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For months, our dining room wall sat completely blank.
Not because I didn’t have anything to hang, but because I couldn’t quite decide what direction I wanted to take.
I’ve always loved a collected gallery wall. One with layered art, mixed frames, and pieces that have been gathered over time. I considered doing something more structured this time around. Something more symmetrical in its layout..
But last weekend I realized something. I’ve been collecting pieces I’ve loved for years. Only to let them sit in a storage closet, waiting to be enjoyed. So I decided to change that.
Why I Took Down Our Dining Room Gallery Wall
Last January, I removed much of the art and mirrors from our walls at the recommendation of our window installers. We had new siding, windows, and gutters installed, and they warned us that during demo, pieces could shift or fall.
I had already been wanting to rethink our dining room gallery wall, so I took it as a sign. I removed everything, patched the holes, and started scheming what I might do next.
Letting Our Dining Room Wall Sit Blank
I initially considered something more structured and even shared a round-up of botanical prints I was drawn to. But I never pulled the trigger.
Then, life moved on.
A large backyard renovation followed by a front porch makeover pushed the dining room wall down the priority list. The holidays came and went. And the wall stayed blank.
Now, with the holiday decor packed away and our spaces feeling lighter, the emptiness feels more noticeable. The room feels calmer, but it’s missing the character and personality the gallery wall once gave it.
That missing layer is what I’m ready to bring back.
Collecting Art But Not Displaying It
Last weekend it finally clicked.
I’ve been collecting art and blue and white plates for years. Thrifting pieces I love and tucking them away in my storage closet because I wasn’t sure exactly where everything would go yet.
So I waited.
I kept telling myself I would hang the art once the room felt further along. Once a few other details were figured out and it felt less in transition.
But the truth is, art is one of the details that helps you figure those things out. It brings life and personality into a space. Even when everything else is still shifting. It can help you see the direction more clearly.
I talked more about this idea of layering a home over time in my recent post on creating a collected home. How the pieces you live with shape the space just as much as the bigger design decisions.
The wall had been blank for months. Not because I didn’t have anything to put there, but because I was overthinking it.
If I’m honest, I think I sometimes hesitate because I want to get it right the first time. I don’t always give myself permission to try something, move it, and change my mind.
If I love these pieces, why aren’t they on the walls? What am I saving them for?
Somewhere along the way, I started treating decorating as the final step. Something to do once the room felt further along, and the bigger projects were done.
But decorating doesn’t have to wait until the end. It’s something you can layer in at each stage of the process.
Sometimes you think you know exactly where something should go. And then you hang it and realize it isn’t quite right. Maybe it needs something more. Or maybe it doesn’t work at all and leads you in a different direction entirely.
Clarity doesn’t come in waiting. It comes by putting the holes in the wall and testing things out.
Shopping mY Home Before Buying More Art
So I pulled everything out.
Every piece I thought could work came into the dining room. For a moment it felt overwhelming, a big blank wall behind me and a pile of art and plates at my feet. Where do you even start?
I decided to lean into the floral theme I’d originally had in my head and let that guide me. It gave me a place to begin instead of staying stuck.
I arranged pieces in a rough layout on the floor, testing combinations before committing to nail holes. Laying it out first made it easier to play without the pressure of getting it right the first time.
I’ve shared more detailed tips for filling a large blank wall in this post here.
As I started mixing in blue and white plates and shifting things around, I noticed something.
I’ve always gravitated toward art that speaks to me first. If I love a piece, I trust I’ll find a place for it somewhere. Scale and proportion aren’t deal breakers for me in the moment. I assume I’ll be able to make it work.
And often, I can.
But seeing everything together showed me that you never really know what piece or where a piece will work best until you try to hang it.
For example, I had purchased three framed botanical prints in similar tones and frames. I assumed they would all work beautifully together, and mixed with other pieces. But once they were laid out in the larger grouping, only one felt right. The bright white matting on the other two stood out against the warmer tones in the rest of the collection. It wasn’t obvious until I tried to work them in.
Seeing everything together gave me clarity I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Laying everything out showed me where the gaps were. I realized I need more smaller pieces to tuck into those gaps and longer horizontal pieces to balance the vertical ones I tend to gravitate towards.
But it also reminded me that not every gap needs to be filled right away..
Some spaces can remain open or unfinished. Leaving room for the right piece to show up later, instead of forcing something into place just to feel finished.
There’s something exciting about that. Having some direction when I thrift instead of just guessing.
Redoing Our Dining Room Gallery Wall
Our dining room gallery wall isn’t finished yet. It still needs a bit of tweaking. There’s a little too much space between frames in some areas for my liking. I want to tighten some of those gaps, but also leave room for some new finds.
Once everything is settled, I’ll add a little museum putty to each piece to help keep them from shifting.
It’s still a work in progress but the dining room feels alive again and I can’t wait to see how this evolves over the next year.
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