How to Create a Bedroom Gallery Wall (11 Low Budget Tips)

There are hundreds of types of bedroom gallery walls. From an eclectic gallery wall to a minimalist gallery wall, I’ve seen it all. But today we’re going to forget about the specifics and focus on the broad by discussing how to create a bedroom gallery wall.

And trust me, although it doesn’t have a “fancy” name, a bedroom gallery wall looks just as beautiful as any other wall decor.

Creating a bedroom gallery wall of any type is hard enough, including just a typical bedroom gallery wall.

If I’m being honest, the first time I did it, I had no clue what I was doing. Oh yeah, and I wasted a lot of money in the process.

So in this guide, I will give you the best budget tips on how to create a bedroom gallery wall to make your bedroom decorating journey as simple as possible.

As a bonus, I’ve also included gallery wall ideas for you to take inspiration from!

Quick guide to the tips in this article:

1. Understand the Different Types of Gallery Walls
2. Choose a Few Types of Gallery Walls
3. Explore Thrift Stores or Online Marketplaces for Affordable Artwork
4. Consider Using Larger Frames to Save Money
5. Use Printable Artwork Rather than Framed Wall Art
6. Install Picture Lights or String Lights (Or Both!)
7. Adjust Spacing Based on Your Wall Size
8. Include Family Photos
9. Use Art Pieces of Different Sizes
10. Use the Largest Piece As Your Focal Point
11. Consider Budget-Friendly Frame Alternatives

What Is a Bedroom Gallery Wall?

In simple terms, a bedroom gallery wall is a collection of artwork, photographs, and other decorative elements on one or more walls in a bedroom. Sometimes, they even have mirrors!

Based on your preferences, a bedroom gallery wall also varies in size and layout. This is why gallery walls are one of the best customizable ways to decorate your bedroom, regardless of its size.

Ultimately, the purpose of a bedroom gallery wall is to create a focal point while adding personality and aesthetic to a bedroom.

Do Gallery Walls Look Good in Bedrooms?

Gallery walls are essential to almost any bedroom because they add aesthetic and personality.

And yes, they are still in style. Most interior designers, including me, don’t expect bedroom gallery walls to go out of style any time soon. After all, people have been using photos, artwork, and other wall art to decorate their homes for hundreds of years.

I highly recommend gallery walls for any bedroom, unless you have a bedroom with slanted walls. This is the only time I become a bit uneasy about bedroom gallery walls.

Refer to the image below for a better understanding of what I’m talking about.

How to Create a Bedroom Gallery Wall with These 11 Tips

You can become your own interior designer and create a gallery wall in just a few steps without any help from a professional interior designer. Doing so will save you tons of money.

All you need to do is follow these tips and ideas.

Tip 1: Understand the Different Types of Gallery Walls

There are several different types of gallery walls and each offers a different visual appeal to your bedroom.

For example, if you want to create farmhouse bedroom decor, the overall theme, size, and layout of your gallery wall is going to be much different than someone decorating a modern bedroom.

Some of the most popular types of bedroom gallery walls are:

1. Eclectic: Uses many styles and colors for a dynamic look
2. Minimalist: Uses few artworks and a soft color (such as beige) for a simple look
3. Themed: Revolves around a specific concept or subject, such as travel, nature, or a hobby
4. Monochromatic: Uses different shades of a single color to achieve a harmonious look
5. Grid: Has a structured layout for a clean and organized look
6. Salon-style: Art pieces are hung close together and sometimes they may even overlap
7. Statement piece: Uses 1 or 2 large art pieces rather than many smaller ones

I understand it can be a bit confusing in words, so I’ve found an image of each of the above bedroom gallery walls. Here you go!

Image sources: The Interior Editor, Posterjack, TLC Interiors, Love JK, Rise Art, Americanflat

Tip 2: Choose a Few Types of Gallery Walls

I mentioned the 7 most popular types of bedroom gallery walls above. But that doesn’t mean that you can ONLY pick one that you must stick to. In fact, I recommend the opposite.

You should mix and match different elements from different types. Mixing different styles allows you to create the perfect blend that suits your personal taste.

Decor Idea Example

In the bedroom gallery wall idea above, we chose a themed gallery wall, where the theme is nature. But simply choosing the theme isn’t enough.

To create the perfect look, we choose a minimalist approach. How?

Well, we only used a few pieces of artwork, we didn’t use mirrors or other decorative elements, and we used simple colors. Plus, the wall color fits perfectly with the overall theme.

And that’s how to create a bedroom gallery wall by mix & matching multiple elements.

Tip 3: Explore Thrift Stores or Online Marketplaces for Affordable Artwork

A single piece of art is expensive. And unfortunately, gallery walls use more than just a singular artwork.

So to make the process of how to create a bedroom gallery wall as budget-friendly as possible, I recommend heading to your local thrift store. You could find some great wall hangings and canvases for your gallery wall.

If you don’t find anything there, no worries. Facebook Marketplace is also a great place to search for some unique paintings or other decorative elements.

Tip 4: Consider Using Larger Frames to Save Money

This tip on how to create a bedroom gallery wall asks you to consider using larger frames, whether that be family photos, mirrors, or artwork.

By using larger frames, you will cover more area on your bedroom wall with fewer items.

Guess what that means for you? Less money spent on purchasing artwork and other decorative elements. Yes, larger frames tend to be slightly more expensive, but not as expensive as buying multiple smaller frames.

Tip 5: Use Printable Artwork Rather than Framed Wall Art

If you buy framed wall art from places like Amazon or Michaels, you’re going to be spending about $30-50 for each piece of art. That’s quite frankly a waste of your hard earned money.

Instead, follow these simple steps:

1. Find an image of an artwork you like online. For example, you could search up “nature artwork” on Google and you’ll get tons of great options.
2. Save the image to your camera roll
3. Go to your local Walgreens and print out the picture for just a few dollars
4. Buy a photo frame you like on Amazon
5. Put the artwork in the photo frame and hang it on your bedroom wall
6. Repeat as many times as you’d like

With this process, it should only take you about $5-10 for each piece of art. That’s about 80% cheaper.

Tip 6: Install Picture Lights or String Lights (Or Both!)

If you’ve been reading my blog posts for a while, you’d know just how important lighting is to any type of bedroom decor. And there’s no exception when you’re learning how to create a bedroom gallery wall.

In this case, the best type of lighting for bedroom gallery walls are picture lights or string lights.

Picture Lights vs. String Lights Based on How to Create a Bedroom Gallery Wall

Pictures lights tend to be a bit more expensive than string lights, but they are much brighter and are directly focused on your gallery wall.

This can make your bedroom gallery wall pop out more, especially to a visitor walking in for the first time. Refer to the decor idea above for a better visual reference.

Meanwhile, string lights tends to be the more affordable option. The benefit of string lights is that you can use them within your gallery wall. This adds more aesthetic and is also a great way to achieve dim lighting for your entire bedroom.

Ultimately, the choice you make comes down to your personal preference. But I tend to favor the string lights for how to create a bedroom gallery wall.

Tip 7: Adjust Spacing Based on Your Wall Size

Before I begin, let me quickly explain what I mean by spacing. Spacing is how close together pieces of wall art are in a gallery.

Typically, most wall galleries have about a few inches of spacing. But this doesn’t always have to be the case.

Here’s a little secret to save some money: the more spread apart wall art is in a gallery wall, the more space it covers. This means that you can cover a lot more wall space using the same number of artwork by increasing the spacing.

Yup, you guessed what that means for you. Less money spent on wall art.

Just make sure to not leave TOO much spacing, otherwise the layout of your bedroom gallery wall will be funky looking.

Tip 8: Include Family Photos for How to Create a Bedroom Gallery Wall

Image source: Grain & Weave

Your bedroom is yours…I’m pretty sure. Ok, that’s enough jokes.

On a more serious note, to personalize your bedroom and make it feel cozier, you need to add family photos.

Of course the entire gallery wall doesn’t have to be just photographs. But a few photos of your loved ones here and there goes a long way to add warmth to your bedroom decor.

Here’s a bonus benefit: family photos are much cheaper than artwork.

Tip 9: Use Art Pieces of Different Sizes

Unless you’re going for a grid gallery wall, NEVER choose the same frame sizes for all your pieces.

Think of it like a collage. When you’re making a collage, you use pictures of different sizes to give your project a unique look, right? Same thing here.

Pro tip: including different sizes does NOT mean that everything is a different size. Just try to switch it up a bit. Typically 2-4 different sizes is where you want to fall around, depending on how big your gallery wall is.

Tip 10: Use the Largest Piece As Your Focal Point

If you’ve ever done layered lighting, you’d know the importance of creating a focal point.

Luckily, in this case, creating the focal point is much easier. The easiest way is to place larger pieces of art in the center of your gallery wall. Oh yeah and also make sure to keep your largest piece at eye level.

Don’t believe me? Just image a gallery wall with the smaller pieces of wall art in the middle and the larger pieces outside. How foolish does that look?

Just remember, the Earth orbits the Sun, not the other way around.

…I hope that analogy makes sense.

Tip 11: Consider Budget-Friendly Frame Alternatives

Metal artwork frames tend to be really expensive. That’s why I recommend that you opt for cheaper gallery wall frames.

My favorite budget-friendly artwork frame styles are wood frames because they look great and come in various colors. At a much lower cost, you can get white frames, black frames, or almost any color on the color palette.

But do you want to know what the absolute cheapest frame option is?

It’s no frame. You read that right.

Take a look at this heart shaped bedroom gallery wall with no frames whatsoever.

Now of course you don’t have to make a heart shaped gallery wall.

You can use painter’s tape or masking tape to hang any photograph or paper artwork in any way you want. Doing so will save you about 80% of the cost.

Conclusion

How to create a bedroom gallery wall is much easier and more affordable than many interior designers may say.

I’ve seen so many “professionals” overcomplicate things, just so they can charge you more or sell you more expensive products. And that just makes my blood boil.

But as long as you follow these tips outlined above, you can be your own interior designer and save hundreds of dollars.

For other budget home decor ideas and tips, whether it be for your living room, dining room, family room, or kitchen, follow my Pinterest page. I publish budget home decor ideas every single day for people just like you!

Meet The Author

Hi! I’m Anish, your budget buying guide! I’ve been reviewing home gadgets and accessories for the past 3 years, so it’s safe to say I know a thing or two about home products.

So why did I start writing these guides? Because I saw that people were spending WAY too much money on home products when there were SO MANY cheaper alternatives out there.

I want to help you save money on your home gadgets without compromising the appearance and functionality of your home. So what better way is there than simply writing about how I do it myself?

I want to show you how you can change the landscape of your home without spending a dime more than what is required. You can save more money than you might think!