Gallery wall ideas

Styling guide

Gallery Wall Ideas That Actually Look Planned

The best gallery wall ideas share one secret, they look relaxed but they are quietly organised, and this guide shows you how to get that balance with prints you already love.

What is a gallery wall?

A gallery wall is a group of framed prints hung together as one display instead of a single piece. Done well, the group reads as one big statement rather than a scatter of odd frames.

Start with a theme, not just frames

A gallery wall feels intentional when the pieces share a thread. Maps make this easy. Try a wall of cities you have lived in, the stops from one big trip, or three coastlines in the same colour palette.

  • Cities we have called home
  • Our travel year in five maps
  • Where we met, married, and settled

Pick a layout

Three layouts cover almost every wall:

  • The grid is even rows and columns. Calm, tidy, great for matching frames.
  • The salon is a looser cluster of mixed sizes. Warm and collected looking.
  • The row is a single line above a sofa or along a hallway. Clean and modern.

Plan it before a single nail

  1. Lay every frame on the floor and shuffle until it feels right.
  2. Cut paper templates the size of each frame.
  3. Tape the paper to the wall and stand back.
  4. Adjust, then hang through the paper and tear it away.

Getting the sizes right is half the battle. Run your wall through our poster size and frame calculator before you buy so nothing arrives too small.

Nail the spacing

Keep a steady gap between frames, usually 5 to 8 cm. The same gap everywhere is what makes a mixed group feel deliberate. Treat the whole cluster as one shape and centre that shape at eye level, about 145 cm from the floor.

Mix frames without the mess

You can mix wood and black, just repeat each finish at least twice so it looks chosen. Keep the mounts the same colour to tie everything together, even when the frames differ.

Build your wall around maps

Maps are the easy anchor for a gallery wall because they already share a look while telling your own story. Start with two or three map prints and grow from there.

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