The ELEY wall-mount garden hose reel can be configured for EITHER parallel OR perpendicular. Assembled into the parallel configuration, the garden hose will pull off the reel along-side the wall, whereas the perpendicular configuration will pull the hose out straight-away from the wall. You decide which configuration will work best for your particular application during the assembly process. The configuration you end up with depends on which of the two positions that the reel's arm can be attached to the wall plate you choose.