How to arrange frames on a wall
A short guide with a worked example, to understand what the tool does and where the usual rules end.
1. Measure and choose the center line
Measure the wall’s width and height. Decide how high from the floor you want the center of the arrangement. Many guides mention 57–60 in (145–152 cm), but no documented primary museum standard backs it: it is a convention, adjust it to who will be looking. If there is furniture, the arrangement usually starts 6–10 in above it.
2. Choose the gap
Guides suggest 2–4 in (5–10 cm) between frames, less for small ones. What matters is that it is the same throughout.
3. A worked example
A 200 × 250 cm wall, three 30 × 40 cm frames in one row, a 5 cm gap, center at 150 cm from the floor and the nail 5 cm below the top edge. The row is 3 × 30 + 2 × 5 = 100 cm wide and 40 cm tall, so 50 cm remain on each side. The frames span 130 to 170 cm in height (center 150 cm), so each nail goes at 165 cm from the floor, and their distances from the left wall are 65, 100 and 135 cm (the center of each frame).
4. Wide and heavy frames
If a frame is wide (Cuelga uses two nails from 80 cm) they sit at 1/4 and 3/4 of the width. That stops it tilting, but it does not replace choosing the right anchor for the weight and wall type.
5. Test before you drill
Cut paper or cardboard to each frame’s size (the scaled plan and the PDF’s 1:1 templates help; templates only exist for frames that fit on one sheet) and tape them to the wall with painter’s tape. Look from a distance, adjust and only then mark the nails.