Gallery Wall + DIY Mattes for IKEA Ribba Frames

The latest project to get ticked off the list in our pad has been to finally get some art up on the walls in our master bedroom. And you guys? Not only do I have some tips for how to hang a gallery wall, but I also have THE BEST tip for getting perfect bright white mattes for IKEA and other frames (with no cutting or pricey materials). Keep reading, you don’t wanna miss this one.

Just a reminder of how the room looked after we had painted it a soft green gray and added in bedding…





And the opposite wall, which had a whole lot of nothing going on.





We had those old white dressers as a stand-in, but I found a Kijiji dresser that was a better fit and for the space and overall aesthetic. More info on that find in a future post!
Back to the artwork. I had hummed and hawed about hanging either just a few really large statement art pieces here or doing a gallery wall. I chose gallery wall for a few reasons — 1) we had a bunch of frames already from the house pre-reno (a mix of white IKEA Ribba frames and some vintage ones I had sprayed gold), and 2) there are a few other spots just outside the bedroom where I plan on hanging some larger pieces, so I felt like it made sense to go gallery style in here.





My tried and true method for hanging a gallery wall:
1 // Cut out some sheets of wrapping paper to the size of each of your frames, or use the sheets from within the frames if you have them.
2 // If you already have the artwork you’re going to use, write down a quick description on each cut-out sheet of paper so that you make sure you don’t have too much of one thing too close together. For example – when doing a mixture of art prints and photos, you want to make sure that they are spread out appropriately and not all the photos on one side, or all the black and white things clumped together.
3 // Hang up each sheet with painter’s tape on the wall, continually stepping back and re-assessing and adjusting as you go, until you eventually get the layout you want.
4 // Once you have the layout, simply take down each sheet one at a time as you hang the frames up on the wall.





How to Choose Artwork:
You can go in tons of different directions for a gallery wall. For this particular one, I wanted to do a mixture of art pieces and photographs. I have been swooning over so many of Minted‘s pieces lately and knew I wanted to incorporate some of them. Have you guys browsed Minted before? Warning – you will get lost in there for WAY too long. So much gorgeous work, it’s crazytown.
I chose several pieces in a few different sizes — go here to see more on choosing artwork: http://thesweetestdigs.com/2015/12/07/diy-mattes-ikea-ribba/





OK so are you ready for this mind-blowing matte trick? The hands-down BEST trick for budget-friendly, matching, bright white DIY photo mattes: GO HERE -->> http://thesweetestdigs.com/2015/12/07/diy-mattes-ikea-ribba/





Do you need more artwork ideas for your place? I have so many for you! Here is my DIY abstract canvas. I get compliments on this beauty ALL.THE.TIME. http://thesweetestdigs.com/2015/07/14/diy-abstract-artwork/





I’m over on Pinterest constantly pinning DIY artwork ideas…
https://www.pinterest.com/thesweetestdigs/





Plus my Etsy shop sells all kinds of art prints at super affordable prices!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/thesweetestdigsco





Orrrr…. how about a freebie? Grab this chic black, white, and gold art print all ready for you to download, print and frame for your own pad here! http://thesweetestdigs.com/2015/12/07/diy-mattes-ikea-ribba/





Have you guys been hanging any artwork around your house lately? Ever done a gallery wall? Have any tricks and tips to share?






Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/11631288/gallery-wall-diy-mattes-for-ikea-ribba-frames site