Categories: Dorm Life

30 Creative Wall Art Gallery Dorm Room Ideas

Dorm rooms aren’t exactly known for their exciting wall colors. In most cases, you’ll find that the walls in dorm rooms are pretty plain, with white paint-covered cinder blocks. But that doesn’t mean you need to settle for boring. 

One way you can spruce up your dorm room and the walls in it is through a gallery wall. Just like one you’d find in a museum, a gallery wall is a wall that’s covered in art. You can make your gallery wall whatever you heart desires, and it can be a great way to add some live and personality to your drab dorm room. 

Here are some ideas for gallery walls that you can replicate in your dorm room for inspiration! 

1. Basket Gallery Wall

You know those wicker baskets they sell at stores like Target? They always add a rustic element to living spaces, and you can use them to make your dorm room feel more rustic by putting some of those wicker baskets on a wall in your dorm room. 

2. Mixed Media Gallery Wall

There’s no need to pigeon hole yourself into one art style when creating your gallery wall. Mix it up with prints, photographs, wooden signs, anything, to create a mismatched and creative collage on your wall to show your true personality. 

3. Empty Frame Gallery Wall

It may sound a little off the beaten path, but decorating with empty picture frames is a great way to spice up an empty wall. It’s a way to deck your dorm room that no one on your floor has ever seen before. 

4. Gray Scale Gallery Wall

You don’t need a ton of color to decorate a wall. Find some old black and white photographs or some gray scale prints to cover your wall. It can be just as eye catching as a gallery wall full of color. 

5. Photography Gallery Wall

If you’re anything like me, you have a ton of pictures of yourself, your family, your friends, anything that you hold near and dear to your heart. Put those pictures to good use by putting together a photography gallery wall. 

Stop by a drug store and get prints of your favorite pictures to put on a wall in your dorm. It’s a way to decorate your dorm while also putting some things and people that you love on display. 

6. Floor to Ceiling Gallery Wall

Make your dorm room look like a museum gallery by covering one of your walls from floor to ceiling. It’s a fun challenge if you’re looking to add some flair to your dorm room. Think of it as creating an accent wall without having to paint a thing. 

7. Cork Board Gallery Wall

There are stores that sell cork board squares. Cover wall in those individual squares and then use push pins to fill the cork squares with whatever you want. Think of it as a sort of bulletin board gallery wall. 

8. Art Work Gallery Wall

Draw some inspiration by some of your favorite artists. Art museums will sometimes give you the option to buy smaller prints of certain famous art works that they have on display. Or, find some small name up and coming artists to buy some art from and decorate your art work gallery wall with some never before seen art works. 

9. Monochrome Gallery Wall

Everyone’s got a favorite color. Make your gallery wall a sight to see by finding pieces in various shades and hues of your favorite color. Monochrome fashion is in right now, so why not apply it to your dorm room gallery wall. 

10. Themed Gallery Wall

Make a gallery wall in your dorm room themed around your interests. Are you a theatre fan? Make a gallery wall with Playbills. If you’re a sports fan, find some photographs and memorabilia from your favorite teams or players.  

11. Dreamboard Gallery Wall

Keep yourself focused on your goals and ambitions by making a dreamboard gallery wall. Find some art pieces that relate to your life goals and make yourself a gallery wall to inspire you to work hard every day. 

12. Maps Gallery Wall

There’s just something aesthetically pleasing about maps. Find some maps of your favorite places– cities, transit lines, even theme parks– to use as art for your gallery wall and inspire you to travel, even when you’re just in your dorm room. 

13. Vintage Gallery Wall

For some reason, there’s always a certain appeal that comes with vintage. Use some sepia tone photographs to give the wall a vintage feeling. Make a trip to Goodwill or another second hand store to look for some genuine vintage items to include on your gallery wall. 

14. Mirrored Gallery Wall

They say that mirrors really open up a room, so what better way to make your dorm room look a little bit bigger with a gallery wall of mirrors. It’s also a way to create an eye catching design on an otherwise boring wall. 

15. Plate Gallery Wall

A gallery wall of plates is usually something you’d find in a kitchen, but there’s no reason you can’t replicate that look in your dorm room. Find some cheap plates to string together an intricate wall design with plates. 

16. Poster Art Gallery Wall

Posters are art, there’s no doubt about it. Get some posters inspired by your favorite movies or other things that inspire you to put together a gallery wall with posters. 

17. Pop Art Gallery Wall

Take some inspiration from Andy Warhol. Pop art is known for it’s popping colors and eye catching designs, and it’s the perfect way to add some life to your dorm room. 

18. Shelved Gallery Wall

It’s common that you come across a lot of little mementos in your time in college. A good way to display these is to get some attachable shelves and create a shelved gallery wall on an empty wall in your dorm room. 

19. Minimalist Gallery Wall

Gallery walls don’t need to be extravagant to be decorative. Create a minimalist gallery wall by using a simple black and white color pallet and some simple designs. Beauty can be simple. 

See Also

20. Neutral Colored Gallery Wall

Use some neutral, earth toned colors to create a natural looking and nature inspired gallery wall for your dorm room. 

21. Bohemian Gallery Wall

Boho aesthetic relates to a carefree and hippie-inspired lifestyle, and this provides a great base to inspire a gallery wall in your dorm room. Grab some plants, woven decorations, and vintage prints to create your bohemian gallery wall. 

22. Memory Gallery Wall

Think of this like a scrapbook, but on your wall. Adhere pictures, ticket stubs, event programs, anything that reminds you of good times, to a blank wall to help you create a memory themed gallery wall. 

23. Collected Art Gallery Wall

You don’t need to be a rich socialite to have an art collection. Start your own collection of found art and display it on an art collection gallery wall in your dorm room. 

24. Collection Gallery Wall

People love to collect things, like Funko Pops or postcards. Show off your collections by displaying them on a gallery wall. It’s a great way for your personality and your passions to shine through and make your dorm room your own. 

25. Pet Inspired Gallery Wall

Have a furry friend that you miss in your hometown? Create a gallery wall inspired by them with pictures of them and some other objects that remind you of them. 

26. Signage Gallery Wall

There’s a certain charm that comes to street signs. Bring that charm into your dorm room by hanging a collection of street signs on a wall in your dorm room. They can be signs from your college town, hometown, or just your favorite places. 

27. Polaroid Gallery Wall

Grab a Polaroid camera and snap some pictures of things that inspire you. The good thing about Polaroid pictures is that you can have them in your hands pretty instantly, which makes them the perfect medium for a cute and stylish dorm room gallery wall. 

28. Panoramic Photo Gallery Wall

Find or take some panoramic shots of your favorite places or some long horizontal prints to inspire your gallery wall. It’s a fun and unique take on the photography gallery wall. 

29. Flag And Pennant Gallery Wall

Colleges and sports teams tend to sell pennants. Collect some from your school, your friends’ schools, and your favorite sports teams to create a fun and colorful pennant gallery wall in your dorm room. 

30. Floral Gallery Wall

You can’t always have actual house plants in your dorm room, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be inspired by plants. Find some floral prints or pictures of plants to adorn a wall of your dorm room. 

Will you be including a gallery wall in your dorm room next semester? What does your ideal dorm room gallery wall look like? Let us know in the comments!

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Kaitlyn Riggio

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