The year was 1667, and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris had a problem: How to display the massive amount of art by École des Beaux-Arts graduates all at once? The answer lay in what was reportedly the first-ever salon wall also known as a gallery wall an overwhelmingly beautiful bit of controlled chaos, a riotous run-on sentence à la française of artworks, mostly pictures, hung from side to side, floor to ceiling.
Fast forward 356 years and gallery walls are more popular than ever, and just as excruciating to arrange today as in the 17th century. "Sometimes people get really caught up in, well, all the mats have to be the same, or all the frames have to be the same, or whatever the case may be," says New York-based designer Corey Damen Jenkins. "There's great fun and enjoyment in releasing oneself from those rules." In Jenkins's private office, abstract pieces, architectural prints, a gilt Louis XVI mirror, and more hang against a gold flame-stitched wallcovering from Arte. "A gallery wall is a great solution when one has a large collection," he says.
This story is from the March 2023 edition of Elle Decor US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2023 edition of Elle Decor US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
WHAT MAKES AN 'ICON'?
The word gets used a lot these days-especially in the world of design. It's time to consider its true meaning.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?
As the television and movie landscape changes, our media rooms are becoming newly multipurpose-and wonderfully stylish.
THIS IS NEWPORT?
Amid the Gilded Age mansions of this historic Rhode Island enclave, a modernist gem with interiors by Poonam Khanna charts a stunning new path.
Petit Palais
However tiny, a pied-à-terre in Paris represents L.A. designer Peter Dunham's grand return to the city of his youth.
Leave It to Peter
As his new book shows, architect Peter Marino will happily build you a house-if you give him the keys.
IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR
Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent bring an eclectic point of view to a power couple's new home.
Elsa Eternal
Fifty years after her trailblazing first collection with Tiffany, Elsa Peretti's iconic designs continue to influence how we wear fine jewelry.
Brazil Brut
Andre Mellone adds artful sophistication to the concrete architecture of his sister's São Paulo house.
A-LIST 2024
IT'S HERE OUR ANNUAL LOOK AT THE MOST IMPRESSIVE DESIGNERS ACROSS RESIDENTIAL INTERIORS, ARCHITECTURE, AND LANDSCAPE.
GRAND ALLUSION
Hannes Peer channels his passion for Milan’s design legacy into an apartment renovation that packs in the references with brio.
