A Gallery Wall is an Easy Home Project to Take On

Getting tired of staring at the same walls? Why not add a touch of personal pizzazz to your space with a gallery wall—one that's full of cherished snap shots and memorabilia. A gallery wall is a cost-effective project that can be easily pulled together, and the best part is that you don’t have to be a designer to get a beautiful, meaningful end result. If you need any supplies to get the job done—from photo printers to frames to drills—just look to CAA's Rewards partners for Member-exclusive offers.

Step 1: plan the layout on your wall

You may think the first step would be to select your favourite photos, but it’s actually deciding how you want the wall to look. Not surprisingly, there’s an app (or several) for that. If you want to go easy and old school, simply cut pieces of construction or kraft paper to the frame sizes you’d like to use—think 4 x 6”, 5 x 7”, 8 x 10”, 11 x 14”—and tape them to the wall. Don’t be afraid to mix sizes and shapes of frames, just leave three inches between each template to avoid a cluttered collage.

Step 2: pick the portraits and memorabilia

Here’s the part of the project that’s going to take time. Go through those boxes of random photos, albums, digital archives and smartphone images and find the ones that carry the most meaning or put a smile on your face. Opt for a variety that will offer big impact: select bright colour snaps of the kids, black-and-white shots of grandparents on their wedding day, pics of the pets that were posted on Instagram. Don’t forget about including significant memorabilia—postcards, ticket stubs, programs, typography prints or artwork the kids created years ago. Choose a variety of frame styles or go for similar (or the same-coloured) frames, and don’t worry if they don’t match the room.

Step 3: hang the frames

Using your construction-paper cutouts to guide you, start hanging frames. There are no rules about which frame or which image should be next to another. Don’t overthink it—get creative. The general rule here is the more eclectic the collection, the more interesting the wall.

It’s also nice to think of this as an ongoing project. You can change up the pictures as you get new favourites, or you can grow the gallery and add to it when you have other moments and memories to celebrate.

Earn CAA Dollars

Need to order some supplies to create your gallery wall? You can earn CAA Dollars when you shop online with the following partners:

Earn 1% in CAA Dollars from Canon eStore Canada on a new camera or lenses

Earn 2% in CAA Dollars from Staples on a photo printer and supplies

Earn 2% in CAA Dollars from Rona and Home Depot on hammers, nails, drills and screws

Earn 3% in CAA Dollars from Brother Canada on scanners, photo printers and supplies

Earn 4% in CAA Dollars from Hudson’s Bay on frames

Earn up to 5% in CAA Dollars from Indigo on frames

Earn 10% in CAA Dollars from Dell on monitors, photo editing software and printers

Save 10% at participating NAPA Auto Parts stores on drills, drill bits and tools

CAA has tons of other great Rewards partners. Click here to find the full list of partners and offers.

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Image credit: iStock.com/KatarzynaBialasiewicz