1. Choose a desirable location.There aren't any bad places to hang your gallery wall, from bedrooms to bathrooms, they can be placed anywhere in your home, although popular areas are often in the hallway, up the staircase, or like in my case, a blank wall in your living room. 2. Find your aesthetic style.While creating your gallery wall, it is important to choose a coherent theme or style that will make you happy whenever you look at it. Inspiration is everywhere! Find yours online, in your favorite cafe or restaurant, or a museum. Some sites I found to be useful are Desenio, and Pinterest. Don't be afraid to combine themes and styles, we want it to reflect your soul! I found that oriental, Moroccan/Mediterranean themes reflected my soul, and went with this combination. 3. Collect, collect and collect.After finding your style, take your time while collecting artworks or choosing prints that fit your theme. You can use items that you already have, or acquire new ones from antique shops or even IKEA. Another option is to find artwork online and get them printed, which I opted for. You can buy print downloadable prints from Etsy or Desenio. Also, many organisations and websites offer free to use photographs. Metropolitan Museum Open Artworks, rawpixel, Unsplash, are just some of them. 4. Plan it.When you have a selection you're happy with, use an online tool to see if they create a story together. Remember, it is important to put a piece of your soul & creativity in your gallery wall, so take your time while playing with sizes, or layouts. Pay attention to contrast, colors, and style. I experimented with many tools and pre-made template sites and found the one that is the most useful and easy to use. It allows you to change the sizes freely, and the checkered background is useful when measuring up. You can access it by clicking here. 5. Frame-up!If you opted for artworks with already existing frames, you can skip this step. If you opted for downloading your prints, it is time to get some frames that will best elevate your gallery wall. You can choose to have frames of different styles, colors, or materials. In my case, I found IKEA Lomviken frames to best fit my requirements. 6. Get your selection printed.After curating your artwork, downloading them, and buying your frames, it's time to get your selection printed out. I found the best way to do it is the big photographing studios. From shiny to matt, cost-efficient to museum quality Hannemühle, there is a varied selection of papers to choose from. After trying multiple studios and looking at the price/performance ratio, the best option in Ankara for me was Asdoğan Photography. In their website, you can find their contact numbers and ask any questions you may have. 7. Decide on the final layout.Before hanging up, decide on the final layout. I found the floor is to be the best way to visualize your final selection before hanging. Don't be afraid to lay everything on the floor and do some last-minute changes if needed. Pay attention to not go too high up to the ceiling, as well as not too low on the furniture. Use painters’ tape to outline the gallery wall especially on the top, to make sure that it is located in the best location possible. The optimal amount of space is usually 20-30 cm higher than your furniture, centered at your eye level. 8. Hanging.Depending on your surface, you can choose to use sticky bands as well as the traditional and the safest way, nails. The paper backings inside the frames are very useful guides on where to nail. If you have wallpapers and renting the space, I got a pro tip thanks to my interior designer neighbour. Cut upside-down V shape on the wallpaper and to nail inside of it. While moving, you can glue the V-shaped flap back in place and save your security deposit. 9. The final look.Stand back, enjoy, and bask in the glory of your new creation. You have successfully put a piece of your soul and creativity in your place. Don't forget that your gallery can be easily be swapped or updated whenever you feel like. For instance, I am planning to switch it up for a new season to introduce an autumnal/winter theme. Just decide what you want to take down and either reframe with a new print or replace it with a similar sized piece. I hope this post helps spark some ideas inside you. If you try, don't forget to send me your gallery walls via mail or leave a comment below!
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1. A gift Ankara gives us once a month: Ayrancı Antika PazarıSince 2009, Ayrancı Antique Marketplace (Turkish: Ayrancı Antika Pazarı), is established on the first Sunday of every month in Ayrancı Market. On carefully put together market stalls, you can find many precious and rare antiquities that have survived test of time awaiting their new owners. In the market, if you get the sense that everyone knows each another, you are completely right. It is very likely to see similar faces in the market every month. Depending on the seller, items are gathered from Turkey, as well as all around the globe! Each stall has a story that smells like history. However, they all share a common ground, their age. The bazaar has set a limit for the age of the products, so the youngest item you can find is 20 years old. While looking around, I even found a piece that was more than 200 years old! When asked about the sales, a stall owner in the market, Bayram Öncel (60) states, "I am in the antiquities business since 40 years, I want to see the interest coming from the younger generation. The bazaar needs more fresh faces." You can access marketplace's website by clicking here (TR). Since it gets crowded, while you are there, keep an eye on your belongings! My rating: ★★★★★ / ₺₺₺₺ Address: Ayrancı Pazarı, Güvenevler, 06540 Çankaya/Ankara, Türkiye Open: First Sunday of Every Month 8:00-18:00 2. Uniqueness without breaking the bank: TASİŞIf you consider yourself a bougie on a budget, the place I am going to recommend now is your haven! TASİŞ, (Turkish: Tasfiye İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü), offers products from many different categories, all budget-friendly. The store is run by the Turkish government and is used to liquidate items that are found to be imported/exported illegally. On right times, TASİŞ is my favourite place to buy unique home items, however, there is a catch. Since the store only sells items to be liquidated, what is offered changes daily and never constant. Sometimes, it is packed with home objects and sometimes there isn't any at all. Fortunately, their website has a useful tool to check what is offered at that point of time. If you are lucky, you can find items from very different parts of the world for incredibly cheap. My rating: ★★★★☆ / ₺₺₺₺ Address: Under Melike Hatun Mosque, Anafartalar, Atatürk Blv No:17, 06050 Altındağ/Ankara Open: Weekdays 10:00-17:30, Saturdays 9:15-12:45 3. 16th century European Antiquities in Ankara: Serkan AntikIf the budget isn't a concern for you, located a 4-min walk away from the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Serkan Antik is a great place for rare and precious antiquities. The owner, my namesake, Serkan Neşeli is has 15 years of expertise in antiquities. The store has French, Italian, and British objects as well as furniture from many different eras, although Mr. Neşeli says that the antiquities especially from the Early Republican Period are in more demand. He loves to use his social media accounts as a medium to reach antique lovers from all around the world. His instagram page is filled with pictures of the items in the store and his twitter bio is short and to the point for his passion for Antiques, "I love my job." The store also provides a restoration service for items you want to turn to their first condition. If you are looking for unique home decor/furniture, and willing to pay the price, you should definitely pay a visit to Serkan Antik! You can find more information on their website. My rating: ★★★★★ / ₺₺₺₺ Address: Koyunpazarı Yokuşu Sokak No:99-101, Samanpazarı Ankara, 06101 Open: Weekdays & Sat. from 10:30-18:30 Phone: 0312 310 73 68 4. A hidden gem for home decor in the Oldtown: İtfaiye MeydanıAnother place for Artsies who want to have eye-grabbing pieces without breaking the bank. From Barbie dolls to Islamic manuscripts, championship trophies to teddy-bears, you can find many budget friendly objects in, İtfaiye Square (Turkish: İtfaiye Meydanı). The square's exact location is between Yenice Sk. and Derman Sk. It is located in the old town of Ankara, while you are there, you feel like you are strolling around in a living time capsule. If you are planning to go alone, don't be scared, although dated, it is a very safe place. If you couldn't find what you were looking for in the the small shops (very unlikely) there is a big local shop named Koç Antik for your taste. If you are planning to visit by car, I recommend you the parking lot under the newly built Melike Hatun Mosque. While you are there, you can even visit my 2nd recommendationTASİŞ before driving home! You can find more tips on square's Foursquare page. My rating: ★★★☆☆ / ₺₺₺₺ Address: Anafartalar, Kosova Sk., 06050 Altındağ/Ankara Koç Antik: Anafartalar, Yalçın Sk. 1/B, 06050 Altındağ/Ankara Phone: (0312) 240 40 46 Open: Everyday from 10:30-19:00 I am looking forward to your comments and recommendations in the section below! Until next time, stay artsy!
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