How to choose the right size wall art

The two-thirds rule

Above a sofa, a bed, a console or a dresser, choose art about two-thirds to three-quarters as wide as the furniture beneath it. That proportion makes the art and the furniture read as one arrangement instead of two separate things. The rule applies to a single piece or to a group of pieces treated as one shape, measured across its outer edges.

Half the wall art in our shop is 84 cm (33 in) wide or less, and nine pieces in ten are 130 cm (51 in) or less, so above a long sofa or a king bed you will often reach the right width with two or three pieces side by side rather than one. Statement pieces over 3 m wide exist for a big empty wall.

How high to hang it

On a bare wall, hang art so its centre sits about 145 to 152 cm (57–60 in) from the floor, roughly the eye level of an adult standing. Galleries use the same rule, and it keeps pieces on different walls at a consistent height. Above furniture, measure from the furniture instead: leave 15 to 25 cm (6–10 in) between the top of the sofa back, headboard or console and the bottom of the frame. Any higher and the art drifts away from the furniture it belongs to.

1. Measure the width of the furniture and multiply by two-thirds and by three-quarters to get your target range.
2. Decide the bottom edge: 15 to 25 cm above the furniture, or on a bare wall work out where the centre lands at 145 to 152 cm.
3. Mark the wall lightly with painter’s tape where the frame’s edges and hanging points will sit.
4. Find a stud, or use wall anchors rated for the piece’s weight. Heavy framed pieces need two hanging points to stay level.
5. Hang the piece, check it with a level, and step back to where you usually sit before you call it done.

Gallery walls and groupings

A gallery wall follows the same rules as a single piece: size the whole group to about two-thirds of the furniture below, and hang it so the group’s centre, not each frame’s, sits at eye level. Keep 5 to 8 cm (2–3 in) between frames so the pieces read as a set. Lay the arrangement out on the floor first, or cut paper templates the size of each frame and tape them to the wall, then photograph the options before you make a single hole.

A wall with no furniture

On a bare wall, size the art to the wall itself. A single piece or a grouping that covers roughly half to two-thirds of the wall’s width, with generous margins on both sides, looks deliberate; a small piece alone on a wide wall looks forgotten. Centre it on the wall, or on the part of the wall people see first when they walk in, and keep the centre at 145 to 152 cm so it lines up with art in the rest of the room.

Narrow walls and stairwells

A narrow wall between two windows or doors suits a tall, vertical piece or two smaller pieces stacked one above the other, with the same 5 to 8 cm gap between them. On a stairwell, follow the angle of the stairs: keep each frame’s centre at the same height above the step below it, roughly 145 to 152 cm, so the line of frames climbs with the stairs rather than staying level.

Framed prints or canvas

Most of our wall art is framed, and many framed pieces are finished under glass, which protects the print but reflects light from windows and lamps. A large share is canvas, which is lighter, has no glare and is simpler to hang, a good choice above a bed or on a bright wall. Most pieces are 4 to 6 cm (about 2 in) deep, so either kind sits close to the wall.