How to Create a Gallery Wall UK — The Complete Guide
How to Create a Gallery Wall UK — The Complete Guide
From choosing your prints to hanging them perfectly — everything you need to build a gallery wall you'll love, with poster recommendations from 98types Camden
🔍 Related searches
Why a Gallery Wall Changes Everything
There's a difference between a wall with some stuff on it and a gallery wall. The first is what happens when you hang things one at a time without a plan. The second is what happens when you treat the wall as a single composition — when the prints you choose talk to each other, the spacing feels intentional, and the whole thing looks like it belongs together. Getting there is easier than most people think, and doesn't require an interior designer or an expensive set of identically-sized frames.
This is the guide we wish existed when we were doing it ourselves. Seven steps, from blank wall to finished gallery, with the specific decisions at each stage explained — plus the prints that work best at 98types, our Camden Market studio.
The 7 Steps to a Perfect Gallery Wall
Choose Your Wall — Pick the Right Canvas First
Start with the wall, not the prints. Gallery walls work best on the largest uninterrupted wall in a room — typically behind a sofa in a living room, above a bed, or along a hallway. The wall you choose when you first walk into a room is the right wall. Avoid walls with doors, large windows or radiators that will interrupt the composition. Measure your space: write down the width and height in centimetres, and note any features (light switches, sockets, mirrors) that you'll need to work around.
Choose a Concept — Theme, Palette or Mood
The most common gallery wall mistake is picking prints you love individually without considering whether they work together. Before you buy anything, decide on one of three approaches: (A) One theme — e.g. all film posters, all music prints, all black and white photography. Everything coheres around the subject. (B) One colour palette — prints can be from different genres and styles but share a colour family: all warm reds and oranges, all cool blues and greens. (C) One mood — "cinematic and dramatic", "warm and nostalgic", "clean and minimal". The mood guides both print choice and framing. Pick one approach before you look at a single print.
Choose Your Prints — How Many and What Sizes
As a starting point: a small wall (up to 1m wide) needs 3–5 prints in A4–A3 sizes. A medium wall (1–2m) needs 5–9 prints mixing A4 and A3 with one or two larger anchor pieces. A large wall (2m+) needs 8–15 prints with at least one oversized anchor. For a film poster gallery wall, choose 3–5 films that mean something to you as the foundation — films you'd want a visitor to notice. Then add 2–3 smaller complementary pieces around them. All 98types film and music prints are available in A6, A5, A4 and A3, making it easy to mix sizes within one order.
Create a Paper Template — The Professional Trick
Before you put a single nail in the wall, cut out paper rectangles the exact size of each print (or frame). Tape them to the wall with painter's tape. Live with them for a day. Step back. Move them around. This costs nothing and saves an enormous amount of frustration. You'll instantly see what's working and what isn't — where the composition feels heavy or light, where you need a larger print, whether you want a more symmetrical or more organic arrangement.
Choose Your Layout — Symmetrical vs Organic
Symmetrical: prints arranged in a grid pattern, same spacing between each. Elegant and calm. Works well in formal rooms (living rooms, dining rooms). The classic approach for hotel-style gallery walls. Organic (salon-style): prints of different sizes arranged so the overall shape is roughly rectangular but the internal arrangement varies. More dynamic, more personal, better for smaller spaces or rooms where you want the gallery wall to feel collected rather than designed. Rule of thumb for organic layouts: start with your largest print slightly left of centre. Build outward, alternating larger and smaller pieces. Keep the overall outline roughly rectangular and leave consistent gaps (7–10cm) between frames.
Hang Your Prints — The Right Way
The centre of your gallery wall composition should sit at eye level — approximately 152–160cm from the floor. Not the top of the top print: the visual centre of the whole arrangement. For unframed prints (which 98types dispatches ready-to-frame): use command strips or poster putty for a renter-friendly installation — both hold reliably on smooth plaster. For framed prints: use proper picture hooks. Always use a spirit level for the top row. Install the largest anchor print first, then work outward. Check every print is level as you go; a laser level (under £15 from any hardware shop) makes this completely painless.
Live With It — The Edit Is Part of the Process
Gallery walls evolve. Most great ones weren't finished in a single session. Put the prints up, live with them for a few weeks, then notice what's working and what isn't. Missing a focal point? Add a larger print in the centre. Too homogeneous? Add something that disrupts the mood slightly — a bold colour, a different subject, a print in a contrasting style. The best gallery walls look like they've accumulated over time, even if they were planned carefully. And because 98types prints from £3 and dispatches same-day, adding a new piece is as easy as making an order before 3pm.
What to Put on a Gallery Wall — The 98types Film & Music Approach
The most distinctive gallery walls have a clear personality. The easiest way to achieve that is to build it around what you actually love, not around what looks good in theory. If your answer is cinema and music — and if you're on this page, it probably is — here's how to think about it.
The Film Poster Gallery Wall
Choose 3–5 films as your anchor pieces in A3. Then add 2–3 films that connect to them thematically or aesthetically as A4 or A5 supporting pieces. For a cinematic dark and dramatic gallery wall: The Shining + Joker + Blade Runner 2049 in A3, with Inception and Batman 1989 as A4 supporting pieces. For a warm, nostalgic 80s gallery wall: Back to the Future + Ghostbusters + The Breakfast Club. For a prestige cinema wall: Oppenheimer + Anora + Call Me By Your Name + Moonlight.
The Mixed Film & Music Gallery Wall
Film and music posters work extremely well together on the same wall — particularly when they share an era or a mood. 1970s rock: Elton John Rocket Man + classic film prints from the same decade. 2000s indie: Harry Styles Fine Line alongside The Truman Show or Barbie. Contemporary queer: George Michael Freedom + Brokeback Mountain + Call Me By Your Name. All from £3, buy 3 get 1 free.
🎨 Start Your Gallery Wall — Buy 3 Get 1 FREE
Choose any 3 prints and get the 4th free — the ideal gallery wall starter. All 98types prints on 260gsm museum-grade archival matte, dispatched same-day from Camden Market. Any mix of film posters and music prints, A6 to A3. Same-day first class dispatch for orders placed before 3pm.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many prints do I need for a gallery wall?
For a medium wall (1–2m wide), 5–9 prints is the sweet spot. Mix at least two size formats — e.g. a mix of A3 and A4 — to create visual interest. For a sofa-width wall, 5–7 prints covering about two-thirds of the sofa's width works perfectly.
Should a gallery wall be symmetrical or random?
Both work. Symmetrical (grid) gallery walls feel calm and elegant — good for formal rooms. Organic (salon-style) gallery walls feel personal and curated — good for bedrooms, hallways, smaller living rooms. Pick based on the room's existing mood.
How do I hang posters without damaging walls?
Command Picture Hanging Strips (available at any UK hardware shop) hold unframed or lightly framed prints perfectly on smooth plaster. For renters: use poster putty for very lightweight prints, or Command Strips for heavier ones. See our full guide: How to Hang Posters Without Damaging Walls UK.
Where can I buy good quality posters for a gallery wall UK?
98types prints all posters on 260gsm museum-grade archival matte paper with pigment inks at our Camden Market studio. From £3, buy 3 get 1 free, same-day first class dispatch for orders before 3pm from Market Hall, Camden Lock Place, Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8AL.
