How to Create a Gallery Wall with Art Prints (Without Getting It Wrong)

A gallery wall done well is one of the most impactful things you can do to a room. It creates personality, warmth, and the sense of a space that someone actually lives in and cares about. A gallery wall done badly looks chaotic, cheap, and like work.

The difference, almost always, comes down to a small number of decisions made early. Here's how to make the right ones.

Start with a Concept, Not a Collection

The most common mistake is buying prints you individually like and then trying to make them work together. A much better approach is to start with a concept that ties things together — then find prints that fit it.

Good concepts for gallery walls:

• A theme — all dog breeds, all UK cities, all literary classics
• A colour palette — prints that share one or two dominant colours, even if the subjects differ completely
• A style — all minimalist, all vintage, all line art
• A place — a collection of prints all connected to a specific part of the world you love

The concept doesn't have to be rigid, but having one makes every subsequent decision easier.

Sizing: The Grid vs. the Organic Arrangement

Two main approaches work reliably well. Everything else tends to look accidental rather than considered.

The grid — all prints the same size, evenly spaced, in a clean rectangular arrangement. This requires precision (a level is essential) but looks extremely good when executed well. Works particularly well with a coherent collection — all dog breeds, or all city prints.

The organic arrangement — a central statement piece (usually A1 or A2) surrounded by smaller prints (A4 or A3) in a less formal layout. Harder to achieve well, but can look more personal and interesting. The trick is to plan the arrangement on the floor before you put anything on the wall.

A common mistake is mixing too many different sizes without a clear centre of gravity. Pick one dominant size and one secondary size; avoid going beyond two.

Framing: When to Match, When Not To

Matching frames (all black, all natural oak, all white) creates cohesion and makes the prints themselves the focus. This is the safest approach and usually the most effective.

Mixing frames can work, but only when the frames themselves share something — similar materials, or similar weights. A combination of chunky black and thin gold looks intentional; a random mix of whatever came to hand looks like it didn't.

For a first gallery wall, identical frames are the lowest-risk choice. IKEA's RIBBA range covers A4, A3, and A2 in black and white, fits standard gallery wall print sizes, and maintains consistent depth across sizes — which matters more than people think.

Spacing and Height

The standard recommendation is 5–8 cm between frames. Less than that risks looking cluttered; more than that starts to look like individual prints rather than a curated display.

The centre of the arrangement should sit at roughly eye level — around 150–155 cm from the floor for most people. For a wall above a sofa or desk, position the bottom edge of the lowest print 20–30 cm above the furniture.

Test on the Floor First

Always plan a gallery wall on the floor before putting a single nail in the wall. Trace the frames on newspaper or brown paper, cut them out, and stick them up with masking tape. This takes 30 minutes and saves a wall full of unnecessary holes.

What to Put in a Gallery Wall

A few combinations that we've found work particularly well:

• Six dog breed prints, all A3, grid arrangement — instantly personal if you choose breeds you know
• One large statement literary print (A2) flanked by four smaller book-inspired illustrations (A4) — brilliant for a study or reading room
• A collection of UK landmark prints connected to places you've lived or visited — deeply personal and always a conversation starter
• A travel-themed arrangement mixing world cities and retro holiday prints — works brilliantly in a kitchen or living room

Browse the full Poster Skunk collection to start building yours →