Are Gallery Walls Outdated? Here's What Nate Berkus Has To Say

Once upon a time — in about 17th-century France, specifically — people showed off their wealth by hanging expensive art from floor to ceiling. It was the beginning of the gallery wall as we know it. And while designers like HGTV's Nate Berkus believe that the tradition of hanging large groupings of pictures will never completely go out of style, the practice could use a bit of updating every now and then. Berkus admitted in a 2025 Architectural Digest interview, "For me now, when I see an image of a room that has a full gallery wall, my brain sort of just shuts down." (via YouTube)

And while one big wall of floor-to-ceiling artwork might cause a bit of sensory overload for Berkus, it's important to point out that he doesn't actually hate gallery walls. In an Instagram post, the celeb designer admitted to finding them "really charming." These walls and their collections of photographs and artwork remind you of "everyone you love and memories that you've made."

However, for the designer, the gallery wall isn't the place for family photos. Those belong in his collection of vintage frames, which he puts on top of his desk at work or on a table. If you'd like to take the celebrity designer's lead in your home decorating, try putting your family photo galleries in spots like those. Other places in your home that might also be great spots to showcase your memories include on top of a piano or on a fireplace mantel. This leaves your walls free to display a sculpture or hang a painting that is what Berkus calls "more graphic and a bit less personal." (via Instagram)

While Nate Berkus's decorating tips align with current decorating trends, they do leave one lingering question. What should home decorators do with the paintings they've taken from their once-large gallery wall? The celeb designer suggests in his Architectural Digest Q&A that, based on current photo layouts from AD and other industry publications, it might be good to curate your wall art differently now.

Berkus illustrates, for example, you could modernize your gallery wall by putting artsy items in smaller clusters and in unusual groupings instead of hanging a collection of oversized paintings on one wall. The alternative could be a small piece of art hung just off-center of your bed's headboard or the couch in the living room. You could also consider a gallery cluster — a group of small paintings or photos that you hide on a side wall, near a home bar, or on your kitchen walls. (via YouTube)

All of these small galleries could be clustered according to a theme. Food art goes in the kitchen, or prints by your dad's favorite artist go on the wall above the chair he gave you for your birthday. There's one thing to note. Although the gallery clusters are smaller, they should still adhere to the rules of decorating. For example, place them in groupings of three. Curating your art in this way retains the spirit of the perfect gallery wall, even after you break it up into smaller pieces.