Hello! Today’s tip is about wall collages. We recently updated our bedroom, adding a collage above our dressers. Creating groupings can be a bit of a challenge, so I thought this would be the perfect time to share my tips and process for creating art groupings.

You want the collage to feel balanced as a whole, get the right spacing, and have a sort of symmetry without being totally symmetrical. I also prefer my collages to look casual and relaxed, like I just put it up on the wall and it happens to work. There are lots of tips out there that talk about taping outlines on the wall, or creating templates with paper. This works well for some, but personally not for me. I end up over analyzing and taking too long to make placement decisions, and it can end up feeling forced. Instead, I prefer to work with a combination of arranging the actual pieces on the floor, in front of where they will be hung, and holding them up to the wall. Sure, sometimes I end up moving a nail or two, but those are easy to fill or get covered with the frames anyways.

Our grouping here works because we looked at the wall as a whole, taking the dressers and rocking chair into consideration. It’s important to remember these elements that are not hung on the wall, but are still a part of the grouping. The Aloha painting is placed above the white dresser to give the left side weight, balancing out the dresser with black drawer fronts on the right. That painting is also balanced out by the Surfs Up Chicago picture on the far right. These two pieces both utilize text, but feel very different. There are two drawings in the grouping which are purposefully different in style, to create balance and symmetry without being too matchy matchy. We mixed both black & white and color photography, text, painted canvas, and sketches into our collage. There is a common ocean thread in all the pieces, which is noticeable but not in your face. In the end it’s an eclectic arrangement, which is united through its content and colors.

The last tip is to use pieces that hold meaning for you. We, of course, love the ocean and surfing. The color photograph in the center, which is split into two frames, is actually a picture my husband took of me underwater. I did the sketch on the upper left when I was in high school, and my husband painted the Aloha canvas. These pieces all have a story behind them, and add personality to our room.

I hope this inspires you to create collages in your own homes!

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