7 Ideas to Display Photos Beautifully in Your Home

Coming up with creative ideas to display photos is an art in itself! And what better activity is there than to get creative at home and make a unique wall display?

While having one large piece of wall art in itself can look striking in the home, having a collection of photos can give your rooms a unique look that can be built on over time. A photo display can bring character to your home and breathe new life into your walls, or pull your colour schemes together.

Use these tips and ideas to display photos in your home in new and creative ways.

1. Make a gallery wall

A gallery wall is a great idea to display photos in a creative way and makes perfect sense for when you have multiple photos. A gallery wall can be created with photo frames, canvas prints, floating frame prints, metal prints or really any other type of photo or print you like. That’s the best part about a gallery wall; it can be a collection of different prints with a range of different frames or a collection of prints of the same size. Some ideas for a gallery wall include:

• Create a grid display

A grid display usually uses prints of the same size; usually either small squares or rectangles. Our 30 x 30cm gallery-wrapped canvas prints are a great option for this. To create a grid display, ideally, you want to group together images in a similar colour theme. Or, you can use a black and white filter on your images, which will help to tie them all together.

• Corridor gallery wall

A gallery wall on display in your corridor can catch the eye and create a standout look that your guests won’t forget in a hurry. This can be displayed in any way you choose, depending on the size of the corridor. Remember that in a corridor, people will be viewing your prints up close, so they don’t need to be big. In fact, they can be smaller. Ideally, a row of prints at eye level makes for a great display in a corridor. Prints in a corridor which are at hip level or lower tend to be knocked down, or get marked by little fingers!

• Build out from the middle

A gallery wall on a larger wall, such as in a living room, can create a fantastic feature Start out with larger prints in the middle, then build out with smaller and smaller prints as you get to the outside. Try to keep to a general colour scheme, if you can, such as warm tones, cool tones, or black and white. Or, pick out shades in your prints or artworks that complement the furniture in your room. Whatever you do, try to ensure that you lay your prints out on the ground before you start hammering nails into your wall!

2. Create a split print

Split prints are a high-impact wall display option that are simple and affordable to create. When you create split prints in canvas, metal or acrylic, you can turn panoramic or other striking images into stunning large-scale pieces of art.

Start with one of your favourite stunning, high-impact images. Any image can work well as a split print, but the images that generally work best are landscapes, scenic shots, portraits, couple photos, images of animals or action shots with people. Images with a lot of lines or fine detail can look too busy printed on a series of split prints; rather, simple images look best.

When using portraits or images with animals, it’s best to ensure that the image doesn’t split on the key parts of the image, such as at people’s limbs, or halfway through a person’s face! The effect, as you might imagine, can be very jarring. Our helpful template that you’ll use when creating your order will ensure that you are able to fully visualise your design before printing.

3. Create a wall display

A wall display is another idea to display photos by creating a high-impact photo display. Unlike a gallery wall, however, our wall displays are far easier to create. This is because we have a number of wall display templates that are already created for your use in a variety of different configurations.

A wall display can be as small or as large as you like. You can create a smaller wall display for use in a smaller space such as an apartment living room or your bedroom wall. Larger wall displays can be created for your living room, entrance hall or another large wall in the home. Our templates list the wall space required for each configuration so you’ll know which prints you can fit where.

As with a gallery wall, we recommend creating displays featuring photos in a series. This might even be a series of photos that were taken together, on the same day. Ideas to display photos in a gallery wall include:

• A series of family portraits
• A series of highly-saturated travel photos
• Your favourite animals
• Wedding photos
• Wall art in a series of patterns or a theme, such as Japanese art or coastal art

The ideas for striking wall displays are endless; just start with a general theme and see where your creative mind takes you!

4. Photo collages

Photo collages, on the other hand, are an art in and of themselves and are one of the best ideas to display photos when you have a large collection of images to display. Collages are a collection of photos printed on one piece of art. Photos can be collated in specific themes or subjects and, combined, can create a powerful singular piece of art.

We have a range of photo collages to choose from, such as:

• Traditional collages, where each image is created in the same size
• Themed collages; a collection of images linked together with a singular theme, like family, travel or love
• Modish shape collages. For something a little different, our modish collages combine a series of pictures in irregular shapes
• Silhouette shape collages, which utilise a variety of playful shapes like balloons, hearts and butterflies. Perfect for kid’s rooms or just for something a little out of the ordinary.

5. Floating shelving

Another of our favourite ideas to display photos is using floating shelving. Floating shelving is a great way to utilise space, especially in a smaller home. Shelving is simply attached to the wall where pictures or other ornaments can be added for decoration. Our top tips for floating shelving are:

• Install your floating shelving at eye level or just above. This way, it is out of the way but still visible
• Ensure your shelving is thick enough to fit two canvases in terms of width, but not so thick it gets in the way, especially if you’re installing the shelving in a narrow room
• For a look with more depth, try layering a series of pieces over one another. Add a variety of print types, such as canvas prints, photo blocks, floating frame pieces or photo frames over one another for a varied look
• For a look that is truly “floating,” buy your floating shelves the same colour as your walls, or paint it in various colours for a fun look that stands out

6. Photobooks

For a truly unique way to display photos, invest in a series of photo books. Our photo books are affordable and can be fully customised. But the best part about them is that they’re made to be displayed! Rather than leave them to get dusty in a drawer, you can display them on your coffee table, or on floating shelves, bookcases or on tabletops for maximum effect.

We have a range of photobooks in various themes, such as wedding photo books,  travel photo books, baby photo books and more! Or, create your own customisable photo book from scratch in any theme you like.

7. Double the portraits

Not all ideas to display photos have to be complicated. A simple idea is just to select two or three images to create a series.

A series of two or three portraits on the wall can create a high-impact look that is striking yet timeless. After all, what could be more important than portraits of your loved ones? To execute this idea, you can use existing photos you already have or commission a simple photoshoot with friends or family members. Ideally, you want your images to be shot and edited in the same way as they will be displayed together. Then, select your preferred print size and order! It’s that easy.

Display your photos either side by side in a hallway, in the kitchen, bedroom, or living room. Two portraits look great mirrored on each side of a fireplace, TV, bookshelf or another piece of furniture. This creates a perfect balance in your room, giving equal attention to each portrait.

We hope these ideas to display photos have inspired you! If you need more inspiration, check out our other blog posts for more interior decorating ideas! Canvas Factory has a wide range of options available, with plenty of creative ideas to display photos in your room. To browse all of our options for photo prints, click here.