How to create a gallery wall: layout templates and tips

The gallery wall has been a staple of effective interior design for a good few years now. It’s a simple, timeless way to add detail to a bare wall and can be updated with ease alongside décor changes. Really – if you’re not rocking at least one gallery wall in your home, you need to jump on this trend!

The thing with gallery walls, though, is they take a bit of planning. If you chuck a load of framed prints up on a wall and hope for the best, you’ll end up with a mishmash of styles at weird angles and odd spaces, giving an overall look that just doesn’t work. Although a gallery wall may appear laidback and thrown together… there’s a bit more to it than that. So read on for our tips on how to create the perfect gallery wall.

What is a gallery wall?

Let’s start with the basics. A gallery wall is a display of framed images – prints, original artworks, photos, postcards – hung in a cluster on a single wall. Gallery walls mimic the way art is displayed in galleries (hence the name!), where you’ll find pieces gathered in collections and hung together to create a single aesthetic.

The gallery wall offers an alternative to traditional ways of hanging frames. Rather than that linear style – where each frame follows a single line and one sits neatly next to the other – the gallery style is more fluid, with frames sitting at various heights and spreading up and down a wall as well as across it.

Depending on your personal style, gallery walls can use a mix of frames including wood, metal and plastic, or they can follow a uniform look with a single frame style. You can also choose to hang your frames in a clean pattern, so they form a rectangle, or sit them at differing points so the boundaries of the gallery wall are less defined. It’s up to you!

Why is the gallery wall so popular?

Gallery walls work well in modern homes as they create interesting focal points. And although there’s an element of randomness in gathering various frames and artworks together, there’s often a cohesion that works with the rest of the room – like a complementary colour palette or stylistic element.

Gallery walls are also much more practical than other methods of displaying photography and artwork – for example, a collection of family photos hung on the wall is far more space-efficient than framed photos cluttered on a sideboard. And easier to keep clean, too!

There’s a gallery wall style to suit your home, whether you like simple minimalism or a clash of colour. It’s all in the planning…

How to plan a gallery wall

There are so many gallery wall ideas online, it can be hard to know where to start. But before you get excited and buy a job lot of walnut frames, take some time to plan, plan, plan. A successful gallery wall is always very carefully planned! Follow these simple steps to ensure yours is a winner on the first go…

Step 1: identify your space

Choosing where to put your gallery wall is an important first step. It helps if your chosen wall is flat, smooth, and free from things like shelves or windows, as this will make planning where to hang things much easier.

Gallery walls look great when anchored by furniture beneath them – so the wall behind your sofa or sideboard is a great shout. But if you’re feeling brave (and you have lots of frames!) you can attempt a full-length gallery wall for a super bold look.

Step 2: measure and prep

Once you’ve selected your gallery wall spot, measure the full space so you know the area you’re working with. Measure across the centre of the wall from one edge to the other, and then from top to bottom. If you’ll have furniture blocking any part of the wall, measure with the top or side of the furniture as your starting point. Write your measurements down.

With that done, you might as well prep the wall while you’re there – wipe it down with a damp cloth, dust any cobwebs from the corners, clean the skirting and touch up any flaked paint.

Step 3: find your theme

When it comes to choosing images for a gallery wall, it’s a good idea to consider the interior style of the rest of your room. Note the colours used in your soft furnishings and on your walls as well as the type of wood your furniture is made from. Is your room minimalist or ornate? Simple or detailed? Write down what you see.

Once you’ve got a list together, use this to decide on a theme for your gallery wall. For example, if your room features soft neutral shades you can reflect this in the prints you choose for your wall. If there are pops of blue and green in your cushions and rug, look for prints that mirror this.

Similarly with wood tones – if your room has a mix of walnut and oak furniture, look for similar frames. Flashes of metallic in wallpaper can be reflected in gilded frames, and very simple interiors look great matched with black frames.

You can mix and match elements of your theme or stick to one focused vision – as long as you consider the rest of the space, it will feel cohesive.

Step 4: gather your materials

Make creating your gallery wall easy by having all the materials to hand before you get started. Obviously, you’ll need the prints/photography/artwork and frames – more on that later. But you’ll also need…

-          A template to follow (see below)

-          A tape measure and pencil

-          Picture hooks of various sizes and weights

-          A hammer

-          A cloth

-          A step ladder

-          A spirit level

Gallery wall layout templates

To make life even easier, we’ve created four handy layout templates to use when planning your gallery wall. These templates show how you can arrange frames on your wall to suit the space, other furniture, and the number of prints you must hang, and you can adapt them to work with the surface area of your wall.

Layout 1: Simple Symmetrical

This symmetrical layout works well if you’re going for a clean, simple look. It’s an easy layout to start with if you've never done a gallery wall before - and takes only a few pictures to achieve the look! Using a mix of large and small frames, this layout is great for smaller spaces and if you’re working above a shelf or sideboard.

Layout 2: Incorporate a TV

The TV often forms a natural focal point in the living space, so why not capitalise on that and create a gallery wall around it? Treat the TV as another frame and arrange your prints across the wall in a fluid shape to detract from the hard outline of the TV itself.

Layout 3: Irregular

If you have a bit more space to play with, an irregular layout is a great way to fill the surface area without needing lots and lots of frames. Spread your prints across, up and down so they dominate the wall rather than getting lost within it.

Layout 4: Full length

This layout works particularly well alongside door frames, from ceiling to skirting board. Use larger, portrait-oriented frames in a ‘stacking’ effect to make a bold statement.

How to choose prints for a gallery wall

With your space set and your layout decided, it’s time to build your collection of prints! With your theme in mind, you’ll be able to choose prints that work well together to create a cohesive look. Here are some tips…

·         When choosing prints, mix and match the style while keeping a common colour theme

·         Think about scale – a large print will dominate, but people will come closer to see the detail on smaller prints

·         Look for prints in sets of three and break them up across your collection

·         Create more detail with a textured wall hanging

·         Bold typography works well to draw in the eye – place these prints towards the centre

Hanging your gallery wall artwork

It is time - you’re ready to hang those frames! And this is the tricky bit, so let’s get into it.

Start by finding the centre of your gallery wall. You have the total wall measurements, so divide first the height and then the width by two to get the mid-point, then measure to this part of the wall and draw a dot with your pencil.

Next, lay all your frames out on the floor in your chosen layout and measure the total height and width it spans. Back on the wall, work out from the centre and put a dot at each corner of the gallery layout using the height and width measurements. Now you have the total overall span of your gallery wall in place, centred on the wall.

To start hanging, begin with the top lefthand corner frame. Measure the distance from the corner of the frame to the hanging attachment, and then from the top of the frame to the hanger. Mark these measurements on the wall then knock a nail in at that point and add your picture hook. And repeat!

Work your way from left to move downwards right then stepping back often to assess how things are looking. Don’t worry if a frame looks slightly off – just measure again and adjust the nail. Any rogue holes will be covered by the print, so you can adapt as you go if needed. If you’re working to a uniform shape, use a spirit level to make sure your frames are in-line with each other.

When all your frames are on the wall, move any furniture back into place and look at the wall from all angles, ensuring you’re happy with the placement. If the gallery wall is beneath a sofa, take great care to check that leaning back against it won’t cause any frames to fall. Walk past it a few times, close the door, plop down on the sofa, etc – give it the real-life test!

Gallery wall maintenance

So your gallery wall is in place and you’re delighted with it – well done! The hard part is done and now you can sit back and enjoy your work.

Make sure you show off your gallery wall to its full potential with some simple maintenance:

Don’t forget to tag us in your gallery wall shots on Instagram, and shop our range our posters and photo frames for your next gallery wall project!