I love a good gallery wall. They can tell a really compelling story, and for this reason I love putting them in the homes of families I work with. But creating a gallery wall can be difficult- what goes in one? What colours do you use? Or do you do them all black and white? Do the frames all have to match?

So today I thought I would tackle some really basic principles on how to create a gallery wall- with a small twist. As a busy mom who runs a business and a household with a ton of kids, I am prone to feelings of overwhelm on the regular. So for a gallery wall in my own home, I wanted the wall to act as a motivational center of sorts- an area where I can quietly recollect, re-connect with my why, and feel empowered and focused when the demands of life are hard. So if you're looking to create a gallery wall as unique as you, here are my top strategies:

1. Create a motivational statement that connects you with your why

This wall is in my home gym- where let me tell you is a room that hears me complain A LOT. Whether it be in exercise, or in life, we all get discouraged and need to pick ourselves back up from time to time. This statement, on how I define success, really helps keep me going when I am feeling unsure: success is life designed around what matter most.  Your statement might come from a phrase you say a lot, a religious scripture, a famous quote, or a favourite poem. Dig deep within yourself and think about something that will help you gain clarity and focus when you need it. 

Now to display your quote so you can be reminded of it when you really need it. Once I figured out my text I used CanvasPop's Word Art Maker and with the help of a template I plugged in my phrase, changed some fonts and colours, selected the frame colour and material and voila- I've got my personal motto framed and on the wall to enjoy. It gives me so much clarity when I stand in front of it and read it!

2. Select images that remind you of your why

As per my motivational statement above, I design my life around what matters most. And right up there on the most list is my family. So I selected a few images of my crazy cookie family of 5 kids ages 7 and under to display in this gallery wall. When our fifth child was born, we did a really special family photoshoot with Toronto based photographer Katherine Holland. The family shot in particular really captures the unique personalities of my children. These photos basically just hung out on my computer enjoyed by no one (although a few made their way onto my instagram feed), so the ability to have these in the flesh, printed on canvas to enjoy was so special to me. I may have shed a tear when I opened the box. 

For the family shot I used the CanvasPop photo editor, to upload the image from my computer, and then opted for the canvas wrap option along the edges, and for the lower image of my 2 boys, I selected a white frame to surround the edges of the canvas for some variety and to make the wall feel polished. 

Depending on the space, I am a believer in mixing it up- while there is something wonderfully classic and demure about matching finishes on frames, I can also equally get behind the mix of all kinds of finishes. In this space it was important to me to let the photographs do the talking so I kept the frame finishes to black and white.  

3. Use a unified colour palette

I did not want the gallery wall to be too overwhelming colour wise since my home gym isn't that big, and it has a seriously graphic carpet. So I used photos from the same photoshoot as I knew the colours would all coordinate, and kept the rest of the wall text based for a graphic element. 

Whether you play it safe and go all black and white (which is classic and more traditional), or you mix your colours (a playful and modern approach), keep to a unified colour palette to keep the look cohesive. 

I hope this post has inspired you to create a little motivational area in your own home! Special thanks to CanvasPop who partnered with me on this post and provided these beautiful canvases. I must say, for someone like me who does not have a lot of time to "tinker" with things, the design process and image upload procedure was nice and swift- and I had my prints delivered to my door in a matter of days. 

Gallery walls can really tell the story of you and your family- and I would love to know yours! Please tag me in any of your social media posts sharing your unique gallery wall so I can cheer you on : )