Designing a Gallery Wall with Mary Kathryn Wells

A gallery wall is the focal point in the dining room of a client who loves a fun and modern take on traditional style.

Interior designer Mary Kathryn Wells, who operates an eponymous firm in Nashville, turned to Artfully Walls when selecting artwork for a gallery wall in a family room belonging to a client who “loves a fun and modern take on traditional style.” 

Wells adds, “it’s a joyful and fast-paced family who wants their home to match that energy.” While the room itself was already furnished when she came on board, it didn’t feature any artwork whatsoever. An empty, oversized wall made for the perfect blank canvas for the designer to work her magic. Initially, she envisioned hanging two or three large, colorful art pieces on this wall, but she and her client then fell head over heels for a space that featured a gallery wall of  black-and-white linocut prints and switched gears to replicate this look. “I’m a big fan of the easy sophistication and cohesion linocut prints offer,” Wells says. “The graphic element is a fun, bold statement but the neutral colors mean they work in any setting.” 

Now, Wells and her client are enjoying the best of both worlds. “The linocuts we chose bring a punchiness to the space; they’re vibrant, fun, and playful, without making the otherwise neutral room feel lopsided,” she says. “We intentionally chose a few prints that have a little dash of color to break up the otherwise completely black-and-white artwork. And the simple, black, gallery frames were an easy choice.”  

Wells took advantage of the Artfully Walls online Wall Designer Tool to map out her ideal placement before making any nail holes in her client’s wall. She adds, “When it came time to hang the art, I showed our handyman the picture of the wall as we’d laid it out on Artfully Walls and he was able to hang all the pieces with practically no oversight or guidance from me, just using the image on the tool!” 

An oversized wall makes for the perfect canvas for a gallery wall.

In both Wells’ own home and those she designs, art holds special meaning. “Art is, perhaps more than any other thing, how I personalize my and my clients’ spaces,” she shares. “When you walk into my home, you immediately get a sense for who lives here based on what’s on the walls—the places in the world that are special to us, our values, who each of us is and how we show up in the world.” 

Wells, a longtime gallery wall enthusiast, encourages others to follow suit and notes that gallery walls can always be expanded over time. “I started hanging them in my own apartments and homes because I didn’t have money to buy big pieces or collect original works, and I didn’t know what else to do with an entire empty wall,” she comments. “The pieces wouldn’t necessarily be symmetrical or perfectly spaced, but it still looked really cohesive and a bit more original than a perfectly measured wall of art.” 

Art included: Parrot  Tulips in a Vase - Orange by Lucy Deaner, Black and White Bouquet by Stacy Rajab, Tulips in Lesterware by Megan Williamson, Fruity Magique Branch by Milou Neelen, Poppies by Andrea Lauren, Silhouette #2 by Jessica Nielsen, Un Cafe et Six Fraises S'il Vous Plait by Milou Neelen, Rainbow Pansy by Emily Isabella, Grow by Sylvia Takken, Ulloa by Anna Koeferl, Parrot Tulips in a Vase - Red by Lucy Deaner

Published on: February 01, 2024 Modified on: February 01, 2024 By: Artfully Walls

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