How To Make A Gallery Wall With Thrift Store Art

Have you ever made a gallery wall in your home? Did you use family photos? Hobby Lobby wall art? Your kids’ doodles, hung in matching frames?

I’ve done that, too! But my favorite kind of gallery wall is the really unique kind. The kind you get when you add lots of components from thrift stores and garage sales.

Having made several of these myself, I’d love to share some tips that can help you put together a cohesive, awesome gallery by integrating thrifted items.

Step 1: Find your style

Figure out the overall look you’re going for before you buy anything! If you have no idea what direction you want to go, pick one piece you love and build from there. But buying completely random items and hoping they’ll work is a recipe for disaster. (Done that!)

A super easy way to shop smart is to focus on a theme. Some popular themes for galleries include coffee, wine, or chickens. Or you could do abstract art, vintage photographs, religious paintings, or a particular color that runs through all your artwork. The possibilities are endless!

(You can check out my most recent gallery wall in this post!)

Step 2: Personalize and make it fun

Once you know how you want your wall to look, it’s time to add that secondhand flair.

For a maximalist, busy look that will provide a lot of visual interest and conversation starters, try throwing in items that aren’t pictures. Shelves, wall pockets, mirrors, etc. There are countless thrift store items that you might not otherwise buy- add them to your gallery! Try not to get too carried away, though, or your living room could quickly end up looking like a Cracker Barrel. (Unless Cracker Barrel was your inspiration. Then go wild! But don’t forget to dust once in a while.)

Galleries, by nature, can get visually cluttered quite easily. If you want to keep things looking simple and relaxed, just find art that works with your theme and stick to it. You can aim for everything being in similar frames, or add a couple small non-painting type items, like a plate or trivet. If you feel crafty, grab a can of spray paint and paint all your frames the same shade. It will instantly simplify the look.

Step 3: Hang it up!

Once you have as many items as you want, the final step is getting it all on the wall. Typically, laying everything out on the floor is a good enough way to figure out where things are going to go. Or, you can make paper templates to tape to the wall, and rearrange as many times as you need to.

Depending on what you’re working with, you can follow different layout formulas.

If your stuff is mostly rectangular, try starting with a large piece and then adding around it, spacing all your frames an equal distance apart. Or create a line (horizontal or vertical) with the edges of the frames and build from there.

If you have varying sizes and shapes, try clustering a few smaller items together to create some visual interest. (Groups of 3 are always good.) Then they won’t get lost in between larger pieces, or look out of place.

I hope these tips are helpful in getting you started! So make a plan, have fun shopping for unique items at your local thrift shops, and go make your best gallery wall ever.

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