Floral Gallery Wall

Floral Gallery Wall: Use antique and thrift store floral art pieces to create an inexpensive and beautiful gallery wall.

Add some cottagecore charm to your space with a vintage gallery wall of floral art.  We made a floral gallery wall with vintage art, prints, floral plates, and needlework pieces full of charm and interest; and it was inexpensive to create since we used finds from the antique store and thrift store.  Use our no fail hanging method to create the perfect floral gallery wall in your space.

The Floral Art

I knew I wanted to add a collection of vintage floral art to my space to bring a little of the outdoors in with some rustic flower art.  It took me about a month to find all the pieces I used in my floral wall.  

Shop Your Home

I started out by shopping my own house.  We had a few older pieces that were perfect.  I also had some floral plates that I'd used for a mixed table setting and some plate holders from an old project that were perfect.  Lastly I found some embrodiery pieces that my daughter had made me that I wanted to include.  It's always nice to include sentimental pieces.  It would be really lovely to add in a pressed floral piece with flowers saved from a special occasion.  

Antique Markets

The first place I went shopping for more floral wall art was the antique market.  I like to visit the ones with lots of different individual booths where there's lots of variety.  I found lots of great options. My only criteria was that the piece featured flowers.  I also wanted to make the sure the colours worked together. To check the colours I snapped pics on my phone as I went and referred to what I already had to make sure that it all worked together.  I wasn't strict about anything else.  The floral pieces were a collection of all different frames, different shapes and sizes, and different materials -from original art, to prints, to needlework, to plates, a few framed greeting cards, and a vintage floral botanical postcard.

Thrift Stores

I also found a few pieces at the thrift store.  I didn't want to invest too much in this floral wall, so finding some pieces at the thrift store helped to make this an inexpensive project.  Often smaller pieces are much cheaper than large pieces.  For a large wall like this, where small pieces on their own would get lost, putting together a gallery wall is a really cost effectvie way to fill a large space.  I also picked up a few empty frames from the thrift store.  I added a vintage post card - greeting cards, or an old calendar pages would be another economical option.  

On-line

You could also look for printable art on-line and print it at home or an office supply store and frame it to add to your flower gallery way.

I also wanted to be able to add to the floral wall decor over time, as I find other pieces out thrifting.  As I find more floral pieces I can add them on the sides of the gallery wall and expand it over time.

Before

I loved this dark green feature wall that I created a few years ago using a stencil -see how we created it here -  but it was time for a change. I needed to fill some nail holes, and then sand the stencilled wall smooth using a palm sander.  After sanding I painted the wall white to match the rest of the room and it was time to hang the vintage gallery wall.

Fool Proof Way To Hang A Gallery Wall

Laying It Out

Once I had all my pieces collected for the flower gallery wall, I started laying everything out on my dining room table. If you needed a larger space you could lay it out on your floor.  On the table I adjusted the pieces until I was happy with how all the pieces worked together, and how the shapes and sizes, colours and materials worked together.  Next I took a pic with my phone to make sure I liked the look of the arrangement.  If you're not happy at this stage, it's much easier to re-adjust things while they're on the table before they're hung on the wall.  I let this sit for a day or two, and came back to it, adjusting as needed until I was 100% happy with the arrangement of all the pieces together.

Paper Templates

Once I was happy with the layout, it was time to make a template for each piece of art out of brown kraft paper.  I laid each piece on to the paper and traced around it, then cut out the template.  You can also use the backside of wrapping paper for this, or even an old paper bag that you've opened up.  Once you have the template cut out, it's time to mark exactly where the nail will go.  I lined up the paper with the art, and used my fingers to feel through the paper to exactly where the nail to hang it needed to go, and marked this spot on the paper with a x.

Taping Templates to the Wall

Next I arranged all the paper templates on the wall, hanging them with tape, in the same layout as they were on the table.  I made sure to take some time to ensure that the pieces were straight and that the spacing was even, and adjusted it as necessary.

Hammering in the Nails

Next, was hammering in the nails through the brown paper where the x was marked. I used the template to get the nail in exactly the right spot.  Then I removed the paper and hung my floral art piece.  I repeated this until all the art was hung.

This method is fool proof.  It ensures that the nails are all in the right spots the first time, and prevents having to remove nails and adjust, leaving extra holes in the wall.  

Finishing Touches

I love how my floral gallery turned out.  It adds the perfect vintage cottagecore charm to the space.  I accessorized the buffet in front of the wall with lots of pretty vintage decor pieces like tea pots, and tea cups for more of that cottagecore vibe.  I also added a stack of vintage picnic baskets to add a little height and texture.

And of course I had to add some real flowers to the space.  I picked this bouquet from my garden and they look like they've just come out of one of the floral pictures. 

Curtains

And the perfect finishing touch to the space was adding some light pink 100% linen curtains from TheHues.  They are breezy and pretty and add a lot of softness to the room.  The baby pink looks perfect with all the pinks in the art work, and the linen fabric helps add some texture to the white room, we loved being able to choose the style of the top and the length to fit our room perfectly.

We hung our floral gallery wall in the dining room.  This would also be gorgeous as a floral wall in a bedroom space.  I also think it would be really pretty in an office space or to fill the large space over a couch in a living room.  Any flower lover would love this cottagecore addition to almost any room in their home.

If you love flowers you will love this inexpensive floral gallery wall.  With a floral gallery wall like this one, life really is a party.