Gallery wall layout template
Enter the grid, the frame size, the gap and the wall you're working with, and this positions every frame from one shared reference point. Print the gap spacer below at true size — it's the one measurement in a gallery wall that goes wrong by eye.
57" is the gallery eye-level convention
Grid size
Width
27"
Height
35"
Every frame's position
- Row 1, column 177 1/2" from the floor to the top edge
- 10 1/2" from the left
- Row 1, column 277 1/2" from the floor to the top edge
- 25 1/2" from the left
- Row 2, column 158 1/2" from the floor to the top edge
- 10 1/2" from the left
- Row 2, column 258 1/2" from the floor to the top edge
- 25 1/2" from the left
Gap spacer, at true size
Print at 100%, check the ruler, then cut along the two ticks and use the strip between it as a spacer while you hang each frame.
Put a tape on the printed ruler. If it does not read exactly 6 inches, the print was scaled — set the print dialog to 100% or “Actual size” and print it again. Do not cut wood from a template that failed this.
Cut between the two ticks. The strip's own length is the gap — hold it between two frames while marking the next one.
Check what's behind the wall
This lays out positions, not what each one lands on. Land on a stud where you can; where you can't, use anchors rated for the frame's weight.
Printing this properly
In the print dialog, set the scale to 100% or “Actual size” and turn off “Fit to page”. Measure the printed ruler with a tape before you trust the spacer's width.
About laying out a gallery wall
- What gap should I leave between gallery wall frames?
- 2" to 3" is the common range — tight enough to read as one composition, loose enough that each frame still stands on its own. Much less and the frames crowd each other; much more and the wall reads as separate pieces rather than a grid.
- Why isn't there a printable template for the whole wall?
- You already own the frames — there's nothing to print at true size about a rectangle you can hold in your hands. What actually goes wrong by eye is the gap between them, which is why that's the one thing this prints: a physical spacer at the exact gap width, the same job a scrap block does spacing deck boards.
- How do I use the position numbers to mark the wall?
- Pick one reference point — usually the wall's own left edge and the floor — and use a tape to walk out each frame's left and top from there, checking level as you go. Working from one shared reference is what keeps small errors from compounding frame to frame the way they would if you measured each frame from its neighbour instead.
- Should the whole grid really be centered at eye level?
- 57" to the center is the standard gallery convention, the same one the single-picture template uses — but a gallery wall over a sofa or a console table is usually anchored to that furniture instead, sitting a consistent distance above it rather than at a fixed floor height. Adjust the center height to whatever the wall is actually answering to.