A gallery wall is the project people most often start and least often finish: frames bought one at a time, an afternoon of holding them up, too many nail holes, a layout that drifts sideways. The fix isn't more taste. It's deciding the whole layout, with measurements, before the first nail.
Here are six layouts I'd hang in my own house, each with its piece sizes, one gap, and its footprint: the outside width and height of the whole group. Pick the one that fits your wall, then plan it on paper.
What rules apply to every gallery wall?
Four: one gap between every frame, the whole group hung as a single piece, a footprint sized to the furniture below it, and at least 12″ (30 cm) of clear wall above it. Get those right and almost any set of frames looks planned.
- One gap, everywhere. Every template here uses 3″ (8 cm) between frames, side to side and top to bottom. Mixed gaps are the main reason a gallery wall looks accidental.
- The group is one piece. Centre the footprint at 57″ (145 cm) on a bare wall, or put the bottom of the lowest frame 8″ (20 cm) above a sofa, bed or sideboard (the arithmetic).
- Size the footprint to the furniture. Two-thirds to three-quarters of its width: 56 to 63″ (142 to 160 cm) above an 84″ sofa, 40 to 45″ (102 to 114 cm) above a 60″ queen bed.
- Leave 12″ (30 cm) of wall above it. If it doesn't, choose a shorter template.
Sizes below are the outside of the frame, width first.
Template 1: Grid of four
Four portrait pieces, 16 × 20″ (41 × 51 cm), in two rows of two.
- Footprint: 35 × 43″ (89 × 109 cm).
- Where it fits: a bare wall, a hallway, above a console or a desk.
- On a bare wall, centred at 57″, the bottom edge sits at 35.5″ (90 cm) and the top at 78.5″ (199 cm).
The easiest gallery wall there is: it looks considered with almost any four images that share a palette.
Template 2: Grid of six
Six squares, 18 × 18″ (46 × 46 cm), in two rows of three.
- Footprint: 60 × 39″ (152 × 99 cm).
- Where it fits: above an 84″ (213 cm) sofa, where it spans 71% of the width.
- Above a sofa with a 34″ back: bottom edge at 42″, top at 81″, leaving 15″ (38 cm) below an 8 foot ceiling.
Squares look tight and deliberate. A good format for a series of six prints.
Template 3: Grid of nine
Nine squares, 12 × 12″ (30 × 30 cm), in three rows of three.
- Footprint: 42 × 42″ (107 × 107 cm).
- Where it fits: above a queen bed (70% of a 60″ mattress), a bare wall in a dining room, or a stair landing.
Nine small pieces read as one large square from across the room and as nine things up close. The best layout I know for small, detailed work.
Template 4: Anchor and two
One vertical anchor, 30 × 40″ (76 × 102 cm), with a 16 × 20″ (41 × 51 cm) piece either side, each centred on the anchor's middle line.
- Footprint: 68 × 40″ (173 × 102 cm).
- Where it fits: above a 96″ (244 cm) sofa or sectional, where it spans 71%.
- Above a 34″ sofa back: bottom of the anchor at 42″, top at 82″.
The layout for a piece you love that isn't quite big enough on its own. Keep the side pieces quieter than the anchor.
Template 5: Five in two rows
Three portrait pieces on top, 16 × 20″ (41 × 51 cm), and two landscape pieces below, 24 × 18″ (61 × 46 cm). Both rows are centred on the same line, so the lower row sits 1.5″ (4 cm) in from each side.
- Footprint: 54 × 41″ (137 × 104 cm).
- Where it fits: above a 72″ (183 cm) loveseat (75% of its width) or a 76″ king bed (71%).
- Above a 34″ loveseat back: bottom at 42″, top at 83″.
The longer row goes on top, so the group doesn't look bottom-heavy. Our sample walls use the same order.
Template 6: Column of three
Three landscape pieces, 16 × 12″ (41 × 30 cm), stacked one above another.
- Footprint: 16 × 42″ (41 × 107 cm).
- Where it fits: a narrow wall between two windows, beside a door, at the end of a hallway.
- Centred at 57″, the bottom edge sits at 36″ (91 cm) and the top at 78″ (198 cm).
A column turns a strip of wall nobody uses into a feature. Leave at least 8″ (20 cm) each side, so it needs 32″ (81 cm) of wall.
How do you plan a gallery wall before hanging it?
On paper. Cut a template of every frame, mark each hanging point, lay them out on the floor with a 3″ spacer, then tape them to the wall from the centre out and live with them for a day. You nail through the paper, so every hole is right first time.
- Trace each frame on kraft paper or the back of wrapping paper, and cut it out. Write its size on it.
- Mark the hanging point on each template: measure from the top of the frame to the taut wire or the D-rings, and mark that spot on the paper.
- Lay it out on the floor with a 3″ spacer cut from card, and check the footprint matches the template.
- Tape the centre piece to the wall with painter's tape, at its final height, and check it's level. Then add the others around it, spacer in every gap.
- Live with it for a day. Move a sheet if something's off; it's free.
- Nail through the paper at each marked hanging point, then tear the paper away and hang the frame.
Work from the centre out, never from one end.
Can you mix frames and images in a gallery wall?
Yes, as long as the pieces share one thing: the same frame colour, palette, subject or artist. One shared thread and the rest can vary. None, and it looks like storage. If you're unsure, keep the frames identical and let the images differ; a single palette, like Quiet neutrals or Botanicals, does the rest.
See it before you hang it
Paper shows you the footprint; Your Blank Wall shows you the art. Upload a photo of your wall, give it the width and floor-to-ceiling height, mark the corners, and any piece appears at approximate scale. On a series page, you can choose several prints, pick a row, a grid or a column, and see them on your wall as one group, 3″ apart, centred at 57″ or 8″ above the furniture.
The quickest start is pieces made to hang together: Pairs and series, or the series filter for prints from one artist in matching sizes, which drop straight into Templates 2, 3 and 6. For a column beside a door, look in Small spaces; for just two or three pieces, the pairs and triptychs guide is simpler.
Questions we get asked
3″ (8 cm) suits most homes, and anywhere from 2 to 4″ (5 to 10 cm) works as long as you use it everywhere. 2″ (5 cm) feels tighter and suits small frames. Above 4″ (10 cm), the pieces start to read as separate.
Yes, sized and hung by the same rules, 8″ above the headboard. Use two hooks per frame so nothing tilts when the bed is bumped. To light one, see how to light art.