Gallery Wall - Do or Don't + a Review for Lamps.com

One thing that I find sad about living in a small house is that there isn't much wall space for art. It's probably for the best, as I would have spent a lot more money on pieces that I love if I only had the space for them. One corner where I always wanted to put more artwork is this little corner between the sofa and the French doors in the family room. The problem is that we need a lamp on the end table for light, but I always felt that it would be silly to put artwork there because the lamp would cover up most of it. So when Lamps.com asked me to review their clear Dimond table lamp, I was excited. It has a clear base, and I thought that the glass would provide a better opportunity to hang some artwork in the space.

At first I wasn't sure how I felt about the cork shade - while I love the warm texture I didn't know how much light it would really give off. Luckily while it's not as bright as a lamp with a traditional shade it does give off a decent amount of light, so I'm very happy with it.

Next I decided to do a mock up of a collage/gallery wall to see if I liked it. All of this artwork was pilfered from elsewhere in the house with the exception of the canvas photos of the girls, and none of it is actually nailed to the wall. It's either leaning against the wall, stacked on top of one another, taped, or sticky tacked, but now that I have it all "up" I kind of love it and don't want to return everything to its proper place. So what do you think? Are you a fan of the gallery wall look, or is it too much? For reference, here's what the space looked like before. Thanks for any input! xo, Lauren

P.S. Isn't Violet just too precious in these photos? She saw me taking pictures, clambered up on the arm rest of the couch and flashed me the cutest smiles, how could I resist? Love my little ham.