A Simple Design Trick That Instantly Calms A Busy Gallery Wall

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How much is too much? You face your gallery wall with all your favorite family pics crammed in alongside pieces of art that stole your heart. Each piece is precious, but somehow they all get lost in the jumble. The truth is, gallery walls are getting a bad reputation as the popular design trend that is making your room look even smaller than it is. There's a simple trick to taking your gallery wall from a chaotic mess to a curated collection that breathes calm into your room, and it's all about mats.

Following a guide to choosing the right frames for your art is a good place to start, but the best thing you can do to balance a busy wall is to incorporate mats when you're framing. Whether you're working with art, objects, or photos, including a wide mat like this Golden State Art 25-Pack Photo Mats creates enough open space to remove the cluttered effect and bring a sense of order. Even if you hang the pieces close enough that the frames almost touch, the wide mats will work their magic.

Picking the same color mat will unify different mediums, such as photos, paintings, or sketches. Even if you opt for a variety of frames on the same wall, using one type of matting will connect them all in a way that soothes the eye and soul. Matting comes in different textures and shades. Pick out what works best with the aesthetics of the room. 

Framing each image within a wide mat creates space between the images and allows each one to have its moment. Think of a stage full of celebrities versus fewer celebrities, each on their own podium. If you love an image enough to put it up on your wall, it makes sense to allow it enough space to breathe. Another reason this works is that open space draws the eye inward toward the image, giving the viewer permission to linger and appreciate the finer nuances of each piece. Busy gallery walls offer too much for the viewer to focus on and tend to be overwhelming.

This mat hack works well if you're pairing black and white for a dramatic monochrome gallery wall with the Vittanly 10 Pack Picture Frames Set. It also works if you prefer colored mats and images that playfully reflect life. Amazingly, using matting will calm your gallery wall even if you're using different-sized frames and types of images. 

You may find that including mats means you can't fit in the same number of pieces as you could before. There's nothing wrong with spilling over onto another wall in your home. Pick one of the 4 best places in your home for a gallery wall and spread the beauty! If you don't have extra wall space, use your gallery images on seasonal rotation, swapping out sets of pics to keep them fresh.