Wall collages, or gallery walls as they’re often referred to, are an easy way to create a striking interior design feature that’s completely unique to you and your home. You’ll find a wide variety of gallery picture hanging systems online from specialist suppliers, so once you’ve found the right ones for your walls, it’s time to start building your collection.
Despite what the name ‘gallery wall’ might suggest, you don’t need to invest in expensive art pieces to build one for yourself. Follow these tips to compile your own gallery wall on a budget and get planning your personal collage right away.
Create Your Own Art
Buying art is great but there’s no need to trawl through homeware websites and craft shops to find pieces that exactly fit your taste and style – particularly if you can make your own! You don’t need to be a natural-born artist in order to create a masterpiece; you may even find a new hobby in the process. Try out screen printing, collage making, applique, embroidery, or cross-stitch – or for something extra simple yet effective, a painting-by-numbers kit is a great cheat way to create lovely art.
Buy Frames Online
Photo frames can be expensive, and you’ll usually need a lot of them to create a full gallery wall. Rather than splashing the cash on heavy and overpriced frames, shop online for more affordable options and consider using a versatile PPH picture hanging system to effortlessly arrange and display your artwork. Many budget retailers have multi-buy offers and sell the same frame in various sizes, which is ideal if you’re looking to hang lots of different prints and pieces but need some design cohesion throughout. If you can’t get exactly what you need in all of the sizes required, don’t panic: instead try mixing and matching a couple of colours, thicknesses, or designs. Providing there’s a design theme throughout, your wall collage should still look fantastic. Plus the money saved can be used to keep a stash of extra frames in case you buy any new pieces after the original hanging.
Print Your Own Pieces And Use Postcards
With the rise of the online shop, it’s now easier than ever to find new art – and buying digital copies of prints makes it more purse-friendly too. As long as you have a printer, paper, and ink, you can buy the licensing rights to print your own pieces at home. Usage rights usually only apply to personal use and you’re not able to sell or reproduce the prints any further. However, there should be no need to do this once your print is printed and displayed up on your wall. If you’re looking for different formats of art to frame, don’t discount postcards. You can often buy several of them for less than £1, and many artists produce their own work in smaller postcard versions so you can get more bang for your buck… and coverage for your collage wall!
Collect Over Time
Whether your art collection is worth a nominal amount or thousands of pounds, it can be built up over time to avoid any large lump sum investment. Picking up a piece you like when you see it rather than trying to get everything at once spreads out the cost and means that you’re able to accumulate and curate an art collection that you really love. What’s more, adding to your gallery wall as you go along mixes it up a little and helps to keep it fresh – there’ll always be something new on the wall to keep visitors to your home talking!
Collage walls are brilliant and bold ways to decorate your home without breaking the bank. Shop smart, shop small and stay true to your theme for a gallery you adore for years to come.
