How to Plan a Travel Print Gallery Wall

A gallery wall of travel prints turns the places you love into one piece of art. It looks deliberate when the prints share a theme, a frame color, and even spacing. This guide covers how to plan one, and Swell Scenes' ready-made gallery wall sets if you would rather skip the planning.

1. Pick a theme

A theme is what makes a group of prints look like a set. Good themes for travel prints:

  • Places you have been: national parks you visited, beaches from family trips, cities you lived in.
  • One region: Hawaii, California, Florida, or your home state.
  • One subject: surf spots, lighthouses, birds, or mountains.

2. Choose sizes

Mix one or two larger prints with several smaller ones, or use one size throughout for a tidy grid. Our posters come in sizes from 5x7 to 24x36 inches, so you can combine, for example, a 24x36 centerpiece with 11x14 or 12x16 prints around it. Grids of identical sizes, such as six 12x16 prints, suit modern rooms.

3. Keep the frames consistent

Using the same frame color is the simplest way to make different places look like one collection. Our prints come unframed or framed in black, white, or wood, or as walnut, white, or black floating frame canvas. Black frames feel graphic, white feels light and coastal, and wood feels warm.

4. Plan the layout before you hang

  • Cut paper templates the size of each frame and tape them to the wall to test the arrangement.
  • Keep the gaps between frames even. A common choice is 2 to 3 inches.
  • Hang the center of the whole group at about eye level, a little lower above a sofa or bed.
  • Over furniture, make the group about two thirds the width of the piece below it.

5. Or start with a ready-made set

Swell Scenes gallery wall sets are groups of prints chosen to hang together, in matching sizes and frames. Sets include national parks, surf spots, birds, and US states such as Virginia, with framed and canvas options. They start at $125.99.

Questions

Can I mix sets with single prints? Yes. Choose single prints in the same frame color as the set and they will blend in.

How are the prints made? Each print is made to order on museum-grade matte paper with archival inks, designed in-house by David and Travis.

Is shipping free? Shipping is free on orders of 3 or more items. See our shipping policy for details.

Shop gallery wall sets, or build your own from national parks, surf spots, or Hawaii.