Sizing Your Artwork

 How to pick the size of your wall art that's right for your space

 Size Matters

When it comes to wall art, size matters. A picture can be the statement decor your room was missing, yet if the size isn’t right, something will feel off. You want your wall art to be eye-catching and pull the space together. Too small and your room can look incomplete, too big and the room can feel a little too crowded.

In general, bigger is always better. A small picture can’t fill a big space and a big picture will create a beautiful focal point. As you saw in the sizing rules above, your wall art should take up a large portion of an empty wall and be large relative to the furniture.  Basically, if in doubt, go big!

If you have smaller pieces – that is OK! Hang them in a smaller area, place them side by side, or group them together

To help you decide what is right, we’ve put together this easy guide to help you pick the wall art size that's right for your space.

Whether you want to decorate a large wall going up your stairway, the blank space above your couch or the empty wall in the bedroom, you’ll want the size of your art to be just right for the room.  When it comes to sizing these rules serve as a great tool to get you on the right track. As always rules can be broken

Here are some general rules that will help you decide the right size of wall art for your space.

  • Wall art (single or multiple pieces) should take up 60%- 75% of the available wall space.  Specifically, wall space that isn’t covered by furniture or moldings. Start by measuring the width and height of your wall and then multiply them by both 0.60 and 0.75. This will give you the range of picture print sizes that will suit the space. Here is the math: a blank wall that is 9 feet tall and 5 feet wide, you would multiply both 9 and 5 by 0.6 and 0.75. The ideal height of the picture would be between 5.4 to 6.75 and the ideal width would be between 3 feet and 3.75 feet.

Hanging Height

  • Hanging height. Hanging wall art over furniture, such as a bed, a fireplace or a couch, the width should be between 2/3 to 3/4 of the width of the furniture. This will be a similar calculation as above.   Measuring the ideal print size above your couch for example. Let’s say your couch is 6 feet wide, multiply 6 by 0.66 and 0.75. Thus, a picture between 3.6 feet and 4.5 feet wide fit wonderfully above the couch.

Leave at least 6" – 12" inches of space between the top of the sofa and the bottom of the picture. To keep the art, proportionate to the sofa, its width should span no more than two-thirds of your sofa’s total length.

Over a fireplace?  It is best when the art is wider than the fireplace opening but doesn't extend past the mantel.

Creating a gallery with more than one picture? You can choose a uniform look with pictures of the same size placed equidistant from each other. Or you use a creative approach by placing pictures of different sizes together. For a gallery, envision the placement of all the smaller prints as one large picture. Start with the largest print and arrange the smaller prints around it. With both options, allow at least 2" of space between each piece of art and aim to have your gallery’s center roughly 60" from the ground. Having trouble creating cohesiveness? Try uniform frames, monochromatic prints, or a gallery of solely architectural elements!

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