Gallery wall: composing a balanced grid in 30 minutes

A gallery wall looks effortless when it's planned and obviously off when it isn't. The kraft-paper template method gives a perfectly balanced grid in 30 minutes, no second nail holes.

Step 1 — Lay it out on the floor

Pull every frame, print and object onto the floor in front of the wall. Move them around until the arrangement feels balanced — bigger pieces anchor the bottom or the centre, smaller ones fill the gaps. Take a phone photo from above.

Step 2 — Cut kraft templates

For each frame, cut a sheet of kraft paper to the exact size and mark the position of the hanging hook on the back. Tape the templates to the wall in the layout you photographed. Step back, check spacing — adjust before any nail goes in.

Step 3 — The two numbers that matter

Centre the gallery at average eye-level (about 145 cm from the floor to the centre of the arrangement). Leave 4 to 8 cm of breathing room between frames — closer and it looks crowded, further and it looks unrelated.

• Mix sizes — three identical frames in a row reads as a stock photo.
• Include one non-frame element: a small mirror, a textile, a sculptural object.
• Keep the colour palette tight. Two or three accent colours across the whole wall.