Gallery Wall Ideas: 5 Easy Layouts for A4 Prints
A gallery wall sounds like a weekend project with a tape measure, a spirit level and a lot of swearing. It doesn’t have to be. With A4 prints you can put together a small, good-looking gallery wall in an afternoon, and three prints is plenty to start with.
Below are five layouts that work every time, each shown with our prints in a real room, plus the spacing, height and framing tips that make it look deliberate rather than random.
At a glance
- All five layouts use A4 prints (21 × 29.7 cm) in standard frames
- Leave 5 to 8 cm between frames
- Hang the middle of the group at about eye level, roughly 145 to 150 cm from the floor
- Above furniture, leave 20 to 25 cm between the furniture and the bottom of the frames
- Every print is £15.50 with free UK delivery, and buy 2, get a 3rd free, so a set of three costs £31
Jump to: The mantel lean · The row · The stack · The triangle · The grid · How to hang it · Frames · FAQs
1. The mantel lean
The easiest gallery wall of all, because nothing goes on the wall. Stand three frames along a mantelpiece or a deep shelf and you’re done. No drilling, and you can swap prints with the seasons.
Make it work: keep the three frames the same size and evenly spaced, then add something taller at one end, like a vase of dried grasses or a pair of candlesticks, so the line doesn’t look too stiff. Three prints with a shared theme, here a little band of medieval animal warriors, read as one piece.
Frog Wizard
A frog wizard with a staff and spectacles, straight out of an old fairy-tale book.
£15.50 · See the print
Rat Knight
A rat in full armour with sword and shield. Small, brave and slightly ridiculous.
£15.50 · See the print
2. The row
Three frames side by side, with the tops level and the gaps equal. It’s the classic layout above a bed, a sofa or a sideboard, and it’s hard to get wrong.
Make it work: aim for the group to cover about two-thirds of the width of the furniture underneath, and leave 20 to 25 cm between the headboard or sofa back and the bottom of the frames. Soft botanicals like these suit a bedroom; for a living room, try three animal prints instead.
Tulip in an Urn
Tulips spilling out of a classical urn, drawn like an old seed catalogue plate.
£15.50 · See the print
Peach
A halved peach with its leaves and stone, in the style of a Victorian fruit study.
£15.50 · See the print
3. The stack
Three frames in a column. It’s the answer for the awkward narrow bits of wall: between two windows, beside a door, at the end of a hallway or above a reading chair.
Make it work: line the frames up down the middle and keep the gaps a little tighter than usual, about 5 cm, so the column reads as one piece. A vertical stack draws the eye upwards, which makes a low ceiling feel taller. Anatomy prints look especially good like this, as if torn from the same old medical book.
Labelled Brain Anatomy
An old-style neurology diagram, labelled like a lecture-hall chart.
£15.50 · See the print
Skeleton Anatomy Chart
Labelled bones, spine and skull, like a page from a Victorian anatomy book.
£15.50 · See the print
4. The triangle
Two frames on top and one centred underneath. It has a bit more movement than a row and fits nicely above a chest of drawers, a console table or a narrow desk.
Make it work: put your favourite print at the bottom, where the eye lands first, and keep the gap between the two rows the same as the gap between the top two frames. Symbols and sigils work well here because the shapes balance each other out.
Alchemical Ouroboros
The snake eating its own tail, from old alchemy emblem books.
£15.50 · See the print
As Above, So Below
Eliphas Levi’s famous seal of Solomon, the classic “as above, so below” image.
£15.50 · See the print
5. The grid
Six frames in two rows of three. A grid is the most “gallery” of the five layouts: it turns lots of small prints into one big statement, and it fills a wide wall over a sofa, a dining table or a desk.
Make it work: a grid only looks right if it’s precise, so use identical frames and measure the gaps carefully, 5 to 6 cm all round. Then have fun with what goes in it. A gentleman pufferfish next to a royal chimp is exactly the kind of thing guests stop to look at.
Rat Knight
A rat in full armour with sword and shield. Small, brave and slightly ridiculous.
£15.50 · See the print
How to hang a gallery wall (without a wall full of holes)
- Plan it on the floor first. Lay the frames out on the floor in front of the wall and move them around until the spacing looks right.
- Make paper templates. Cut a piece of paper to the size of each frame, mark where the hook will go, and tape the templates to the wall. Live with them for a day if you’re not sure.
- Start in the middle. Hang the centre frame first at eye level, then work outwards, using a spirit level as you go.
- Use the right fixings. A4 frames are light, so small picture hooks are usually enough. On smooth painted walls you can use removable picture-hanging strips instead, as long as you check the weight limit on the packet.
How to choose prints that go together
The easiest way to make a gallery wall look planned is to pick one thing that ties the prints together: a theme (botanicals, anatomy, animals, the occult), a colour, or a frame. Ours have a head start, because every print is made on the same vintage-style paper we make ourselves in Manchester, so they all share the same warm, aged tone and sit happily next to each other even when the subjects are completely different.
What size frame do A4 prints need?
A standard A4 frame (21 × 29.7 cm) fits our prints edge to edge, and you’ll find them in most homeware shops. For a more finished, gallery look, use a 30 × 40 cm frame with a mount cut for A4, which gives each print a border of breathing space. We photograph ours in dark wood frames because they suit the aged look of the paper, but black and brass both work well too. Whatever you choose, use the same frame for every print in the group.
Gallery wall FAQs
How far apart should the frames be?
Between 5 and 8 cm. Closer than that and the frames look crowded, further apart and they stop reading as a group.
How high should I hang a gallery wall?
Put the middle of the whole group at about eye level, roughly 145 to 150 cm from the floor. Above a sofa, bed or sideboard, leave 20 to 25 cm between the furniture and the bottom of the frames.
How many prints do I need?
Three is enough for a small gallery wall: a row, a stack, a triangle or a mantel lean. For a grid, go for six.
Are your prints framed?
No. Every print is A4 and sent unframed and flat in a rigid mailer, so it fits any standard A4 frame.
How much does a set of three cost?
£31. Every print is £15.50, and when you buy two the third is free. The discount comes off automatically in your basket, and UK delivery is free.
Ready to start yours? Browse our botanical prints, anatomy prints, animal prints and occult prints, or have a look at all our prints.