How to Hang a Three-Piece Set: Spacing, Alignment and Templates

A three-piece set is more striking than a single print, but harder to hang: if the alignment is off, the eye catches it immediately. This sequence removes the guesswork.

1. Work out the total width

Total width = (3 × outer width of one panel) + (2 × gap)

Example: a 30×40 cm print is 32 cm wide with its frame. With a 6 cm gap the set spans 3×32 + 2×6 = 108 cm. Do not touch the wall before you know this number.

2. Choose the gap: 5-8 cm

The gap is what makes three panels read as one composition. 5-8 cm works on most walls. Narrower and they crowd; wider and they read as three separate pictures.

What matters most is that the gaps are equal. A 1 cm difference is visible from across the room.

3. Draw the centre line

Pencil a horizontal line so the vertical centre of the set sits 145-150 cm from the floor. All three panels align to this centre line, not to their top edges.

4. Make paper templates

This is the trick. Cut newspaper to each panel's outer size and mark the hanging point on the paper. Tape the sheets up, measure the gaps, check with a spirit level.

Move them until it looks right, then drill through the mark on the paper and tear it away. Not one unnecessary hole.

5. Fixings by wall type

• Plasterboard: use plasterboard anchors; plain screws will not hold.
• Brick or concrete: hammer drill and a plastic plug.
• Wood: screw directly.

Our frames arrive with hanging hardware fitted.

6. Final check

Step back and look horizontally. Are the bottom edges level? Are the gaps equal? Small shifts can be corrected at the hanging wire.

Four and five-piece sets

Same logic, different formula:

Total = (panels × outer width) + ((panels − 1) × gap)

With more panels, tightening the gap to 5 cm keeps the composition together.

Browse three-piece sets, or try them on a virtual wall with our Wall Designer.