4/7

Ombre Gallery Wall

D.I.Y. Project, DIY, Home Decor, Office, Sponsored, Wall Art
By Emma Chapman

Ombre gallery wall (via abeautifulmess.com)Did you guys see my home office tour? I just wanted to share a little more about the ombre gallery wall that hangs above my file cabinets. And I have to confess to you guys, this was not the first idea I tried in this space.

Bulletin boardI posted the above photo on my IG a few months ago, and behind that mostly gone green smoothie is a big hand-painted bulletin board I had installed in the same area that my ombre gallery wall now hangs.

My thinking was, I like having lists, notes, and calendars hanging nearby as I work as it helps me stay on track and remember little details (like what size to save cookbook photos to vs. images I’m saving for the blog, etc.). I also already had a white painted bulletin board that I had inherited from the studio house move. So I decided to paint some circles on it that matched the colors in my office and hang it up. The result: I liked it, but not for very long.

Ombre gallery wall (via abeautifulmess.com) Ombre gallery wall (via abeautifulmess.com) After living with the bulletin board for a few months, I decided it felt too messy and clutter-y for my space. I wanted something colorful but with cleaner lines and a modern feel. I also quickly realized that I only used about 1/5 of the bulletin for notes or lists. The rest I would sometimes pin random things to, or just leave completely empty.

And that’s when the idea for this ombre gallery wall came to me. I also sort of love having more photos of friends, family, and trips I’ve been on hung nearby the space I am most often in – my office chair. Just reminds me how good life is right now.

It’s no secret that we at ABM love Canon USA, and I worked with them on this project. I used my PIXMA MG7720 (it’s gold!) to print my photos. I love that I can print 4×6 photos so quickly from home! I printed all of these as well as my vacation pictures from Chile in no time at all, and I had a lot of vacation pictures. 🙂

Anyway, this isn’t one of those DIY projects that is super complicated. You can probably pretty much guess how to achieve this look just by looking at my wall. But I thought I’d share a few tips that helped me make this project SUPER easy.

Print your photosSupplies:
-printed photos
-photo frames (I used 16 square frames I bought at 50% off at a box craft store.)
-poster board or enough colored papers to fill the frames
-scissors
-ruler
-glue dots
-level (you can download one on your smartphone if needed)
-command strips

I used poster paper in four different colors going from red to pink to a warm cream tone. Using poster papers made the project a little more economical (and I needed it, since I decided to buy 16 frames as well!), and then you can cut them to fit whatever size frames you prefer. I bought my poster paper at a local art shop, as they had a wider variety of colors to choose from than many of the craft supply stores I usually frequent.

Assemble the framesStep One: Cut your colored papers to fit each frame. Be sure to plan out how many of each color you need to give your gallery wall that ombre effect.

Step Two: Print, and if needed, cut your photos.

Step Three: Assemble each frame with the colored papers and photos. I used a ruler to find the middle of each colored paper and then used a couple of glue dots to stick my photo in place.

Hang the framesStep Four: Hang your picture frames. Since I was hanging 16 frames in all, I decided to use command strips because I didn’t want to put that many holes into my drywall. I own my home, so I technically CAN put holes in my wall, but since I know myself well enough to know that I’ll probably change this wall sometime in the next couple of years (I just like change – don’t judge me!), I didn’t want to have to repair and repaint my wall that much. If you prefer to hang your picture frames with nails and a hammer, go for it! But I personally love command strips.

I also highly recommend using a level to make sure you hang your frames straight. It’s tempting to just eyeball it, but with this many frames, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Emma's ombre gallery wall (via abeautifulmess.com)Once you have them hung, you’re done! This project is simple and can be done relatively quickly (probably took me about 3 hours total once I had my supplies, and I work kind of slow when I’m hanging things), but I just love how it turned out in my space. Thanks for letting me share! xx. Emma

Credits // Author: Emma Chapman. Photography: Emma Chapman and Janae Hardy. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions. 

31 Comments

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.