Make Room For Kids Artwork Galleries

Marker Girl

Day 14 –  My final day for “The Back to School Plan”! Like many kids, mine have brought home a lot of artwork from school and camp over the years. We just went through their’s last summer and kept only favorites. It is a priceless piece of art if you ask me that your family will enjoy and take pride in for years to come.  

I wanted to share my 5 steps today on how I created a “Kids Art Gallery” in my own home. 

Step 1

Choose your favorites with your kids, narrow down what you want, then measure them for size for your mattes and frames. Keep in mind you will want to trim down some pictures. My kids always bring home papers, artwork, homework-  torn and rumpled. Matting always hides the rough edges and shows them off best. Keep them in a nice art portfolio before you do this to help flatten and also to keep the ones you don’t use.

Step 2

Purchase frames – always look for frames that can hold mattes and check the matte size to ensure it fits your picture or will cover a little of it up, you may have to cut down the art a little in some cases.

Step 3

Place art and mattes in the frames and lay the frames out on the floor to decide your layout. Start with the center and work your way out. Spacing – I like 2” to 3” spaces between.  You will have smaller ones that will have bigger spaces so this is where you have to play around with them. If you are looking for ideas check out my pinterest board I have pinned a lot of favorites there.

Step 4

Cut paper templates of each frame out (I used old wrapping paper) and tape the layout on the wall this will let you know where to hang them.

Step 5

Once you have your paper in place it is time to hang. Start with the center first then work your way out from the center of the entire gallery. It is usually about 60” from the floor to the center of the middle section or just start about 12″ or so above furniture if it is where you are placing it. Check to see if the back of your head doesn’t hit the frame that is the best judge.

Voila! You now have an art gallery that is original and truly personalized.

*Command strips are a great solution if you don’t like nailing. My husband is the better hanger in our family so he takes over when it is time to nail them up. (Of course with me directing him) With clients we actually hire professional art installers. So that can be option too. Check if they are insured and have the layout ready before they come.

Happy Everything!  Karen