Matching or Mismatched Gallery Wall? Big-Time Designers Have a VERY SPECIFIC Preference
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Hanging a single piece of wall art is a relatively easy task (if you know how to do it the right way), but creating a gallery wall requires much more thoughtful planning. Apart from choosing the art you want to display (have you considered a plate wall?), selecting the frames is a pivotal step in the process. The most perplexing question when it comes to gallery-wall frames? Should they be matching or mismatched. We had designers weigh in for a guiding light. It turns out that these days many prefer frames that aren't all identical, but there are certain instances when matching frames may serve the art better.
Mismatched gallery wall frames evoke a collected feel, which designer Marissa Bero prefers. “I source a lot of vintage art for my projects and myself, and in addition to the artwork itself, the frames tell a story of where a piece has been,” the New York-based designer says. “The walls it's hung on, the patina, finish, and style all give clues to its age and origin.”
If her pieces are on canvas, Bero may not even use frames at all, in order to allow “the raw and sometimes nail-studded sides of the canvases to remain exposed,” she says, letting the character of each piece shine. For one project (below), Bero used vintage pieces—abstract, figurative, and a framed relief sculpture—each in a different frame, including gilded, painted, stained, and chrome finishes. “I wanted the gallery walls to interact with the furniture and decorative objects by creating asymmetrical compositions that wrap around the cabinet, for example, and highlight the form and position of the chair,” the designer says. “The goal is to create the feeling of a conversation among close friends.”
Mismatched frames allow a gallery wall to stand out rather than blend into the background, especially in a neutral room, says designer Victoria Armour of Stil James. “The charm of a gallery wall lies in its ability to bring together unexpected elements that collectively define a room,” she says. “By mixing frames with different colors, styles, and textures, you create a space that feels both unique and intentional.”
When collecting mismatched frames, Alex Leipman prefers to play with color and size while maintaining uniformity with the frame’s shape and thickness. "We've recently become obsessed with building bold gallery walls that mix black and colorful frames,” says the founder of DROOL, a store that specializes in unique contemporary art prints and sells frames including translucent neon acrylic ones that make art pop. “To achieve this look you can simply pick frames that match with colors in the artwork, or you can take it one step further and choose frames that contrast the colors within the artwork,” he explains.
For designer Danielle Balanis, the art dictates whether you use mismatched or matching frames. “When I have art in a gallery wall all from the same artist, I use the same frame [to help] play on the repetition and build power,” she explains. “When I am doing a gallery wall that is from various artists and mediums, I always mix the frames. It adds to the visual impact and layered experience. I particularly love vintage frames and finding ways to rework them and recut them to fit art.”
The choice between mismatched and matching frames is also a toss up for designer Ryann Swan Hackett, depending on the installation. “But I do think that it's important to have a thread tying the items in a collection together so the gallery wall feels cohesive,” she says. “Whether it's that the art has a unifying note or the frames are coordinated, they need to make sense together.”
Recently, the designer created a gallery wall in a dining room that consisted of landscapes in various mediums—including photographs, paintings, and collages—and chose different frames for each piece but “kept them to all gilt frames, which created a cohesive thread throughout the design.”
In another gallery wall, Swan Hackett used unified frames in a grid pattern to balance the art in a range of colors. “Were we to vary the frames, it would have felt too chaotic,” she says.
Final verdict? Mismatched frames are widely preferred, but there are exceptions for matching frames. Ultimately, there's no right or wrong way to do it. If you like the final vision in the end, that's all that matters. You'll be the one looking at it every day, after all!
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