Western Gallery Wall Ideas: Five Layouts With Measurements and How to Mix Sizes

Before you hang anything: three numbers

Every good gallery wall starts with three measurements. First, the width of the furniture below it, or of the open wall if there is no furniture. Second, the height from the floor to the top of that furniture. Third, the ceiling height. With those three numbers you can size the whole group before you buy a single frame.

Treat the whole gallery as one big picture. The outer edges of the group should span about two thirds of the furniture width, and the center of the group should sit near 57 inches from the floor on an open wall. Over a sofa or console, keep the bottom row 6 to 10 inches above the furniture instead. Inside the group, keep the gaps between frames the same everywhere, usually 2 to 3 inches.

Five western gallery wall layouts, measured

Here are the layouts we come back to most. Widths are the print sizes plus the gaps, so add your frame widths on top.

The row of three is the easiest to get right. Line up the tops or the centers, keep the gaps even, and you are done. It suits prints that share a subject, like three riders or three travel posters.

The two by two grid looks the most architectural. It wants four prints of one size and one frame color, and it is best with subjects that are quiet on their own, like The Wild Ones animals or a black and white set.

Anchor and wings is our favorite for a bed. An 18x24 hung tall sits in the middle. On each side, two 11x14 prints hung wide stack one above the other with a 2 inch gap, which makes each wing exactly 24 inches tall, the same as the anchor. The whole group is about 50 inches across, a good fit over a queen headboard.

The salon wall is the loosest. Start with the biggest print a little left of center, then add the medium ones around it and fill the gaps with small ones, keeping the outer edge roughly rectangular. It takes the most planning, but it is the one that looks collected over years.

A bonus layout for stairs: use one size throughout, 12x18 or 16x20, and step each frame up with the stairs so the centers follow a line parallel to the handrail. Put each center about 57 inches above the stair tread directly below it, and keep the horizontal gaps equal. Same size frames make the diagonal easy to read; mixed sizes on a stairway tend to look like they slid downhill.

Low ceilings change the math a little. Under an 8 foot ceiling, the two by two grid of 18x24s can feel tall over a sofa, so switch to a row of three or use 12x18s in the grid instead.

How to mix print sizes without chaos

• Pick one anchor. The biggest print should be clearly bigger than the rest, at least 18x24 in a group of 11x14s and 8x10s. Two prints of nearly the same large size compete.
• Keep one thing constant. If the sizes vary, keep the frame color the same. If the frames vary, keep the palette the same. Change two things at once and the wall looks random.
• Align one edge. In a mixed group, line up at least one edge: all the tops of the top row, or a center line through the middle.
• Use mats to even things out. A white mat on the small prints gives them more presence next to a large one. Mats are a $20 add on for framed pieces.
• Work in odd numbers for loose groups. Three, five or seven pieces usually settle more easily than four or six in a salon layout. Grids are the exception.

One more rule: let the subjects face inward. A horse galloping to the right belongs on the left side of the wall, where it runs into the group rather than off the edge.

Western print sets that already hang together

The hardest part of a gallery wall is choosing prints that belong together. Our wall sets do that for you. Each is three or four prints picked for a shared palette and subject, so they work as a row of three or a grid.

• The Wild Ones Trio: longhorn, horse and coyote in minimalist desert colors.
• Old West Towns: Tombstone, Deadwood and Dodge City travel posters.
• Red Rock Road Trip: Sedona, Moab and Grand Canyon Glow.
• Rodeo Night: a ticket, a slogan and a shout for a game room.
• The Howdy Trio: one greeting in brown, blue and pink.
• Desert in Black and White: four monochrome prints for a calm grid.
• Sundown Riders, Roadside Americana and Out Past the Stars round out the list.

You can see them all on the wall sets page.

Three western gallery walls we like

The Wild Ones grid. The Galloper is a tan mustang mid stride on deep forest green, and The Stinger is a scorpion in ochre and umber on rust red. Put them in a two by two grid with the longhorn and the coyote, all four at 18x24 in black frames, over a cognac leather sofa on an olive or sage wall. Clean shapes and earthy colors make them look designed, not collected by accident.

The Wild Ones

The Galloper

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The Wild Ones

The Stinger

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Two Wild Ones for a grid

The travel poster hallway. Travel posters read fast, which makes them right for a hallway people walk down. Moab puts Delicate Arch in deep orange red rock under teal mountains, and Dodge City has a gunslinger on a main street of false front saloons. Hang a run of 16x20s at one height down the hall, centers at 57 inches, with 3 to 4 inches between them since hallway walls are long. Mixing parks and towns works because the posters share flat shapes, a round sun and bold type.

Westward Wonder: Vintage Trails & Sites

Moab

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Westward Wonder: Vintage Trails & Sites

Dodge City

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A park and a town for a travel poster run

The entry word wall. Typography prints are made for a small salon group by the door. Use HOWDY Skies, glossy sky blue balloon letters on cream in a landscape layout, as the anchor at 18x24 over a console. Add Raised on Rodeo, rust red lettering over a bronc rider and a setting sun, at 12x18 on one side, and a small 8x10 of a single object on the other. Keep all three in natural oak so the mixed sizes still read as one group.

Typography

HOWDY Skies

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Typography

Raised on Rodeo

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An entry word wall; natural wood frames suit it

Hanging a gallery wall, step by step

1. Lay the frames out on the floor in front of the wall and move them around until the group looks right. Take a picture with your phone so you remember it.
2. Trace each frame onto kraft paper or old wrapping paper, cut it out, and mark where the hanging hardware sits on the back.
3. Tape the paper templates to the wall with painter's tape. Live with them for a day and adjust.
4. Mark the nail points through the paper, then hang the anchor piece first and work outward.
5. Check level on every piece, and use a spacer (a scrap of wood cut to your gap size) to keep the gaps even.

For hardware and wall types, see our hanging guide.

Frames, finishes and ordering

Matching frames are the single biggest thing that makes a gallery wall look finished. Black is the safest all round choice. Walnut suits warm rooms with leather. Natural wood suits light, sunny rooms. White with a white mat looks like a gallery on a white wall. Every frame color costs the same, so the choice is purely about the room.

Everything is made to order in the USA. Prints ship flat in a rigid mailer or rolled in a tube at 8x10 and 11x14 and rolled in a tube at larger sizes, and framed pieces ship flat, ready to hang. Print only orders over $100 ship free after discounts, which a gallery wall of unframed prints clears easily if you plan to frame them yourself. For single print rooms, go back to our western wall decor ideas, and for monochrome groups see black and white western decor.