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Featured Article

Build Your Own Gallery Wall

Step-by-Step Guide to Bring your Vision to Life

Article by Samantha Franzen

Photography by Santora Photo Co.

Originally published in Greeley Lifestyle

We believe there are no “rules” to creating a great gallery wall. Simply find something that inspires you and get moving. As proud Greeley natives, we knew we wanted local flare included in our interior redesign. Inspiration struck in the pages of the June 2022 edition of this magazine featuring the 100th Anniversary of The Greeley Stampede.

Design Makeover at The Cow 

  • Tape Measure

  • Picture Frames

  • Canva or Any Other Design Program 

  • Computer

  • Printed Photos 

  • Laser Level with Suction Cup 

  • Pencil

  • Hammer

  • Picture Hooks & Nails

  • Double-Sided Velcro

Step 1: Choose Your Inspiration- For us it was cows and cowboys, but the sky's the limit. We knew we wanted clean lines, with our logo front and center. We also had two photos, taken by local photographer Tiara Perez, we wanted featured. We combined those elements with our favorite photos from the past 100 years of the Stampede, and started to play with the final layout using the design program Canva. After creating a visual representation of the final product, we started shopping.

Step 2: Measure and Plan- Begin with finding the height and width of your space and reverse engineer from there. You’ll need to ask yourself how many frames—and in what dimensions—will fit in that space? We started by finding a large mirror we could add our logo to with vinyl. Once we knew the height of the mirror, we looked for two frames that were close to the same height. Those frames would house the photos from Tiara and flank the mirror. Next, we used a little simple math to determine how many 11x14 frames would fill the remaining space above and below those three featured pieces. Make sure you take durability into consideration. We looked for a plexiglass option for our high traffic space.

Step 3: Assemble and Secure- All of our frames came with an assembly kit included. We measured a point on the back of each frame where the wall hook would best align with the wire hanger, then marked each frame in order to ensure uniformity for placement on the wall. Once all frames were ready for hanging, the real fun began. We highly recommend a laser level with a suction cup for this step. We found the center point on our wall, and placed our logo mirror first. Then we measured out equal distances on both sides of the mirror for placement of the two large frames. We used the laser level to ensure proper height, marked those points with pencil, hammered in picture hooks and nails, then hung our frames.

Step 4: Enjoy!- This project is one of our favorite things we’ve done in the past year. Our gallery wall helped create a design focal point, and has become a major conversation starter in our restaurant. People love it, and we love sharing a piece of Greeley history with our guests. 

Pro Tip: Secure your frames with double sided velcro. This will keep things level, and secure.

Businesses featured in this article