How far apart should shelves be? Plan the gaps and see

Shelves look wrong when the gaps are wrong. Enter your wall height, choose what each shelf holds, and see whether it all fits, to scale.

The rule is simple: each gap is the tallest item plus a little finger room, plus the board thickness. We show the numbers behind it, when to break it, and what to measure before you drill, including ideas that need no holes for renters.