How to Hang 3 Piece Wall Art — Spacing, Height and Level

Hanging three pieces of wall art so they are perfectly level, evenly spaced, and at the right height requires a little more planning than hanging a single print — but the process is straightforward if you work methodically. This guide walks through the steps from marking your wall to driving the final hook.

What You Will Need

Gather a spirit level, measuring tape, pencil, wall hooks or picture nails appropriate for the weight of your frames, and a small hammer or power drill depending on your wall type. Painter's tape is useful for visualising placement before you commit. If your walls are plasterboard (most internal walls in Australian homes), use plasterboard anchors for heavier framed pieces. Brick or masonry walls require masonry drill bits and appropriate plugs.

Step 1 — Determine Your Hanging Height

The visual centre of the arrangement should sit at approximately 145 to 150 cm from the floor. This is standard eye level and works for most adults in standing position. In rooms where people are primarily seated — a gallery above a low console, for example — you can lower the arrangement by 5 to 10 cm.

If hanging above furniture, use the furniture as your guide: leave 20 to 25 cm between the top of the sofa back (or headboard) and the bottom of the lowest piece. Measure this distance and mark a light horizontal pencil line at that height along the relevant section of wall.

Step 2 — Mark the Centre of Your Arrangement

Find the horizontal midpoint of your wall section (or the midpoint of the furniture below) and mark it with a small pencil dot. This is the point from which you will measure outward. Place a piece of painter's tape at this point and temporarily tape your three pieces to the wall to visualise the arrangement before making any holes.

Step 3 — Calculate Spacing and Hook Positions

For a horizontal triptych with matching-size pieces, the formula is: total span = (3 x print width) + (2 x gap). For three 40 cm-wide prints with 6 cm gaps, the total span is 138 cm. The centre of the middle print sits at your marked midpoint. The left edge of the left print sits at 69 cm to the left of centre; the right edge of the right print sits 69 cm to the right.

Measure from the top of each frame to the hanging wire or hook point on the back (usually 5 to 10 cm below the top). Subtract this distance from your desired top-of-frame height to get the hook position. Mark each hook point with a pencil, use a spirit level to confirm all three marks are at exactly the same height, then install hooks and hang. For detailed spacing tables, see our 3 piece wall art spacing guide.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Hanging too high is the most frequent error — it disconnects the art from the furniture below and makes the wall feel unbalanced. Uneven spacing between pieces is the second: gaps of varying widths break the triptych's cohesion. Measuring from the ceiling rather than the floor is a common cause of misalignment, since most ceilings have slight variations in height. Always measure up from the floor. Browse Olive et Oriel's ready-to-hang 3 piece sets — each framed set arrives with hanging hardware included.