Guides & tips

Gallery wall ideas: five layouts that always work

A gallery wall is the quickest way to make a room feel like yours – and the easiest thing to overthink. The good news is that almost every wall that works is built on one of a handful of layouts. Here are five of them, drawn to scale with the exact sizes, together with real walls you can copy straight off.

A gallery wall of six framed prints in warm neutral tones above a cream sofa with a white mushroom lamp

A gallery wall of five colourful framed prints above a white round dining table with woven oak chairs

In short

5–8cm between the frames – keep the gap the same everywhere
2/3of the furniture’s width is about right for the whole group
145–150cm from the floor to the middle of the group
1–2frame colours keep even a wild mix of motifs calm

Start with the layout, not the posters

Most gallery walls go wrong in the same way: you buy the posters you love first and try to make them fit afterwards. Turn it around. Choose a layout that suits the wall and the furniture below it, treat the whole group as one large piece, and then fill the frames.

Here are five layouts that always work, each drawn to scale with the sizes you need and shown on a real wall you can shop frame by frame. For hanging heights room by room, see our guide to hanging wall art.

1. The pair

Two prints in the same size, side by side, with 6–8 cm between them. It’s the easiest gallery wall there is, and it never looks unplanned. Choose two motifs that talk to each other – the same artist, the same colours or two parts of a series – and centre the pair on the sofa, not on the wall.

Two 50x70 above a 160 cm sofa

About 106 cm wide, two thirds of the sofa. 50x70 is our most popular size, so there’s plenty to choose from.

Two 70x100 above a 220 cm sofa

About 146 cm wide. Big enough to hold a large living room wall or the space above a wide bed.

Two abstract prints with organic shapes in olive, pink and brown in oak frames above a beige sofa

A green abstract cut-out print and a colourful still life in black frames above a woven daybed

2. The row

Three or more prints in the same size in a straight line, with exactly the same gap between every frame. A row loves long, low furniture: a sideboard, a bench or a wide sofa. Keep the frames level and the gaps identical – a row only works when it’s precise.

Three 30x40 above a 160 cm sideboard

About 102 cm wide. Calm and graphic, and easy to add to later.

Five 21x30 above a 200 cm sofa

About 129 cm wide. Small formats in a long row read as one confident line.

Three small colour-block prints in oak frames in a row above a grey modular sofa

Three colourful framed prints in a row above a white trestle desk with yellow and blue objects

3. The grid

Four, six or nine frames in the same size, in even rows and columns. The grid is the most ordered gallery wall and the easiest one to get perfect: measure once, keep every gap the same, and the wall looks designed. It’s a good way to show a series, or a mix of motifs held together by one frame colour.

Four 30x40 above a 100 cm sideboard

About 66 cm wide. A small grid for a sideboard, a desk or a chest of drawers.

Six 40x50 above a 200 cm sofa

About 132 cm wide and 106 cm tall. A grid this size fills a living room wall on its own.

4. Big and small

One large print with one or two smaller ones beside it. The large print is the anchor and sets the mood; the small ones add rhythm. Line the small frames up with the top or bottom edge of the large one, or stack two of them so they match its height – and keep the same gaps as everywhere else.

70x100 + 30x40 above a 160 cm sideboard

About 106 cm wide, with the bottom edges lined up. Works just as well above a dining table.

50x70 + two 21x30 above a 120 cm sideboard

About 77 cm wide. Two stacked 21x30 are almost exactly as tall as one 50x70, so the group reads as one shape.

An origami crane print, a dark moon print and The Great Wave in framed prints above a cream sofa

A large blue Matisse nude and a small Jazz print in oak frames above a round oak dining table

5. The salon wall

Five, six or more frames in different sizes and orientations, the way walls looked in the old Paris salons. It looks spontaneous, but it isn’t. Start with the largest print a little off-centre, build outwards, and keep the outer edges of the group roughly inside an imaginary rectangle. Mix portrait and landscape, but keep the gaps the same.

Six frames above a 200 cm sofa

About 140 cm wide: one 50x70 as the anchor, three 30x40 (one turned to landscape) and two 21x30.

Five frames above a 160 cm sideboard

About 112 cm wide: one 40x50 in the middle, two 30x40 and two 21x30.

A salon wall of framed prints in mixed sizes above a low wooden bench with ceramic vessels

A salon wall with a maneki-neko print as the centrepiece surrounded by four smaller framed prints

Or lean part of it

Not ready to drill? Lean the largest print on a sideboard, a shelf or the floor, and hang one or two smaller ones above or beside it. The layers make the wall feel relaxed and collected over time, and you can swap the motifs in a minute.

A black and white photo of a Porsche in front of a townhouse above a bouclé armchair, with an ocean print leaning against the wall below

A large orange gradient print and a small sunset print on the wall, with a sky print leaning on a console table

How to choose the posters

Start with the anchor. Pick the print you love most – often the largest – and let the others play supporting roles.

Repeat two or three colours. The motifs can be completely different as long as a few colours come back across the wall. Our gallery wall guide by Studio In goes deeper into colour.

Mix the kinds of motifs. Abstracts, photography, botanicals and typography sit well together, and the mix is what makes the wall feel personal.

Turn a frame or two. A landscape frame among the portraits gives the wall movement.

Frames: match or mix?

The frames do as much for a gallery wall as the posters. A white mat board around a small print makes it look bigger and more finished, and helps a mix of sizes feel calm – read everything about mat boards. Three ways to do the frames:

	Look	Good to know
One frame colour	Calm and gallery-like	Black or oak work with almost any motif
Two frame colours	Relaxed but tidy	For example oak with two or three black frames spread across the wall
Mixed frames	Collected over time	Keep the motifs in one palette so the wall still holds together

Plan it on the floor first

Lay the frames out on the floor until you like the composition. Trace each one on paper, mark where the hook goes, and tape the papers to the wall. Live with it for a day, then put the nails straight through the marks and pull the paper off.

How many frames do I need for a gallery wall?

Anything from two to ten works. Two or three is the easiest place to start. For a full wall above a 200 cm sofa, five to seven frames in mixed sizes, or six in a grid, fill about two thirds of the width.

How far apart should the frames be?

5–8 cm between all the frames. The exact number matters less than keeping it the same everywhere – uneven gaps are what make a gallery wall look messy.

How high should a gallery wall hang?

Treat the group as one picture and hang the middle of it about 145–150 cm from the floor. Above a sofa, leave 20–30 cm between the back of the sofa and the lowest frame.

Should all the frames be the same colour?

They don’t have to be. One colour is the calmest choice, two colours feel relaxed but tidy, and mixed frames work when the posters share a few colours.

Which sizes work best together?

21x30, 30x40 and 50x70 are the classic trio, with 40x50 and 70x100 as the next step up. Use one large size as the anchor and fill in with smaller ones.

Can I mix portrait and landscape posters?

Yes. A few landscape frames among the portraits make a salon wall feel lively. Keep the gaps the same and the outer edges of the group roughly straight.

Shop by size

Posters21x30 30x40 40x40 40x50 50x50 50x70 70x70 70x100 100x100 100x140

Frames21x30 30x40 40x50 50x50 50x70 70x70 70x100 100x100 100x140

Bestsellers to start your wall