A gallery wall tells a story: memories, a collection, a colour palette. Done well, it becomes the centrepiece of a living room; improvised, it can quickly look cluttered. It all comes down to the layout and the spacing.
Three layouts that work
- The grid: identical frames lined up in rows and columns, with the same spacing throughout. Very graphic, it shows off a series: four watercolours, six prints… Allow 4, 6 or 9 frames.
- The single line: all the frames aligned along one horizontal line, by their top or bottom edges, or simply stood on a picture ledge. Easy to change: you swap the artworks around without drilling new holes.
- The freeform arrangement: varied sizes grouped around a larger central artwork. It is the liveliest layout, but also the trickiest: keep the spacing even and an overall outline that roughly forms a rectangle.
Spacing
Leave 5 to 8 cm between the frames. Any closer and they seem to touch; any further apart and they no longer read as a group. What matters most is keeping the same spacing throughout: that is what creates a sense of order, even with different sizes.
Creating cohesion
- One frame colour, two at most: all black for a gallery look, oak and white for a softer mood. See how to choose a frame.
- A common thread: a shared style (all Japanese prints, all line art), a colour palette or a single theme.
- A mount on every frame, or on none: it brings together artworks of different sizes.
- One larger artwork to anchor a freeform arrangement, surrounded by smaller sizes (20 × 30, 18 × 24, 13 × 18).
For a perfectly matched series, create several artworks with the same style, the same mood and the same palette, changing only the scene you describe: they will have a real family resemblance.
A few typical layouts
| Wall | Layout | Sizes |
|---|---|---|
| Above a 2 m sofa | Grid of 6 | Six 30 × 40 with mounts: about 1.40 × 1.12 m in total |
| Above a 1.50 m sideboard | Line of 3 | Three 20 × 30 with mounts: about 1.05 m wide |
| Hallway | Line of 4 or 5 | 18 × 24 or 20 × 30, at eye level |
| Large living-room wall | Freeform arrangement | One 50 × 70 surrounded by 30 × 40, 20 × 30 and 13 × 18 |
As for height, the centre of the group sits about 1.50 m from the floor: see how high to hang a picture.
