How to hang a gallery wall: layouts, spacing and sizes that work
A gallery wall looks collected, but the good ones are planned: one outer shape, one gap, one anchor piece. Here's how to plan yours, with two layouts drawn to scale.
A gallery wall is a group of framed pieces hung close enough together that they read as one thing. Done well, it fills a wall that a single print can't, and it gives you room to mix subjects that would fight each other on their own. Done badly, it looks like a noticeboard. The difference is almost never the art. It's the planning: the outer shape, the gaps, the height, and one piece that the rest arrange themselves around. This guide covers all four, with two layouts drawn to scale.
Start with the outer shape, not the pieces
The most useful thing to know about a gallery wall is that people see its outline first and the individual frames second. So before you choose any art, decide the rectangle the whole group will fill.
- Width: about two thirds the width of the furniture below it. Above a 72 in sofa that's roughly 48 in; above a 90 in sofa, about 60 in. With no furniture beneath, use two thirds of the wall section between doors, windows or corners.
- Height: whatever the pieces need, but keep the bottom edge 8 to 10 in above the sofa back, headboard or console. Any lower and it crowds the furniture; any higher and the two stop looking connected.
- Center: on an open wall, put the middle of the group 57 to 60 in from the floor. That's gallery hanging height, where a standing person's eye lands.
Mark that rectangle on the wall with painter's tape. Everything else happens inside it. If you've already read our poster sizes guide, this is the same two-thirds rule applied to a group instead of one print.
Choose a layout
Nearly every gallery wall is one of three layouts. Pick one before you buy anything, because it decides which sizes you need.
| Layout | What it is | Best for | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grid | Identical sizes in rows and columns, equal gaps | Above a sofa or bed, modern rooms, a series of related pieces | Easiest |
| Salon | Mixed sizes inside one rectangle, built around an anchor | Living rooms, stairways, collections that grow over time | Medium |
| Line | Pieces of different heights sharing one top or bottom line, or one center line | Hallways, above a long console, narrow walls | Easy |
The grid
A grid is the calm, architectural option: four, six or nine frames of the same size, the same gap everywhere, the edges lining up. It suits a set of pieces that already belong together, like a run of coastlines or three city prints in matching frames. Because everything is the same size, the hanging is pure arithmetic.
The salon wall
A salon wall mixes sizes and looks collected rather than planned, but the good ones are still planned. The trick is an anchor: one larger piece, usually 24×36 or 16×24, placed slightly off center. Smaller pieces then fill the rest of the rectangle around it, with the gaps kept consistent even though the sizes aren't.
The line
For a hallway or a long console, hang a row of frames that all share one line. Most often that's the center line at 57 to 60 in, so a mix of 12×18s and 16×24s steps up and down around it. Sharing a bottom line also works above a shelf or ledge. It's the easiest way to mix sizes without it looking random.
Spacing: the 2 to 3 inch rule
Gaps of 2 to 3 in between frames make a group read as one object. Go tighter on small walls and with small frames, wider on big walls and big frames, but keep the gap the same throughout. Uneven gaps are the single thing that makes a gallery wall look unplanned, far more than mismatched art.
- Small frames (8×12, 12×18): 2 in.
- Mixed sizes with a 24×36 anchor: 2.5 to 3 in.
- Large frames (24×36 and up) side by side: 3 to 4 in.
Measure gaps from frame edge to frame edge, not from print to print. Remember the frame adds to the outside size. A framed 16×24 with a .875 in frame is 17.75×25.75 in on the wall.
Picking sizes that work together
Mixed-size walls look neater when all the pieces share one proportion. Every Hangkind piece is printed at 2:3, in 8×12, 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 and 30×45. Because the proportion is the same, a 12×18 next to a 24×36 is the same shape at half the size. Their edges line up naturally, and two 12×18s stacked with a gap come out close to the height of one 24×36.
A few combinations that fit together without fuss:
| Wall | Combination | Approx. width |
|---|---|---|
| Above a 72 in sofa | Six 12×18 in a 3×2 grid | 46 in |
| Above a 90 in sofa | One 24×36 anchor, one 16×24, one 12×18, two 8×12 | 62 in |
| Above a queen bed | Two 16×24 side by side, or three 12×18 in a row | 38 to 46 in |
| Above a 48 in console | Four 12×18 in a 2×2 grid | 30 in |
| Hallway | Four or five pieces on one center line, 12×18 and 16×24 alternating | Follows the wall |
| Staircase | Salon mix stepping up with the stairs, center line 57–60 in above each tread | Follows the stairs |
If you're building the wall from small pieces, the small wall art collection gathers the work that reads well at 8×12 and 12×18. For an anchor, start in large wall art.
Frames: match them or mix on purpose
The frames hold a gallery wall together more than the art does. You have two good options and one bad one.
- All one finish. The safest choice, and what makes a grid look finished. Black frames sharpen graphic and photographic work. White disappears on a white wall and lets the art float. Natural oak warms up a room full of greys and creams.
- A deliberate mix. Two finishes, used in a pattern, such as black on the anchor and outer corners with oak in between. Or wood for paper prints and floating frames for canvases. It should look chosen.
- Whatever arrived. Five different frame colors and profiles is what makes a gallery wall look like a noticeboard. Avoid it.
Our framed prints use one .875 in solid wood profile in natural oak, white or black with an acrylic front. So every size from 8×12 to 24×36 has the same frame width, which is exactly what you want in a group. Framed canvases sit in a slim floating frame in walnut, natural oak or black. One canvas as the anchor among paper prints works well, as the extra depth makes it the clear center.
Mixing subjects without chaos
A gallery wall can hold a landscape, a cocktail print and a portrait. It just needs a thread running through it. Pick one:
- Color: two or three colors that turn up in most pieces, such as blues and sand, or black, cream and one red.
- Subject: places you've been, the coast, botanicals, cars. The travel and landscape collections are easy starting points.
- Medium: all photographic, or all illustrated pieces, with the subjects free to wander.
Then let the anchor set the tone, and choose the smaller pieces to agree with it rather than compete.
How to hang it, step by step
- Lay it out on the floor. Mark your rectangle on the floor with tape, then arrange the frames inside it. Move things until it looks right from standing height. Take a photo.
- Make paper templates. Trace each frame onto kraft paper or the inside of its box, cut it out, and mark where the hanger sits on the back.
- Tape the templates to the wall. Use the floor photo as your map. Live with it for a day; this is the cheapest point to change your mind.
- Start with the anchor. Hang the largest piece first, through its template, then work outward so the gaps build from a fixed point.
- Use a level and a spacer. A scrap of wood or card cut to your gap width (2.5 in, say) makes every gap identical without measuring each one.
- Tear the paper away and step back to the doorway. Adjust anything more than a quarter inch off.
Renting? Small paper prints in light frames hang on adhesive strips rated for their weight. Anything 24×36 and up, and any canvas, deserves a proper picture hook or a screw and anchor.
Common mistakes
- Too small for the wall. A tight cluster of 8×12s above a big sofa looks lost. Fill two thirds of the width.
- Too high. A gallery wall that starts 20 in above the sofa floats away from it. Keep the bottom 8 to 10 in above.
- Uneven gaps. Pick one gap and hold it everywhere.
- No anchor in a salon wall. Without one larger piece, a mixed group has nothing to organize around.
- Buying everything at once. A gallery wall can grow. Hang the anchor and two or three pieces, leave room inside the rectangle, and add as you find work you love.
Shop the guide
The collections this guide points to.
