Gallery wall ideas: five layouts that always work

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 2–3 in 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 colors or two parts of a series – and center the pair on the sofa, not on the wall.

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.

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 color.

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.

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-center, 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.

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.

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 colors. The motifs can be completely different as long as a few colors come back across the wall. Our gallery wall guide by Studio In goes deeper into color.

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: