Gallery wall layouts with sizes: templates for 3, 6 and 9 frames

Three templates with real measurements: a row of 3, a grid of 6 and a grid of 9, each worked out in inches and centimetres, plus the paper method for hanging them level.

wallnine19 September 2026

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Nine matching thin-framed abstract prints hung in a three-by-three grid above a linen sofa in soft daylight.

A gallery wall layout is a sum before it is a design. Three numbers decide whether it looks right: the size of each frame, the gap between frames, and the width of whatever sits underneath. Work those out on paper first and the hanging is the easy part.

Below are three templates: a row of 3, a grid of 6 and a grid of 9, worked out for common frame sizes in inches and centimetres. Check each total against your sofa, bed or bare wall, then hang it level with the paper method at the end.

Four rules that size a gallery wall

Width above furniture: about two-thirds to three-quarters as wide as the piece below. Over an 84 in (213 cm) sofa that is 56 to 63 in (142 to 160 cm).
Height on an empty wall: the centre of the whole group, not of each frame, about 57 in (145 cm) from the floor. It is the eye-level figure galleries use.
Height above furniture: 6 to 10 in (15 to 25 cm) between the furniture and the bottom row. Here the gap sets the height.
Gaps: 2 to 3 in (5 to 8 cm) between frames, identical in both directions.

Two wall elevations at one scale under a 96 in (244 cm) ceiling. Left, an empty wall: nine 12 x 16 in frames with 2 in gaps form a group 40 in wide and 52 in high (102 x 132 cm), centred 57 in (145 cm) from the floor, so its bottom edge is at 31 in (79 cm) and its top at 83 in (211 cm). Right, above an 84 in (213 cm) sofa with a back 34 in (86 cm) high: three 18 x 24 in frames form a row 58 in (147 cm) wide, hung 8 in (20 cm) above the sofa back within the 6 to 10 in (15 to 25 cm) range; two-thirds of the sofa is 56 in (142 cm) and the centre of the row lands at 54 in (137 cm). — The two height rules, to scale. On an empty wall the centre of the group sits at 57 in (145 cm); above furniture the 6 to 10 in (15 to 25 cm) gap decides.

The sum behind every gallery wall layout

Total width is the number of frames across times the frame width, plus the gaps between them. Three frames have two gaps, so three 11 in (27.9 cm) frames with 2 in (5 cm) gaps measure 11 + 2 + 11 + 2 + 11 = 37 in (94 cm). Height works the same way down a column. No gallery wall planner is needed, only a tape measure.

A frame's named size is the print or mat it holds, not its outside edge. A 3/4 in (2 cm) moulding makes a frame about 1.5 in (4 cm) wider and taller than its name. The templates below use named sizes so they compare; before you drill, measure the outside of your own frames and redo the sum.

Three gallery wall templates drawn to scale over an 84 in (213 cm) sofa with a back 34 in (86 cm) high, each with 2 in (5 cm) gaps and its bottom row 8 in (20 cm) above the sofa back. Three 18 x 24 in frames in a row measure 58 x 24 in (147 x 61 cm), 69% of the sofa width. Six 16 x 20 in frames in two rows of three measure 52 x 42 in (132 x 107 cm), 62% of the sofa width. Nine 11 x 14 in frames in a three-by-three grid measure 37 x 46 in (94 x 117 cm), 44% of the sofa width. A bar on each sofa marks two-thirds of its width, 56 in (142 cm). — The three templates at one scale over the same 84 in (213 cm) sofa. The bar on the sofa back marks two-thirds of its width.

Gallery wall template for 3 frames in a row

Three portrait frames side by side with 2 in (5 cm) gaps. Each line gives the frame size, then the total width by height. After this list, frame sizes are named in inches only.

8 x 10 in (20.3 x 25.4 cm) frames — 28 x 10 in (71 x 25 cm)
11 x 14 in (27.9 x 35.6 cm) frames — 37 x 14 in (94 x 36 cm)
12 x 16 in (30.5 x 40.6 cm) frames — 40 x 16 in (102 x 41 cm)
16 x 20 in (40.6 x 50.8 cm) frames — 52 x 20 in (132 x 51 cm)
18 x 24 in (45.7 x 61 cm) frames — 58 x 24 in (147 x 61 cm)

With 3 in (8 cm) gaps, add 2 in (5 cm) to each width. Over the 84 in (213 cm) sofa, three 18 x 24 in frames at 58 in (147 cm) sit inside the two-thirds to three-quarters band. Three 16 x 20 in frames at 52 in (132 cm) fall 4 in (10 cm) short of it, and the wider gap halves that.

Above a bed 60 in (152 cm) wide, two-thirds is 40 in (102 cm): exactly three 12 x 16 in frames. A single row suits a bedroom gallery wall, where a tall headboard leaves less wall.

Gallery wall template for 6 frames: two rows of three

The widths match the row of three. The height is two frames plus one gap.

8 x 10 in frames — 28 x 22 in (71 x 56 cm)
11 x 14 in frames — 37 x 30 in (94 x 76 cm)
12 x 16 in frames — 40 x 34 in (102 x 86 cm)
16 x 20 in frames — 52 x 42 in (132 x 107 cm)

For living room gallery wall ideas built on matching frames, measure this grid first: it is wide and not very tall. Six 16 x 20 in frames hung 8 in (20 cm) above a sofa back 34 in (86 cm) high reach 84 in (213 cm), leaving 12 in (30 cm) under an 8 ft (244 cm) ceiling.

For a narrow wall, turn the grid on its side. Three rows of two 11 x 14 in frames measure 24 x 46 in (61 x 117 cm).

Gallery wall template for 9 frames: a three-by-three grid

With portrait frames the grid is taller than it is wide, so height is the limit, not width.

8 x 10 in frames — 28 x 34 in (71 x 86 cm)
11 x 14 in frames — 37 x 46 in (94 x 117 cm)
12 x 16 in frames — 40 x 52 in (102 x 132 cm)
16 x 20 in frames — 52 x 64 in (132 x 163 cm)

Over the same sofa, nine 11 x 14 in frames top out at 88 in (224 cm), leaving 8 in (20 cm) below an 8 ft (244 cm) ceiling. Nine 12 x 16 in frames would reach 94 in (239 cm), which is too close. So above furniture a grid of nine usually means 8 x 10 or 11 x 14 in frames, and a group narrower than two-thirds of the sofa. Larger sizes want an empty wall: centred at 57 in (145 cm), nine 16 x 20 in frames run from 25 in (63.5 cm) to 89 in (226 cm) off the floor.

The print has to match the frame's shape as well as its size. 8 x 10 and 16 x 20 in are 4:5, 12 x 16 and 18 x 24 in are 3:4, and 11 x 14 in is its own ratio, so a file cut for one will not fill another without cropping or a mat.

On wallnine a set is 3, 6 or 9 artworks made to hang together, with files cut to the common frame ratios. The files a set ships with are listed on its own page, so check the ratio against your frames before you print.

How to hang a gallery wall with paper templates

Trace each frame onto kraft paper or newspaper and cut it out. Cut a card spacer as wide as your gap.
On the back of the frame, measure from the top edge down to the hanging point, with any wire pulled taut. Mark that distance down from the paper's top edge, centred across its width. For two hooks, mark each hanger's position, level with each other.
Pencil the centre line of the sofa or wall, then the height of the bottom row or the group's centre.
Tape the centre column of papers up with low-tack painter's tape, a spirit level on each top edge and the spacer in each gap. Work outwards.
Step back and measure the whole group against your sum. Move paper, not frames.
Drive the nail or screw through each mark, tear the paper away and hang the frame.
Level each frame. Small adhesive bumpers on the bottom corners hold it square to the wall.

Match the fixing to the wall and the frame's weight, and check the rating printed on the pack. Adhesive picture-hanging strips avoid holes on smooth painted walls, and the same templates place them. In a grid, two hooks per frame stop it drifting out of true.

Questions people ask

How far apart should gallery wall frames be?

2 to 3 in (5 to 8 cm), and the same everywhere. Consistency matters more than the exact figure.

How high should a gallery wall be above a sofa?

Leave 6 to 10 in (15 to 25 cm) between the sofa back and the bottom row. On an empty wall, centre the whole group about 57 in (145 cm) from the floor.

How do you make a gallery wall template?

Trace each frame onto paper, cut it out and mark where the nail goes. Tape the papers up with a level and a spacer, adjust until the group matches your measurements, then nail through the paper.

Is a gallery wall frame set easier than mixing frames?

For a grid, yes, if the frames are identical: matching outside dimensions keep the gaps even. Check the outside measurement, and whether a mat is included, because a mat changes the print size you need.