Using a Gallery Wall to Disguise a TV

I think this is the best decorating I have done in my entire house! Excuse the over-excitement. I cannot explain it, but our new bedroom gallery wall makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It is so personal and so impactful. And, it was free!

Every room has a focal wall. For the bedroom that is usually the wall the headboard is on. When you walk in the room you should see the focal wall. This is what the focal wall looks like in our master bedroom:

That focal wall is only the focus for the two seconds while we walk through the doorway or when we are giving guests a tour of our home. The other 99% of the time we are in the bed looking at a different wall. This is what we look at most of the time when we are in bed:

The styling on top of the dresser was a good start, but the big blank wall above the TV was boring.  We got the new TV a few months ago, but it kind of sticks out.

I wanted to create a gallery wall to help the TV fit in. I wanted to expand on the awesomeness that started on top of the dresser. I want this to be a wall we want to look it whether or not the TV is on.

To create a gallery wall for free I shopped my own home. In the bedroom I already had a large framed print of my youngest son and a few other photos in black frames. They were living over near the dresser where they were not getting the attention they deserved. I also found a white shadow box and a small black square frame in our closet.  Wouldn’t you agree, this cutie should be the centerpiece of a great gallery wall?

When I created our family room gallery wall, I mapped it out before ever making a hole in the wall. In the bedroom, I just decided to wing it. I did not want to take the time to plan it out, and I wanted the gallery wall to be more organic like it evolved over time. I did end up moving a few of the frames around during the process making extra holes. In the end, all the nail holes are covered by the frames.

I left the framed placemat artwork and other frame leaning on the dresser and built the other frames around them. I wanted to keep the layered look. Once I got all the large frames in place there was a small open space behind the geese sculptures. I could have left it empty, but I wanted to create another layer. I covered the front of a chipboard letter with scrapbook paper and tore the edges slightly. The monogram fills the space nicely and puts a layer behind the geese.

The white shadow box is still empty in the upper left corner. I covered the back with dark plum-colored velvet from my fabric stash. I am not sure what to put inside the shadow box, yet. Any ideas?

I don’t know if I can even explain the dramatic difference the finished gallery wall makes in our room. It is wonderful. I love seeing my beautiful boys. I love the eclectic mix of frames. I love how the TV ties in with the arrangement, it is no longer sticking out like a sore thumb.  Here is the before picture again, followed by the after picture:

The best seal of approval came from my husband. I worried the gallery wall might be too much visual clutter for him. But when he returned home from his business trip, he walked in the room and instantly said he liked it. No thinking about it, he just liked it. Of course he did remark we would have to put something else on the wall where I stole pictures for the gallery wall. I agreed, but explained, “it’s an ongoing process, baby.”