Oooh controversial!! I know, Β I know… bear with me here. Gallery walls have been going mega strong for a good few years. And as you probably know if you’ve been following me for any length of time, I’ve embraced itΒ myself.Β But I’ve been wanting to express my thoughts on them for a while so todayΒ I’m gonna just go for it. Don’t hate me, k?

I mean, what’s there not to like about a carefully curated selection of art that beautifully ties in with a room scheme as well as shows off the personality of the creator? Nothing, that’s what.

However… I’m wondering if we’re starting to see a bit of a backlash recently. So yes, everyone and their mother now has a gallery wall in their home. Up the stairs, there’s that familiar β€˜family wall’ of black and white portraits in white tee’s and jeans. In the livingΒ room, it’s a series of vintage botanical prints downloaded online for free from the archives and lovingly displayed in Ribba frames. Or perhaps it’s a mix of motivational quotes in gold foil for the home office. Is there anything wrong with this? Of course not. It’s your home, do what you like. If you want to express yourself, what better way is there than to create a gallery that reflects you?

Waiting on Martha Gallery Wall

An example of a great gallery wall from Waiting on Martha

So before I get slaughtered in the comments, please know that I don’t necessarily abide by β€˜trends’ or think you should get rid of something just because suddenly, it’s been adopted by the masses and yes, it’s YOU that gets to decide whether you love something and want to adopt it for yourself, however it is you see fit. Your home? Your rules. So if you have a gallery wall in your home and you’re sat there thinking “how dare she!” then, yes, of course, I’m all for it and I’m not saying you shouldn’t have one. Okay, we’re clear on that? Good. Let’s move on.

What I want to explore today, however, is how much I’m being both influenced and swayed into the regions of just using one large statement piece instead of a lot of smaller pieces together. I can’t help it – gallery walls have become ubiquitous. I guess I’m just craving change right now.

When I decided on the gallery wall in my new home office, I really battled with whether it was what I wanted. Or whether I should have spent my money on a single strong statement piece instead. I’m still uncertain about my decision as much as I love my office. But for now, it’s pretty and it works and it’s done – so it’s staying.

Swoon Worthy Office gallery wall ORC

My own office gallery wall – yes, it’s staying.

In the dining room, it’s a different story. I have to be totally honest with you guys because well, I don’t know how NOT to be but I feel like I’m sort of ‘done’ with my gallery wall in here (yes, the one I worked so long to complete and finished 2 years ago and have made changes to ever since). The issue for me is that there are plenty of pieces on it that I’m not actually all that keen on any more. And replacing old art with new art all the time gets spendy. And sometimes it just feels a bit too busy to me. And the pieces I do like, I kind of want to hang elsewhere to allow them to really shine. It’s a statement for sure but is it really still the statement I want to make?

Swoon Worthy Dining Room Gallery Wall

My dining room gallery wall – are its days numbered?

Yes, I have Decorator ADD and yes, I like my rooms to evolve and change – it’s just how I am. So I’m trying to decide whether I want a different look for the wall. The whole reason I did a gallery wall in here was to disguise the fact that we have a TV in our dining room – which for all accounts and purposes, I realise, is bizarre but it works for us and it suits the way we live. So while we will continue to have a TV in this room, it may actually move locations to a different wall.

This then opens up a world of possibilities. I wouldn’t need to ‘hide’ the TV there, I could possibly look at something else, something larger – one big piece? Hmm. Possibly. I love the look but big art is also spendy of course. Could I DIY something? This is another possibility.

Are we seeing a shift from galleries to a single statement piece? Currently, bothΒ are sort of living in harmony in the interiors world but for how much longer? Will the single statement piece actually replace the gallery wall soon? Will we all look at gallery walls in 5 years’ time and think, β€˜wow, that’s soooo 2014’?

And then I see something like this which I posted to Facebook as soon as I saw it because holy heck, that’s a great gallery wall. And from the reaction, I was not alone in my unadulterated admiration of this space. So maybe I’m full of it and there’s no such thing as gallery walls falling out of favour because when you see a great one, well, it’s hard to resist.

And then I see a great statement piece like this and I want to immediately rip down my gallery and start afresh.

What do you think? Is this really the beginning of the end of the gallery wall or do you think we still have a good few years of this look left? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

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