How to Create Gallery Walls on a Budget: Since You Asked...

Melissa Meares
Feb 12
3 min read

Updated: Feb 18

Gallery wall with framed art, including a floral painting and landscape, above a wooden cabinet. Pink curtains and a rug in the room. Text bubble: "How did you get the art for your gallery wall?" — I'm glad you asked!

Since You Asked...

I feel like I have to squash a misconception that I get in my comments a lot, While I get nearly all my frames at thrift and antique stores, the art inside them is usually awful. REALLY AWUL.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

Use what you have and what you love

My TV is mounted on the wall in my bedroom, so I built a frame for it (here are the details) and made it the centerpiece of my gallery wall. I then added some of my favorite photos and art that I leave up year-round, as well as some that I swap out seasonally. For frames, I re-purposed some that I already had, and y'all know I love to thrift frames from yard sales and thrift shops!

A cozy scene with a wooden dress upon which sits a pot of mums, a tv shows a scene with two women and a gallery wall full of dark art with bats on the wall

Where to find art that won't break the bank

When you find wall art that you love, buy it! But if your gallery could use a few more pieces to fill it out consider these options:

Thrift Stores and Yard Sales

Y'all know I can't resist a good thrift and I've gotten some beautiful art for practically nothing. In fact, I made a whole reel about it. Another thing to consider is that even if you don't love the art but you do love the frame it's in, this will almost always cost less than buying a new frame. One last tip - look for books, especially coffee table books, that contain pictures that you love. I have done this a few times: just cut out the picture (or scan it and print it out, if you don't want to remove the page or you need it to be a different size) and frame it!

My Secret Weapon: Etsy Art Bundle

This has been such a game changer for me! There are tons of art downloads available on Etsy. For just a few dollars you can buy literally thousands of items of art! Here and here are a couple that I've purchased and I can't tell you how many of them I've used over the years!

Collage of various artworks featuring flowers, landscapes, classic paintings, and colorful patterns in a grid.

Public Domain / Open Access

There is a TON of art that is in the public domain:, and it's not just Old Masters like Monet and Van Gogh, I've seen every style imaginable, from anime to folk art. A lot of well known museums and galleries have made some of their collections available (sometimes called Open Access) to download for free! Here are a few: National Gallery of Art, Getty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian, be warned though, there's a lot of clunkers to sort through to find the gems.

Brown leather sofa with white pillows in a cozy room. Wall adorned with framed paintings. Wooden floor and brass floor lamp add warmth. — My most recent gallery wall project, still a work in progress!

How to Print them:

The downside to all of this downloadable art is that you will have to print it out yourself, and I have a couple of suggestions for this too.

Mpix is my go-to for prints smaller than poster-size. They have lots of options: black and white, canvas, collage, framed, wood, acrylic, giclee, and over 30 size options as well. They promise your art will be printed and shipped within one business day, and it usually comes within 2-3 days of ordering. The quality is fantastic!

Office Depot is my go-to for poster-sized prints. Their poster sizes go up to 40 x 60, and you can get them printed on matte or satin paper, canvas or foamboard. (Mpix only goes up to 24 x 36 and the poster sizes are much more expensive than Office Depot.) If you place your order before 2:00 p.m. it will be ready for pickup the same day, or you can have it delivered. I've always picked mine up at the store because I want to make sure the poster doesn't get damaged in shipping, so I can't speak to their shipping process.