Measure once, drill once
Wall spacing calculator
Space picture frames, shelves or hooks evenly along a wall. Get the gap, a drawing, and the centre marks to measure from the left end of the wall.
12 in (30.5 cm) between each of the 3 items
The same gap at each end, so the row sits centred on the wall.
| # | Width | Left edge | Centre mark | Right edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 in40.6 cm | 12 in30.5 cm | 20 in50.8 cm | 28 in71.1 cm |
| 2 | 16 in40.6 cm | 40 in101.6 cm | 48 in121.9 cm | 56 in142.2 cm |
| 3 | 16 in40.6 cm | 68 in172.7 cm | 76 in193 cm | 84 in213.4 cm |
How the spacing is worked out
The calculator adds up the widths of your items and shares what is left of the wall between the gaps. With the same gap at the ends, a row of three has four equal gaps: one at each end and two between. With set margins, the margins come off first and the rest is shared between the items only.
Each centre mark is measured from the left end of the wall, which saves adding up gaps with a tape. Mark the centres in pencil, then hang each item centred on its mark. With different widths the gaps stay equal, so the row looks even although the centres are not evenly spaced.
For frames, the hook height is the centre height, plus half the frame's height, minus the drop from the top of the frame to the hanger. A common gallery rule of thumb puts the centre about 57 in (145 cm) from the floor; above a sofa or desk, go higher so the bottom edge clears it.
Sources
- The spacing is plain arithmetic: gap = (length − margins − total width) ÷ the number of gaps.
- The 57 in (145 cm) centre height is a common rule of thumb used by galleries and framers, not a standard; change it to suit your wall and eye level.
- 1 in = 2.54 cm exactly: NIST Special Publication 811, Appendix B.8.
Questions
Should I measure from the wall or from the corner?
Measure the space you want the row to fill. Over a sofa or a bed, that is often the furniture's width rather than the whole wall: enter that length and add the furniture's distance from the corner to every mark.
What if the items don't fit?
The calculator says how much they overrun. Use fewer or smaller items, smaller margins, or split them into two rows.
How precise are the marks?
Inches are rounded to the nearest eighth and centimetres to the nearest millimetre, each worked out from the exact sum, so small rounding errors don't add up along the row.