How to create a gallery wall

A good gallery wall has a reason to exist. It might hold a colour from the room, a run of subjects you love, or simply four prints that look right side by side. Start with that reason and the rest becomes easy.

1. Choose a common thread

Pick one thing every print shares: a colour, a subject or a mood. The Snow and Sea Wall below mixes mountains, waves and still life, but every piece stays in the same cool blues and whites, so five different prints read as one wall.

The Snow and Sea Wall: five prints held together by one cool palette.

2. Plan it on paper first

Cut a sheet of paper to the size of each frame and tape them to the wall. Live with the layout for a day before you put in a single nail, or try it on a photo of your wall with the Gallery Wall Builder.

3. Start with the largest frame

Hang the biggest piece first, slightly off centre, then build outward. On a narrow wall, stack frames vertically instead of side by side, and let a larger frame lean at floor level to finish the group.

The House Proud Trio: two prints stacked on a narrow wall, one leaning below.

4. Keep the gaps even

The space between frames matters more than the frames themselves. Keep every gap the same, usually 5 to 8 cm, and the wall reads as one piece.

5. Hang at eye level

Treat the whole set as one picture and hang its centre roughly 145 cm from the floor. Above a sofa, leave 15 to 25 cm between the sofa back and the lowest frame. Not sure which size to choose? Our Size & Fit Guide shows every print against a sofa, bed and desk.