I’m Over Gallery Walls — Here’s the *Big* Swap I’m Doing Instead

For the first few years I lived in my apartment, there was a gallery wall on the righthand side of the living room — colorful artwork against a white wall, most of it acquired in my early 20s, much of it printed out at college print centers. 

At first, it was a fun collaboration between me and my roommate. And I actually highly recommend the process of creating a joint gallery wall to any new roomies, whether they’re in college or freshly graduated (or even beyond). Immediate bonding experience! Immediate compromise of two styles! All of your stuff will look better together this way! 

The gallery wall felt like a staple of my apartment for many years. But when my roommate moved, out one of the first things I did was take down the gallery wall — and here’s why.

If I’m being totally honest, taking down the living room gallery wall was part of a larger restart in 2025 for me. Approximately 10 to 20 frames of crowded, colorful artwork on the walls were beginning to feel overwhelming to me (in addition to some other overwhelming stuff going on). 

I was seeking something simpler, and I really liked AT contributor Jessie Quinn’s idea of creating gallery clusters — groupings of just one to three frames.

I’ve never been a Live/Laugh/Love (or anything close) sign person, personally. I used to have a lot of art with text on it, but I decided this was overwhelming, too, so I’m limiting myself to one typographical piece. (Maybe because I look at words all day long for work, I do not want to see them on my walls. I want to see pictures.)

Big art makes just as much of a statement as a gallery wall, but with less visual “noise.” But larger-scale art can pose a slight challenge because it’s expensive and it’s often heavy to hang. 

Here are two of my favorite big pieces I’ve put up recently. I highly recommend them because they’re super lightweight and easy to hang (my dad helped me, but I could also easily carry them myself).

You’ll notice that my gallery wall “hot take” is less a diatribe on actual gallery walls (I love them in other homes) and more just me needing to switch things up in my own apartment, but I will offer you one hot take: I am personally tired of the blue Matisse body print. (But if you love it, go for it!) Here are a couple of prints I’m liking for my own home instead. 

This one didn’t come with a frame. I bought a cheap one on Amazon. 

This one did come with a frame, and I will probably buy from (or buy gifts from) Gavalina because the quality surpassed my expectations and the options were unique.

(For advice on how to hang oversized art, check out these pro tips.)

I read this advice in Apartment Therapy’s House Tours all the time, but I really think it’s true: Your home will feel more personal to you if the art is personal to you. For me, this journey has been a lot about seeking out vintage shops, finding things in my travels, picking up pieces from sidewalk sales, and seeking out prints from emerging artists.

I’ve made a lot of progress on that journey. I bought my first painting from a gallery this year! I also bought an original watercolor on a trip to France, and I found a cool photo of Venice (where I’d just been) from the NYC poster shop Phillip Williams. I framed a painting of the Chrysler building, my favorite building in the city, that my sister made.

I still have several walls in my home that are completely blank, and I’m still looking for the perfect, personal thing for them. The thing about my new anti-gallery wall take is that it takes a long time and it is expensive, but is worth the wait.