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Gallery wall planner

Set your wall, pick a layout and list your frames. The plan is drawn to scale, with the group hung at eye level or just above your furniture, and every hook height worked out.

A salon of 6 frames, 70½ in wide and 32½ in tall, 7¾ in above the furniture, with 2½ in between frames.Eye level, 58 in12345670½ in32½ inWall 144 in wide, 96 in high. Brass dots mark the hooks.

A salon of 6 frames, 70½ in wide and 32½ in tall, 7¾ in above the furniture, with 2½ in between frames.

Where each frame and hook goes
Frame Size Left edge, from the wall's left end Top edge, from the floor Hook, from the floor Hook, from the wall's left end
1 24 × 30 in 64¾ in 73 in 70 in 76¾ in
2 11 × 14 in 51¼ in 55¾ in 52¾ in 56¾ in
3 11 × 14 in 36¾ in 65 in 62 in 42¼ in
4 16 × 20 in 91¼ in 74¼ in 71¼ in 99¼ in
5 8 × 10 in 91¼ in 51¾ in 48¾ in 95¼ in
6 12 × 16 in 50¼ in 74¼ in 71¼ in 56¼ in

Hook heights assume the wire pulls up 3 in below the top of each frame (less on small frames). Measure yours and adjust: hook height = the frame’s center + half its height − the wire drop.

How the plan is worked out

The frames are arranged first, as one group. A grid gives every frame the same cell, sized to the largest frame, and centers a short last row. A salon puts the largest frame in the middle and stacks the others in columns either side, each column centered on the middle of the largest frame. A row lines the frames up on one center line, and a column stacks them on one upright line.

Then the group is hung as if it were a single picture. On a bare wall its middle sits 58 in (147 cm) from the floor, the height galleries use. Above a sofa, bed or console its bottom edge sits 6 to 10 in above the furniture, and the group looks best at two thirds to three quarters of the furniture’s width. The hanging height guide explains both rules, and gallery wall layouts that work has more on each layout.

  1. Measure the wall. Measure the width of the wall and the ceiling height. If the group will hang over a sofa or console, measure the height of its top and its width too.
  2. Choose a layout. Pick a grid, a salon cluster, a row or a column to suit the wall.
  3. List your frames. Enter the outside size of each frame. Keep 2 to 3 in between frames.
  4. Mark the wall. Use the table: measure each frame’s left edge from the left end of the wall, and each hook height from the floor, and mark them in pencil.
  5. Hang and level. Set each hook on its mark, hang the frames, and level each one.

Paintings for a gallery wall