A free printable coastal gallery wall set featuring antique ocean paintings and tips for framing them affordably with thrifted finds
Our bathroom has quietly upgraded its personality. If it were a person, it would be the beret-wearing, poem-reading, pinky-raised type. The transformation? A tiny, tasteful art gallery tucked into the most elegant spot possible: above the toilet. Yes, really—we’ve embraced the charm of bathroom art.
If you’re thinking, “Another gallery wall?”—I get it. But gallery walls are endlessly flexible and a great way to introduce personality to small rooms. This one is intentionally quirky and a little unexpected, less traditional than others I’ve done around the house. It has a playful, slightly vintage vibe that fits the bathroom perfectly.
Bathrooms are ideal rooms to experiment: try a bold wallpaper pattern you wouldn’t use elsewhere, paint a rich color, or create a small curated gallery. For this project I gathered thrifted frames, printed free public-domain coastal art, and assembled a cohesive display without spending much.
Before this refresh, that large wall felt like a blank I couldn’t solve. Working with what we already had and spending as little as possible were the main goals. The result is a wall of coastal landscapes that complements the bathroom’s blue-green vanity and brings a touch of the beach indoors.
Supplies Used
- Assorted thrifted frames
- Two types of silver or metallic spray paint and a silver rubbing wax or finish to create coordinated variations
- White poster board (for faux mats)
- Pencil
- Ruler or tape measure
- Scissors or a paper cutter
- Double-sided tape or removable mounting tape
- Coastal prints (public domain, printed at home or ordered as larger prints)
How I did it
- Unify the frames. I grouped the thrifted frames and refreshed them with two different silver spray paints and a silver rub-on finish. Using slightly different metallics keeps the collection cohesive without making everything look identical—perfect for tying in hardware finishes like brushed nickel.
- Choose and print the art. I searched public-domain archives for antique ocean paintings that matched the bathroom’s color palette. Small sizes (8×10 and under) printed well on a home printer. For a couple of larger, favorite pieces I ordered prints from a photo service to get a cleaner, larger format.
- Create faux mats on a budget. To get the matted look without buying custom mats, I cut poster board to the frame sizes, centered each print on the board, and secured it with a bit of tape behind the artwork. The poster board gives the impression of a professional mat at a fraction of the cost.
- Plan the arrangement. My go-to method for planning a gallery wall is to trace each frame onto poster board or kraft paper, cut out the shapes, and arrange them on the floor or tape them to the wall until the layout feels right. This lets you tweak spacing and alignment without making unnecessary holes in the wall.
- Hang and adjust. Once the layout was finalized, I transferred the positions to the wall, hung the frames, and made small adjustments so the collection read as a single curated piece rather than a disconnected group.
The total cost for this wall landed around $50, largely thanks to thrifted frames, inexpensive poster board mats, and free printable artwork. It’s an affordable way to create a high-impact coastal gallery wall that feels collected and personal.
If you’d like the printable coastal gallery set, it’s available as a downloadable collection for subscribers. Check your favorite home decor newsletter or printable library for access, or save images you like from public-domain sources and print them to create your own set.
Now that the artwork is up, this master bathroom feels finished and cohesive. I’ll be sharing the full room reveal soon—can’t wait to show how the gallery ties everything together.
