When it comes to elevating your home’s interior design, wall art plays a crucial role. It reflects your personality, sets the mood, and completes a room’s aesthetic. But mixing and matching wall art can be intimidating—too much variety can feel chaotic, while too much uniformity can feel flat. So how do interior designers achieve that perfect, curated look? Here's how to mix and match wall art decoration​ like a pro.

1. Start with a Theme or Color Palette

Interior designers often begin with a unifying theme or color palette. This doesn’t mean all your pieces need to match perfectly, but they should complement one another. For example, you might choose soft pastels for a calming vibe or bold black and white prints for a modern look. Themes can be based on subject matter too, such as nature, abstracts, or urban photography.

Pro Tip: Choose 2–3 dominant colors and carry them throughout your gallery wall for cohesion.

2. Vary the Art Mediums

Mixing mediums is a signature move for professional designers. Combine photography, paintings, prints, textile art, and even sculptures or wall hangings. This adds texture, depth, and interest to your walls. The key is to find balance—too many competing textures can become overwhelming.

Try This: Pair a vintage oil painting with a sleek modern print and a minimalist metal wall sculpture for an eye-catching trio.

3. Play with Sizes and Shapes

Uniformity in size can feel static. Designers recommend using a variety of sizes and shapes when displaying art. Larger statement pieces can be centered or anchored at eye level, while smaller pieces can fill in the spaces around them.

Layout Idea: Use a gallery wall with a large central piece, then build out with smaller frames in a loose grid or salon-style layout.

4. Use Consistent Framing—Or Not

Frames have a significant impact on how cohesive your collection looks. One strategy is to use the same color or style of frame throughout your arrangement. However, mixing frame styles can also work beautifully when done intentionally.

Balanced Approach: Use different frame finishes but stick to one or two shapes (e.g., all rectangular frames). Alternatively, use identical frames but vary the matting or artwork within.

5. Tell a Story Through Curation

Designers often treat wall art like a visual narrative. Whether it's travel photography from your adventures, a collection of botanical prints, or family portraits, each piece should add to the story you want your space to tell.

Quick Tip: Lay out your chosen pieces on the floor before hanging to visualize flow and spacing.

6. Consider the Wall Space

Not all walls are equal. A large, blank living room wall can handle an expansive gallery, while a narrow hallway might be better suited to a vertical arrangement of smaller prints. Make sure the art fits the wall both in scale and proportion.

Don’t Forget: Leave some breathing room between pieces to avoid a cluttered look.

7. Stick to Odd Numbers

Designers love the "rule of odds"—grouping art in odd numbers (like 3, 5, or 7) tends to feel more natural and balanced to the eye. Odd groupings add visual interest and make arrangements feel more organic.

Styling Hack: Use a trio of related prints in a row above a sofa or bed for instant harmony.

Final Thoughts

Mixing and matching wall art is both an art and a science. The best interiors balance variety and cohesion to create spaces that feel curated, personal, and visually stunning. Use these expert tips to confidently create wall arrangements that reflect your taste and elevate your home decor. Whether you're working with a blank canvas or updating an existing gallery wall, remember—there are no hard rules, only your unique style to guide you.