Hi friends! Hope you all had a great weekend. We got a lot accomplished around the house – the biggest thing being a gallery wall in Aden’s room.
It was honestly so much easier to decorate his bedroom when he was little, because he loved super heros, movie characters, etc. He still loves those things, but doesn’t want them plastered all over his bedroom. So my goal for his room is to be functional, not little kid-ish, but not too old.
I found a lot of great industrial and rustic pieces on Amazon, Michael’s, Hobby Lobby & Home Goods. It was my first time doing a gallery wall – here’s what really helped me:
1. Start with the biggest piece. Ours was the calendar. I knew I wanted in in the center – with smaller pieces around. This made it easier for planning purposes.
2. Mix up the textures & shades. I can totally be a matchy matchy lover of symmetry. It was actually hard for me to mix colors of wood & different metal textures. I had to force myself to just go with it & hope for the best.
3. Add a pop of color. I love all the rustic / industrial pieces, but I was starting to feel like it was too neutral (even for me!). When I found a distressed metal clock in the perfect shade of red, I knew it would be that color we needed. It doesn’t pull too much attention, but I think it adds a ton!
4. Lay it all out on the floor (or bed or wherever) first. I can’t tell you how many times I moved stuff around, so I’m really glad I laid it out on the floor ahead of time. Our sitting room is still empty (yes, we still don’t have furniture in there), so I had plenty of room in there to space it all out.
5. If you’re on a budget, like I am, use coupons & search clearance isles. You can find some seriously awesome gems to fill in spaces! The red clock was on clearance at Home Goods for $10 & I got the “Pray Big” sign on clearance at Hobby Lobby for about $2! I also found a super fun candle holder sconce (50% off) & decided to use it as a chalk marker holder! *Also, Michael’s tip: you can use competitor’s coupons there! So Joann’s has a 60% off coupon? You can use it at Michael’s! I do it all the time!*
Here’s the finished wall:
Sources:
Chalkboard Calendar: Exact (Hobby Lobby) || Similar (Amazon): Here
Bicycle: Exact (Amazon) || Similar (Walmart): Here
Galvanized Metal 3-Opening Frame: Exact (Michael’s) || Similar (Bed Bath & Beyond)
Red Clock: Bought clock at Home Goods. Found similar here (Amazon) & here (Amazon)
Chalk Marker Holder (Actually a sconce!): Exact is unavailable. Different color here (Hobby Lobby) & Similar here (Amazon)
Chalk Markers: Great deal for a 12 pack – Amazon
3-Tier File Holder: Bought at Home Goods, but Amazon has some awesome rustic file holders!
Galvanized Metal “A”: Exact (Amazon). Similar here & here.
Floating Frame: Exact (Michael’s). Similar on Amazon: here & here
Black Square Frame: Exact (Amazon) – I removed the mat.
Black 11×14 Frame: Exact (Michael’s) – I used black card stock to “double mat” it.
Pray Big Metal Sign: Clearance gem – Can’t find exact!… Similar here.
Adventure Awaits Printable: Available in my Etsy Shop
Get the Look
We absolutely love how it turned out! Let me know what you think in the comments below!
