Wall Art: The Sands of Time

Wall art sizing is one of the most important aspects of making your decor really pop. If the size isn't right, something will feel off. Too big and it will take over and consume the room. Too small and it will feel like something's missing. Thankfully, determining the correct size for wall art is very similar to sizing your space for a TV. 

Read and Analyze the Room

Before you even begin to look at wall art to purchase, you need to analyze your space. Take some painter's tape and outline different dimensions you are considering on the wall. We recommend marking either the corners or the entire outline, whichever is easier for you to visualize. If you don't have painter's tape, use Post-Its, wrapping paper, or anything else you have in your home.

In addition to considering different sizes, mark out some different shapes, too. You may find a wide panorama looks stunning in your space, while in other instances, a square may work better. Play around with different dimensions until you find your favorite one.

You Don't Need to Fill the Space with Just One Piece

When you start looking at wall art, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking you have to fill the space with one piece. But nothing could be further from the truth. Maybe your walls are an odd shape or dimension. Perhaps you're trying to fill wall space on a staircase or working around a feature in the room. Even standard spaces can look stunning with a collage, gallery, or collection of multiple prints. Experiment with different arrangements, colors, and more to find the perfect design for your room.

General Sizing Rules

To calculate the ideal size for your wall art, there are two simple rules to follow.

General Wall Space

Regardless of whether you're hanging a single piece or a collection, wall art should take up 60 to 75 percent of the available wall space.

1. Measure the height and width of the available wall space.
2. Multiply that height and width by 0.6 and 0.75 to get the target minimum and maximum dimensions for your wall art.
3. Use painter's tape to mark the wall within those min and max dimestions to find the size that works best for you.

Wall Art Above Furniture

When hanging wall art above furniture, you want your artpiece to be 2/3 to 3/4 (67 to 75 percent) the width of the furniture. The calculations are essentially identical to the general wall space calculations above.

1. Measure the width of the furniture.
2. Multiply tthat width by 0.67 and 0.75 to establish a target minimum and maximum width for your wall art.
3. Using painter's tape, mark the wall within that min and max width to find the size that works best for you.

Pro Tip: For central room features, such as a bed or mantle, we recommend hanging either a single landscape-oriented artpeice or two to three portrait-oriented pieces next to each other to make your decor really pop.

Hang Your Wall Art at the Correct Height

To create truly stunning decor, hang the center of your artpiece at eye level, centering it horizontally in the space. If you're hanging your wall art above a piece of furniture, make sure there's at least 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) between the bottom of the artpiece and the top of the furniture to prevent it from feeling encroached.