color palettes for a cohesive look. Avoid displaying anything you don’t absolutely cherish.
Invest in Quality Pieces
Focus your budget on investing in a few standout decorative objects and artworks, just as a real gallery showcases its best pieces. Search auction houses, antique stores, local artists, and art fairs to discover special finds. Even if you can only afford one exquisite painting or a single handcrafted vase, it can anchor your room with style. Build your collection gradually, seeking out quality additions that align with your aesthetic vision for the space. Allow each new find to inspire the overall look.
Create Artful Arrangements
Borrow the art of arranging from gallery curators by thoughtfully positioning furnishings and decorative elements. Avoid symmetry and perfect grid alignments which feel unnatural. Offset pieces slightly and vary heights for visual interest. Layer furnishings, art, and accessories to add depth. Play with weight visual weight by combining substantial accent pieces with airy, lightweight furnishings. Build custom pedestals, plinths, and platforms of varied heights for displaying treasured items. Arrange vignettes on console tables, bookshelves, mantels, and windowsills.
Take Cues from Gallery Walls
The gallery wall trend of clustering framed artwork can easily be adapted for your home. Start by designating a large empty wall space as your canvas. Mix frame sizes, colors, and styles for contrast. Include meaningful pieces like family photos in addition to store-bought prints and paintings to make the arrangement feel personal. Build your collection over time, rearranging pieces until you find a layout with visual impact. Play with asymmetry by leaving more space around some frames than others.
Consider Slim Shelving
Slim wall-mounted shelving makes an excellent alternative to bulky cabinets for showcasing your collections while retaining an airy, gallery-like ambiance. Seek out floating shelves, rail shelves, or wall-mounted glass cases. Display treasured objects like plants, sculptures, servingware, books, or other curated collections. Mimic gallery styling by limiting items to one or two per shelf and leaving plenty of open space around them. Place shelves at varying heights on the wall and use lighting to draw attention to specific objects.
Take Artwork off the Wall
Incorporate artwork and wall decor into shelving displays or furniture vignettes rather than always hanging pieces in the traditional manner. Lean large canvases against walls, mantels, or shelves. Prop framed prints on coffee tables, console tables, or floor vignettes. Allow artwork to become part of an artfully arranged still life scene. When clustering mixed decorative pieces, go for height variety by standing some frames on the floor or resting them on books. Let artwork mingle with other cherished objects.
Spotlight with Track Lighting
Install gallery-style track lighting on your ceiling to mimic the focused, adjustable spotlights used in actual galleries. Track lighting allows you to highlight specific wall zones, artwork, architectural details, furniture vignettes, or decorative displays. Go for minimalist rails with simple round heads to keep the look refined. Use the adjustable swiveling mechanisms to alter the direction and intensity of each spotlight. Dim general overhead lights and use your new track system to create a gallery glow.
Add Mirrors to Expand the Space
Just as mirrored walls give gallery interiors a spacious, airy aesthetic, mirrors can do the same for your home. Hang an oversized mirror near a window to reflect the view and make a room feel larger. Position mirrors across from artwork or decorative displays to create interesting reflections. Or hang small mirrored squares salon-style to mimic and expand a gallery wall. Go for sleek, frameless mirrors or ornate vintage finds depending on your style. Avoid mirrors that distort shapes which detract from the gallery ambiance.
Create Designated Gallery Zones
To avoid overwhelming your home with an overly museum-like feel, create designated gallery zones rather than dispersing artwork and collections throughout all rooms. Transform one wall into a curated art display. Repurpose an unused nook or corner into a sculpture garden. Turn a stairwell into an installation piece venue. Establish vignettes along a hallway. By keeping gallery areas defined, you can balance artistic flair with homey comfort. Display your most prized pieces in these standout zones.
Add Plinths for Floor Objects
Elevate freestanding sculptures, vases, plants, and other prized floor objects on decorative plinths for proper gallery-style presentation. Seek out pedestal-style plant stands, narrow side tables, cubed frames, or wooden crates which can act as plinths. Aim for pillar-like supports between 12 to 18 inches tall to raise items just slightly off the floor. Position plinths against walls or in corners to stage your most visually striking floor pieces. Keep them spare and neutral to avoid detracting from the objects on display.
Get Creative with Wall Moldings
Wall moldings can be utilized like gallery picture rails to hang artwork against a decorative backdrop. For a modern twist, install spare wood strips, quarter-rounds, or ultra-thin shadowbox frames flush to the wall around a designated display area. Hang artwork directly on the strips or inside the shadowboxes. You can paint the moldings the wall color for subtlety or in a contrasting tone to define the gallery zone. Change out framed pieces easily by hooking and unhooking them from your custom wall rail system.
Paint Gallery Style Walls
Borrow classic art gallery wall paint shades like crisp white, soft gray or rich charcoal to lend your space a gallery vibe. Black provides an ideal backdrop for illuminating artwork while white keeps the focus on the pieces themselves. Paint the walls of your designated gallery zone in one chic neutral hue for a cohesive look. For other areas, consider two-tone walls with a darker shade below chair-rail height and lighter shade above to mimic wainscoting. Add visual texture with matte, eggshell, or subtle metallic finishes.
Showcase the Flooring
Let your floor become a gallery feature by selecting wood planks, marble, terrazzo, concrete, or other natural material that makes a stylish neutral backdrop for displaying art and furnishings. Sleek, continuous flooring emphasizes horizontal space just like in an art gallery. For a unique touch, paint your floor black or dark gray and polish it to a glossy shine. Or stencil an artistic motif across concrete floors. Keep rugs minimal and plain so they don’t distract from your curated arrangements atop the floor surface.
Add Inspirational Quotes
Incorporate printed quotations, lyrics, or poem snippets into your wall displays for extra gallery flair. Seek out inspirational quotes, song verses, or lines of poetry that speak to you personally or capture the mood you want to evoke. Print selections in a large font on high-quality paper or canvas. Frame the prints and incorporate them into a gallery wall or lean against shelves and plinths. Keep the text display minimalist by avoiding elaborate scripts or fonts. Let the words become part of the art collection.
Showcase Natural Specimens
Bring the gallery tenet of showcasing natural beauty into your home with displays of rocks, shells, butterflies, insects, or plant cuttings artfully arranged. Place natural items within glass bell jars or cubes, shadowboxes, or custom plinths specially made for natural history exhibits. Intersperse natural collections among artworks and sculptures. Let the textures and colors of natural elements provide contrast to manmade pieces. Mimic the asymmetry of natural landscapes in your displays.
Stage Unexpected Materials
Incorporate atypical objects as display stand-ins for conventional art pieces to lend your space a modern, avant-garde gallery edge. Drape bold fabric swaths on the wall in lieu of paintings. Stand a rusty piece of farm equipment in the corner atop a slim plinth. Use the smooth curves of driftwood branches in place of traditional sculpture. Showcase a collection of colorful glass floats as an installation piece. Let your creativity guide you in staging unexpected treasures as artistic elements.
Embrace Negative Space
The abundance of empty space surrounding pieces makes gallery settings feel airy and uncluttered. Incorporate this embrace of negative space into your own displays. Allow ample open areas around and between objects to keep the look refined. Take a minimalist approach to furniture and accessories so the profile and contours of each item can be appreciated. Avoid overfilling shelves. Use only a few choice decorative elements on tabletops and mantels. Let emptiness become part of your aesthetic.
Add Gallery-Style Wall Text
Use artfully positioned wall text akin to museum placards to lend your displays an educational ambiance. Place a small plaque, label, or framed excerpt near displayed collections providing insight into their history, origin, or significance to you. Keep the text succinct and opt for a crisp font. Include dates, locations, materials, artists’ names, or other factual tidbits to enlighten as in a real museum. Let wall text enhance the storytelling nature of your curated vignettes.
Create Clever Storage
Thoughtfully concealed storage can help keep your spaces streamlined while still accommodating your possessions. Try removable wall panels over recessed cubbies, rolling doors over closets, hidden compartments under sofa seats, coffee tables with lift-tops for storage bins, and custom-built display cabinets with discreet drawers. Multi-purposing furniture as display space and storage is also useful. The more items you can neatly tuck out of sight, the airier your rooms will feel.
Light it Like a Gallery
Take inspiration from the exceptional lighting design in galleries and museums when planning your own arrangements. Use focused, directional lighting to showcase specific pieces while allowing other areas to fall into dramatic shadows. Employ both top-down and eye-level lighting designs. Install sconces, picture lights, and recessed fixtures where you want illumination most. Play with contrasting pools of light and dark. Just be sure to use bulbs at the proper temperature to accurately display your treasured items and artworks.
Conclusion
With a discerning eye and strategic design choices, you can easily bring a refined gallery ambiance into your personal living space. The key is focusing on quality over quantity, purposefully arranging and elevating your most beloved items, and utilizing your home’s architectural elements to establish gallery zones. Approach your space like a curator does an exhibition, and edit and spotlights pieces for the greatest visual impact. Your home will soon feel like a calm, inspiring oasis, showcasing what you value most in an aesthetically delightful way. Let your space become its own unique art gallery filled with joy, memories, and beauty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions about bringing the gallery aesthetic home:
What’s the best lighting for a home gallery look?
Track lighting is ideal for directing adjustable spotlights onto specific pieces. Picture lights illuminate artwork. Sconces provide vibrant task lighting. Go for a blend of top and eye-level lighting. Keep general overhead lighting soft and subtle.
How much empty space should surround pieces?
Aim for 6-12 inches of breathing room around objects so they don’t appear cluttered. More for larger pieces. Negative space allows the eye to appreciate each item. Follow gallery style and don’t overcrowd.
What are good affordable sources for curated decor?
Thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales, antique malls, auction houses, local artisan markets, and your own possessions offer treasures you can upcycle into gallery-worthy pieces. Curation matters more than cost.
Should I arrange similar items together?
Yes, curate vignettes of items that share common styles, color palettes, or materials for a cohesive gallery look. Contrasting items can clash. Build your displays around coordinating themes.
How do I choose artwork on a budget?
Opt for affordable reproductions of favorite paintings. Buy amateur work at student art sales. Frame attractive scrapbook paper or wrapping paper. Look for wall-coverings or fabric with prints that can stand in for high-end artwork.
Should I hang frames edge-to-edge or space them out?
Aim for a mix – some edges touching creates an artistic collage effect, but be sure to offset others by several inches. Too uniform looks rigid. Follow an asymmetrical gallery wall layout.
What types of plinths work well for displaying objects?
Pedestal plant stands, short pillars, stacked crates, small side tables, and concrete blocks make excellent plinths for elevating vases, sculptures, and other art pieces off the floor.
What are low-cost DIY options for gallery rails?
Paint stirrucks, quarter-rounds, baseboards, wood strips, and picture frame edges can be affixed to a wall to function as customized rails for hanging artwork. Get creative!
How do I choose furniture that fits a gallery aesthetic?
Opt for sleek, simple designs without elaborate ornamentation. Industrial, mid-century modern, and Danish style pieces work well. Avoid bulky or overly cushy pieces. Focus on shapely silhouettes and natural materials.
What are good alternatives to expensive track lighting?
Use adjustable desk lamps or snake lights. Install wall-mounted swing-arm sconces. Position standing lights behind pieces to spotlight them. Experiment with inexpensive clip-on lights.
In summary, bringing a refined gallery ambiance into your living space is achievable through thoughtful curation and display of your favorite pieces. Focus on quality over quantity, limit clutter, elevate and spotlight key items, and embrace negative space. With strategic lighting, sleek furnishings, and a bit of ingenuity, your home can become a living art gallery.
