Gallery walls are a big trend at the moment and it’s easy to see why. They’re a great way to inject some personality into your home without making any permanent changes to your interiors.
In fact, in the past month alone, there have been 32,000 Google searches in the UK for the term “gallery wall”. However, with the number of frames and prints involved, it’s not always the cheapest aesthetic to master.
That’s why CashLady.com has partnered with ‘Instagram Mum’ Emma Stretton, from Manchester, who has shared her savvy tips on how she’s started to create a gallery wall on a budget.
She said: “Our gallery wall happened by accident and it’s by no means finished. I’d planned to have a large abstract painting commissioned by a local artist, but the price was far more than we could afford, about £500. I had to think of a different way to decorate the family room.”
Statement wallpaper
Emma said: “When I originally thought about how to finish the walls in the family room, I was going to leave them all white so the art I wanted to buy would stand out. When I realised that wouldn’t be happening, I looked for some statement wallpaper instead.
"My favourite is from Emma J Shipley, but it costs about £55 a roll. I went to the high street retailers and found a tiger design wallpaper that was £10 a roll. I then bought it in a bank holiday sale when there was 20% off and got it for £8 a roll.
"We bought four rolls, so ended up spending £32 in total to create one really bold wall. My husband did the wallpapering. He’s never done it before, but the design was pretty straightforward and it saved spending more money on a decorator.”
Estimated savings: £188
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Greetings cards
Emma said: “I wasn’t going to do a gallery wall purely because I’m not an interiors expert and didn’t know where to start. Then we were buying greeting cards during a weekend away and there was a “three for two” offer on. We only needed two, so I just bought a third one that I liked. Then when I got home, I put it in a frame we had lying around. That’s when I thought I’d start a collection of cards from our holidays and then my ‘gallery wall’ would just be lots of memories.”
Etsy
Emma said: “Other than the postcards and greeting cards we have, there’s also a print from a designer called ‘Zeppelin Moon.’ I love her designs, but a large print is about £25, which adds up. So again, I bought a 7x5 greeting card instead which cost about £3.50.”
Estimated savings: £21.50
Frames
Emma said: “I’ve kept the frames simple because there might be too much going on otherwise. I love HomeSense for anything interiors-related. I always have a look in the picture frame section to see if any are on sale. These are the ones I buy; I don’t bother with the full priced ones. The other frames on the wall are simple metal ones from Wilko which cost about £3.”
Wallpaper
Emma said: “I absolutely love wallpaper, especially really bold prints. I’m yet to add any yet, but framing pieces of wallpaper or even fabric is a really inexpensive way to fill up a gallery wall. It’s not worth buying a whole roll, so you can visit a local home store and take a few samples of wallpaper to frame. You could get a few contrasting prints, which would look great.”
Take your time
Emma said: “The wall is definitely not finished, but I like the idea of adding to it as we make more memories and finding cute little frames on sale. If I rushed it and bought generic prints, I don’t think I’d like it as much. There are a few song lyric posters I want and maybe some movie prints but I’ll just keep shopping around and take my time with it.”
Total estimated savings: £209.50
CashLady.com’s personal finance expert, Dan Whittaker, said: “Creating a gallery wall in your home is a great way to elevate your space without making more permanent and costly changes, such as painting or wallpapering the walls. However, to achieve the desired look you typically need a number of frames and prints, which rarely come cheap.
“We love Emma’s handy tips, which provide tried and tested ways in which she’s started a gallery wall in her own home. Emma predicts that her tips can save you over £200, highlighting how budgeting and planning ahead can have a major impact on managing your personal finances.”
