Guest Post: Gallery Walls

Inspiration: Gorgeous Gallery Walls

By Mary Sauer

In home decor, creating gallery walls in your home has been trendy for several years now, and it is one trend we don’t expect to say goodbye to any time soon. Sure, the current color and design trends may influence the elements used to create the wall, but in general, we believe gallery walls are here to stay. We can see why this home design trend has held on so tightly for so long. Gallery walls are endlessly customizable—whether you love modern, traditional, or rustic, you can make them work in your home.

Another reason gallery walls seem to be so well loved is because they allow homeowners and apartment dwellers to display everything they love and hold dear in one space. Which brings us to one very important point. Creating a gallery wall is so much more than simply nailing random items onto a wall. If you really want to create a space that captures who you are and the vision for you have for your home, you need a plan in place before you get to work. Continue reading for practical and inspirational tips for creating a gorgeous gallery wall.

Nail Down Your Vision: Before you starting nailing items to the wall, nail down your vision for the space. There are various questions you can ask yourself to help guide your plan.

●     Think about the function of the room. Is this a family room meant for casual fun and family time or an office space created for focus and productivity?

●     It isn’t uncommon to have a focal point for you gallery wall in mind. Perhaps you have a piece of art in your possession, or you have been eyeing a frame every time you visit a certain shop. If so, allow your focal point to guide your design.

●     Consider the color scheme already present in the home, along with the style of any furniture or design elements in the space.

●     If you are on a budget, plan out what you intend to spend on each piece before you head out to make purchases. At Modernize, we have a guide to budget friendly places to shop for home decor items which you may find helpful as you begin to shop.

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Have Fun with Different Shapes: Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in the box of square and rectangle frames. Gallery walls have so much versatility. If you find you are gravitating toward one shape or style, set out to find something unique.

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Try a Minimalist’s Gallery Wall: If eclectic and funky is not your thing, consider taking things to the opposite extreme. Instead of experimenting with colors and shapes, create a gallery wall from multiples of the same or similar frames and design elements.

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Incorporate the Furniture and Design Elements Already Present: Creating a gallery wall doesn’t require a clean slate. If you have unique furniture or design elements already present near the wall you have chosen, don’t rehome them—work with them! A unique piece of antique furniture can guide the placement and theme of the rest of the items you have chosen.

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Create a Quirky and Unique Theme: Gallery walls are the perfect way to display items which otherwise might seem out of place if placed alone on a wall. By sticking with a theme, you can create a space for these items and add interest to your home.

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Display the Things You Love Most: A gallery wall is the perfect way to share pictures of family and meaningful friendships with the people who visit your home. Create a wall entirely with photographs of loved ones or incorporate them will other elements.

Never has another design trend allowed for so much flexibility to bring family photos, favorite colors, random flea market finds, trinkets, and art together into one cohesive work of art. With a little creativity, and the inspirational tips provided above, you will soon be on your way to creating your own gorgeous gallery wall.

Ideas From Hilton Head

It was my privilege, for the second year in a row, to be one of the judges of the Hilton Head Homebuilder's Association Lighthouse Awards. There were over 90 entries this year, and four panels of judges tackled them over two days.

My group of judges visited all of the renovation projects, and new construction homes priced from $700,000 to over $3 million.

We were impressed by the amount of construction and design talent on the island...it was difficult in some categories to decide which house should win.

Naturally, I took a ton of photos. (So many that I filled the memory of my iPhone, and had to spend an hour clearing it out once I got home!)

Attached are some shots of my favorites...fair warning that there are tons, but they are worth waiting for!

This fitted closet was beautifully lit with concealed tape light inside each glass fronted cabinet. The marble topped island concealed an ironing board, and an automated TV screen dropped down within one of the niches.

These cobalt blue lanterns provided a perfect pop of color in this otherwise sedate kitchen. The finish on the cabinets was stunning...a soft blue gray that changed color depending on the light.

To make the most of a small master bath, this house had a "wet room" that served both showering and bathing. A mix of carrara marble and less expensive porcelain were skillfully combined.

The beds in this kids room appeared to be suspended from the ceiling with rope. There were concealed pedestals in the center to stabilize them, but the floating appearance was a jaw-dropper.

By far my favorite feature was this industrial wall of glass that separated a masculine study from the adjacent gallery.

A pair of vintage doors were used as "backplates" for the sconces in this guest room.

This octagonal master bedroom was punctuated with light from dormers above and highlighted by a sculptural chandelier.

This polished and stained concrete floor provided an easily maintained and striking backdrop in a room awash in neutrals.

This bright modern kitchen was highlighted by a slab of stone and a rusticated mahogany eating counter.

Several of the larger houses had these scullery kitchens...pantries on steroids that served to clear the main kitchens of clutter and provide secondary food prep places.

This house had almost no sheetrock surfaces. Shiplap paneling had been laid over every surface. In some rooms, it ran vertical, and in all cases was grounded by generously sized baseboards and casings.

Many thanks to the Hilton Head Homebuilder's Association for putting on such a wonderful event...to the builders and homeowners who opened their doors...and to all the talented folks who made these gorgeous spaces a reality.

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Haint Blue Porch Ceilings

Anyone who has been to Charleston, SC has no doubt noticed the pale blue porch ceiling that is typical of the picturesque "South of Broad" houses there. There is no exact shade for this classic southern touch...it ranges from periwinkle to robins egg, but as far as many people in the south are concerned there is really no other color to be considered for a porch ceiling.

Why is it called "Haint Blue?" As a young transplant to the south, I saw the common robin's egg tint and thought "It hain't quite blue, and it hain't quite green." But a "haint" in Gullah culture is an evil spirit, and the blue ceiling is there to scare them away. (It's also rumored to keep mosquitoes off the porch, as they mistake it for the sky.)

Whether this ubiquitous southern touch serves any purpose other than looking gorgeous, I really don't know! Here are some pictures of classic "Haint Blue" ceilings to inspire you:

Double veranda with Haint blue ceilings

Up close of a Haint Blue Ceiling

Grand front porches. (Looks like a haint blue coffer on the first floor)

An unusual take on haint blue. Has a very island feel in this hue.

Crisp white siding, black shutters, red brick, and a haint blue ceiling. Doesn't get any more classic than this!

The rug on this lanai picks up the haint blue in the ceiling.

Subtle but effective...the haint blue compliments the stone floor of this large porch.

Massive columns on granite stone bases and a perfect blue ceiling. All that's missing here is the lemonade! (The window sashes look black, but I'd bet they are Charleston green!)

Layering Art With Mirrors

A client who has recently moved into a new, much larger house, was struggling with what to do with several small pieces of art that, while holding sentimental value, simply looked too small for her much larger rooms. One solution would have been to have the small pieces reframed with thicker mats and larger scaled frames. But neither the client nor I wanted to overwhelm the pieces with frames and mats that dwarfed them. The solution we came up with was unique and worked very well to accomplish our goals. On the large wall we wanted to hang the pieces on, we had two large custom framed mirrors made. The scale of these mirrors suited the room, and echoed the mirrored nightstands on an opposite wall. Then, on these large mirrors, we hung the small pieces of art directly to the mirror. The result is striking!

Now, you'll have to wait to see my finished project...we're still waiting on a custom rug and a few more pieces of furniture. But here are some photos of similar setups to inspire:

Here, mirrored tiles visually expand a small living room, and the designer affixed sconces to the mirror. I bet it looks great at night when those candles are lit!

Diamond mirrored tiles fill a niche between bookcases...a perfect backdrop for the oil painting and sconces.

A mirrored wall reflects the crystal in this traditional room, and serves as a backdrop for the large floral oil painting.

Companion pieces of art hang on the mirrored walls flanking this fireplace.

Mirrored paneling and a muted color scheme make for a striking space. The abstracts hung on the mirror leap off the wall.

This is the photo that inspired my client's room. Similar to what we did, a large framed mirror serves as a backdrop for several small mismatched pieces of art...bringing them together into one cohesive piece.

A closeup of the room pictured a few photos up...mirrored walls on either side of the fireplace serve as a backdrop for art.

And the opposite side of the room above features more mirrored walls with art hanging.

You are probably wondering what I was...how do you make it work? Well...there are a few answers. If you're committed to the idea, or hanging something particularly heavy, you'll need to pre-plan the spots where the art attaches to the mirror and have the glass company drill holes or cut openings in the mirror itself so the hanging hardware can attach directly to the wall behind. For lighter pieces, and for flexibility in moving the pieces around, or later removing them altogether, consider using professional mounting squares, velcro, or Command-type hooks. One caution...you want the art to hang as flat against the mirror as possible, otherwise you see a reflection of the back of the frame. So remove any big picture wire hooks before trying this.

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Must Have...Absolutely

If I ever build my dream house (or even get to gut out the master bathroom of our current home), at the very top of the list of "must haves" is a shower with slab walls. Our current shower is tiled, and while I like how it looks, keeping it clean is the bane of my existence.

A typical morning might find me scrubbing the grout with the toothbrush I keep on the soap dish, or going at the floor with the scrub brush that stays inside the shower for that purpose. It's never ending.

And so I want my shower walls lined with seamless slabs of marble or granite. Sounds pricy, but I'm convinced that a careful shopper could actually realize some savings. Tiles can be terribly expensive, and the labor to install them even more so. Surely finding a good deal on a slab would ultimately mean construction savings. And if not, well, my time is worth something after all.

What a heavenly bathroom! 

It's The Great Pumpkin (colored room) Charlie Brown

Fall is my favorite time of year...when cool temperatures bring relief to the heat of summer, the trees unleash a canvas of color, and nothing sounds better than curling up under a blanket with a cup of cider and a good book. I'm also drawn to the colors of fall--deep browns, warm oranges, and earthy yellows. The heart of our house is decked out in a harvest color scheme--orange tweeds mix with brown leather and harvest colored stripes in the great room, and the orange is carried onto the walls of the adjoining kitchen and morning room. Now, I've often questioned the decision of having those orange kitchen walls. Every party ends up in the kitchen, and so every single photograph that anyone has ever taken in our house is on the orange background of the kitchen. It's not always the most flattering backdrop.

But, photography issues aside, I am enjoying the resurgence orange has been seeing the past few years. The memory of the decorative horror that was the seventies meant a long hiatus for orange, but in honor of Halloween, I want to share the following orange rooms that show just how versatile and dramatic the color can be.

An orange runner and painted stripe punctuate an otherwise monochromatic foyer.

A deep spice orange gives warmth to this study. (Love the graphic artwork over the loveseat!)

Orange is right at home in a contemporary setting too. Here, it has been used as a graphic accent over a bed.

Pumpkin color walls and matching draperies with gorgeous tassel trim make this room warm and inviting.

In this crisp bathroom, a bright orange paint repeats one of the colors from the tile wall, bringing warmth and depth to a room whose clean lines might look cold with a more neutral color scheme.

 

Glossy light orange walls are a great backdrop for the graphic art in this foyer. The striped vestibule makes this space feel like a chic Tim Burton set.

 The peachy orange walls of this traditional foyer show just how versatile shades of orange can be.

And finally, this gorgeous foyer. If your neighbor said they were painting their foyer orange and black, would you ever dream the result would be this elegant? The black trim really makes the spice orange walls POP, and the color gives the botanical gallery weight--those prints would feel lost on a beige wall.

Amazing Garages

If there's anything I like better than design, it's cars. So this is a topic dear to my heart: dream garages. Full disclosure: I don't have one of these. My garage is like most everyone's: every corner crammed with tools, paint cans, and leftover odd bits and items making their way to the trashcan or the local Goodwill. Oh, and just enough room to squeeze our two cars in among it all.

But I can dream...

This garage apparently has space for 32 cars. Swoon. It's as if each car has it's own little cabana.

I picture this one filling out one end of a handsome country estate..probably filled with vintage British cars.

A single garage door leads to subterranean parking for multiple supercars. It's design is as subtle as it's inhabitants are flashy. 

Here, the Ferrari is right at home alongside a wet bar and a seating area. Polished, stained concrete, and a hand knotted rug IN THE GARAGE. Posh!

Another car sharing the living space. The Maserati almost feels like a piece of sculpture in the sleek, restrained surroundings.

An earlier picture of the same space...Notice how the floor tilts up to roll the car out.

Absolutely over the top garage. Could double, if needed, as a hotel ballroom. Haha!

A tumbled stone floor, stone walls, and wood beamed ceilings show that this garage was given as much attention as any other space in the house.

The ultimate home for a car collection--a Vegas inspired showplace with double decker car lifts and bold colors.

This vintage space has plenty of storage and an antique gas pump for each bay.

A masculine garage with handmade wood casework. 

So which one is your favorite? Is your garage a mess of boxes or a showplace for your autos? (Bonus points if you can still get your cars in the garage!) 

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