A Simple Guide for Constructing a Stairway Gallery Wall

There’s no better place in your house to display your family pictures than the walls of your stairway. The large blank walls which flank your staircase are just waiting to be used to their full potential. There are a few neat options to utilize when decorating your stairway walls.

The first recommendation for decorating your stairway would be to choose frames that are similar either in shape, color or medium. Whether they are all white picture frames or all rectangular picture frames or all metallic picture frames, make sure there is some type of cohesion running through each piece. A beautiful gallery wall can have black and white photographs displayed in black oval picture frames, or it can contain colorful family photographs displayed in round wooden frames of all sizes and colors. One creative homeowner used wooden frames made of driftwood she had found along the beach.

The next piece of advice is to decide on how you want to group your photographs. The classic way to display pictures on a stairway wall is to line the pictures up parallel to the steps on the stairs. In order to make sure the angles match, cut out pieces of paper or cardboard in the same dimensions as your frame. Tape them up to the wall and check to make sure they are level. Make tiny pencil marks where you plan to place your nails. This will help to prevent any type of errors. Another, more forgiving way to display your pictures is to group them together randomly. Place the biggest frame in the center of the group and randomly place the rest around it. A third equally interesting way to display your pictures is to hang a shelf. Group the pictures together as desired.

Other tips for decorating your staircase gallery are to make sure the lighting is bright. Staircases are often dark places without windows, so change out your bulbs or light fixtures for something nice and sunny. Use fillers to your picture display to get rid of any blank spaces. Fillers can be architecturally interesting mirrors, big wooden letters, maps of the world, distressed signs with your favorite quotes or even a license plate from a car. Have fun with this aspect of decorating.

Creating a nice stairway photo gallery takes time, effort and a lot of thought. The results are sure to pay off every single day for years to come as you appreciate your picture project on all the trips up and down your stairs.