How-to guides, layout patterns, and product updates from the HangPlanner team.
Which walls in your home should have art, and which should stay empty? Not every wall needs filling โ sort them into focal, supporting, and intentionally blank walls, then check that walls sharing one sightline aren't all competing. A good home isn't wall-to-wall art; the walls that should stand out do, and the rest stay quiet.
In a small space the key isn't a one-size-fits-all hanging height โ it's choosing size and content for the real viewing distance, then adjusting the layout for the ceiling and where you actually sit.
Don't hang room by room. Start at the front door, rough in every wall you pass, then check which walls grab attention, which repeat, and where the budget ran out โ so the whole home reads as one place.
Treat wall art as a project you can get right the first time: recreate your wall on screen, decide what to show, set the layout and sizes, then buy and installโseven steps in HangPlanner.
A black-and-white wall isn't just 'convert to mono and hang anywhere.' With the colour gone it speaks in contrast โ hang it where the light's good and the wall is plain, spread the dark and light tones by visual weight, and take your pick of layout from a tidy grid to a loose salon wall.
A botanical wall isn't just a pile of plant prints on the wall. First check what you have โ a matched set to unify, or a scattered mix held together by its shared subject and natural palette; then hang it in a relaxed, view-from-a-distance room, and split the bathroom into powder room vs. steamy main bath first.
You don't have to copy a full gallery wall. Pick the setup that matches your room โ the open wall behind your desk, the squeeze around a monitor, or a small side wall โ and follow it from plan to result. Counts, sizes, and hanging are worked out.
The real work of a family photo gallery wall isn't arranging frames โ it's turning a box of mismatched photos into one wall that looks composed, and one you can keep adding to. Hang it somewhere you pass up close โ a hallway or staircase โ where focal and grid layouts fit best.
Don't start a dining room gallery wall by piling on art โ start by working out which wall. Above a sideboard you anchor to the cabinet; a full open wall you scale a statement to the wall (focal fits best). Plus two dining-only notes: hang a touch lower because you're seated, and mind position and materials next to an open kitchen. Drag a version into HangPlanner first.
The wall above your bed calls for subtraction: headboards are tall and the space is narrow, so a single piece or a triptych beats a dense gallery wall. Single โ half the bed's width, triptych โ two-thirds; bottom edge 6โ10 inches above the headboard; screw it in, don't tape it. Drag a version onto your wall in HangPlanner.
The wall above the fireplace is the most eye-catching spot in the room โ and the easiest to get wrong. Two numbers and one question fix it: make the art two-thirds to three-quarters of the mantel width, keep the bottom 6โ12 inches above the mantel, and check whether the fireplace actually burns. Bottom-aligned is the top pick; one big piece works too.
The hallway usually gets written off as too narrow to bother with. Flip it: it's the one wall in your home with no sofa or fireplace to anchor to โ your freest wall, and the best place for a grid or single-row of frames. Keep three things right and the rest is yours.
The wall above your sofa always looks slightly off? Two numbers fix it: make the arrangement two-thirds to three-quarters of the sofa width, and sit the bottom edge 6โ10 inches above the sofa back โ not the 57-inch centering rule. Pick a layout and drag it onto your wall in HangPlanner.
Want a gallery wall that looks instantly 'right'? Symmetry makes one half the mirror of the other โ side-to-side on wide walls, top-to-bottom on tall narrow ones. Plan it in HangPlanner and every position is calculated for you.
Want a clean, grid-like outline without limiting the wall to one kind of image? Outer-aligned combines a tidy outer rectangle with freedom inside for portraits, landscapes, and varied content. On HangPlanner it's a ready 8-frame layout โ pick a series, hit Insert.
Want a gallery wall that's lively but still tidy? Center-aligned mirrors your frames up and down around one horizontal line. Best on empty walls and above low sofas โ drop it on your wall in HangPlanner, or pick a ready-made layout to start.
Want a gallery wall with a star? A focal wall gives you one: a big frame anchors the centre, smaller frames fan out around it. The key isn't size โ it's lining the anchor up with the sofa below. Drop it on your wall in HangPlanner to see how it sits.
Stair walls feel hard because you're still hunting for a horizontal line. A staircase gallery wall has one rule: a diagonal parallel to your stairs, with every frame's center on it. Plan it in HangPlanner before you climb the ladder.
Worried a strict grid won't line up, but still want to mix frame sizes? A bottom-aligned gallery wall is the answer: one line at the bottom, any height on top. Perfect above a bookshelf or sofa โ drop it on your wall in HangPlanner to see how it sits.
A grid gallery wall looks best with same-size square frames. Pick 4 / 6 / 8 / 9 / 16 by your wall, pair them with IKEA SANNAHED squares, and skip the math โ drag them onto your wall in HangPlanner and you'll know.
Where to hang a triptych and what size to buy: three same-size 50ร70 above a sofa or dining wall, smaller 30ร40 for tight spots โ with in-stock IKEA sets.
Every IKEA standard frame size in cm and inches, with the in-stock series at each โ RรDALM, FISKBO, KNOPPรNG, LOMVIKEN, and the rest. IKEA's five official measurement fields, decoded, with A4 fit answered in 30 seconds.
The simple 5โ8 cm rule for frame gaps โ and the two times you should break it.
The secret to a gallery wall that looks designed, not random: plan the whole layout on your actual wall photo first โ then drill once, in the right spot.
A 6-step process for planning, marking, and drilling your gallery wall โ without spackle, regrets, or a tape measure war with your partner.
