I'd remove that piece. it serves no purpose.

it was prob put there to visually break up the very tall empty wall space.

but if youre going to do a gallery, you don't need it.

or, you could match the trim molding on the back wall and do it like shown here

I love the black accent wall

I agree with Beth about moving it. There are many ways to make the gallery wall amazing but I am partial to her first picture. It’s a style I love too

I am curious why that single random piece of trim is there? Why wasn't the moulding on the other walls continued to that wall? Or, why wasn't it left without? Does it serve some type of purpose? Remove it if you can. If you can't you can hang art on each side of it

I had a long discussion with my drywall contractor while he was installing it. I knew I wanted a gallery wall here, and I was concerned that this trim would cause problems. However, he explained that over time the drywall can shrink and cracks may appear, so the trim was necessary. I reluctantly agreed. I can’t remove it so I have to create a gallery while working around this trim 😫😫😫

Ok, so he's mentioning when they stack two sheets of drywall, one on top of the other, joint tape, mud, he's worried about the seam showing. Is he saying it's showing NOW? because if it is, it needs to be redone. or he needs to hire an adept drywall guy.

Of course you CAN remove it! If he's telling you you can't, tell him you want a better mud guy!

(or place your gallery wall around it? and do a less prominent type of trim piece. thinner/plainer)

The other option would be to do the trim on that wall like you have on the back wall.

tell your contractor since he can't get you the perfect wall, to complete the wall trim to cover up his lack of drywall experience.

I have exactly that problem on my 14' wall in my living room. I've been in this home for 40 yrs, and it's been there for quite awhile. (but it wasn't there when I first moved in)

can you see it here?

it's really only noticeable when the light/shadow hits it just right.

If you're going to do a gallery wall, you're prob going to cover a good portion of that seam.

If the trim piece has to stay ( and that’s just your contractors excuse for a poorly done drywall job) then hang your art from art pegs. This way your frames can sit over the trim piece .

I do agree that one large piece of art is the best option for the space

Thanks everyone for giving me your valuable feedback. :) I am going to try couple of ideas and see how it goes

I just wish the name 'Gallery" wall went away. No gallery hangs a bunch of unrelated art on a wall all mixed up. In your case one fab large piece is the answer

Most people use gallery wall to hang very related family pics. Some people don’t like family pics at all and others love to share their family over time. Doing this on a stairwell is extremely common. It has nothing to do with aj art gallery