How far apart should pictures hang? Most tools assume every frame is the same size, but a real gallery wall mixes sizes — and the number you actually mark on the wall is not the frame centre, it is the nail, which sits above the centre by the hanger drop. This page lays out one row of mixed-size frames, centred on the wall, and gives each frame's centre and nail position. It runs entirely in your browser and saves or sends nothing. All lengths are in inches.
Total arrangement width = sum of frame widths + gap × (number of frames − 1). Centred on the wall, the left margin = (wall width − total width) ÷ 2, and the right margin is the same. Each frame's centre from the left edge is a running total: previous frames + gaps + half of this frame's width. Nail height from the floor = target centre height − hanger drop, because the hanger sits above the centre by that drop and the nail goes where the hanger hooks.
With the defaults above: frames 16, 20, 24 and 12 in, gap 3 in. Total width = 72 + 3 × 3 = 81 in. On a 144 in wall, each side margin = (144 − 81) ÷ 2 = 31.5 in. Centres from the left edge: frame 1 at 39.5 in, frame 2 at 60.5 in, frame 3 at 85.5 in, frame 4 at 106.5 in. With a centre height of 57 in and a hanger drop of 4 in, every nail goes at 53 in from the floor. Against 120 in of furniture underneath, 81 ÷ 120 = 67.5%, inside the two-thirds to three-quarters rule of thumb below.
What is the furniture-width rule of thumb? A common guide says a row over furniture should span roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of the furniture width. It is a guide, not a rule: a row can look right outside it, especially on a bare wall with no furniture underneath, so the page flags it and does not block you. What if the row is wider than the wall? The page will warn you instead of giving negative margins — shrink a gap, drop a frame, or use a wider wall section. What about frames hung in two rows or a grid? This page does one row only; run it once per row, with that row's own centre height. What if my frames have different hanger drops? The centre positions stay the same; for each frame, subtract its own drop from the centre height to get its nail height. Is this a hanging recommendation? No. It only positions centres and nails; you check the wall type, fixings and weight limits yourself.
This is a free, single-purpose calculator. All calculation happens in your browser. No account, no upload, no tracking by this page beyond any ads Google may serve after approval.