Vintage Art Kitchen Gallery Wall

Kitchens are becoming more and more a central hub in the home for gathering and entertaining. They are growing larger, more central to the home and more comfortable for gathering. In doing so we’ve made them more than a place where food is prepared and eaten. Kitchen’s are were we go to celebrate, work, talk, have meetings and just plan hang out. More than ever it makes sense to embrace home decor in our kitchen’s just as we do other areas of the home. This includes art!

We have a long wall in out kitchen that had two ugly outlets we never had removed during our kitchen renovation years ago. It was begging for some beautiful art. Antiquing and thrift shopping are one of my favorite hobbies and I have lots of art waiting to be hung.  Over the last couple of years I had been collecting some of the best vintage oil paintings I could get my hands on at great prices. Awhile back the boys and I got to work and chose several for a kitchen gallery art wall.

Just like in our family photo gallery wall shown here, I planned out this gallery wall by playing around with the shapes of the paintings first. Only when I was certain I knew where I wanted to place the paintings did I knock a nail in the wall to finalize my decision. I didn’t go with Command Strips due to a time constraint and the fact that this wall was already in need of repair. Eventually we plan on putting vertical paneling here.

Pick a Theme

It’s not a must, but I wanted our gallery wall to have a theme. We live in Michigan and love the changing weather so we chose landscape art from all four seasons of the year. We also live close to the beach so several of the paintings are of the beach which brings even more cohesiveness and meaning to the project.

Unify Frames

I used the original frames for almost all of the paintings, but I connected them by first painting the frames black and then adding a sheer gold paint over top. It gives a warm antique look. Having the frames share the same color pulls them all together as well as makes them look like a collection that was meant to be.

Vary Your Heights

Be bold about adding different heights to your paintings so they cover most of your wall. Try to keep the majority of them the same space apart. I do follow a rule of my own that smaller pieces should be above larger pieces in most instances. In the end anything goes. It’s your home and your gallery wall so do what feels and looks right to you.

I hope this gives you some ideas as to what you could do in your own kitchen. Art can and should be enjoyed in every room we want to make cozy and comforting. Like interior design, art is an expression of what we hold dear. We can enjoy what others see as well as share what we see and value ourselves.

Is art something you have or would like to try to incorporate into your kitchen? Would love to hear what you think.

xo Maria