Let’s say you’re on a self-imposed project to update your home decor. There’s the new couch, the matching accents, the rugs, the lamps, the coffee table, and your favorite knick knacks. Only one final touch left: choosing the right artwork. And you can use our wall art size guide to help you.
You’re not alone in your wall art size choosing woes. Finding the artwork that fits just right with the rest of the given space is a step that’s commonly overlooked in interior decorating. Oftentimes, it’s just choose whatever you want and plop it there.
And while there’s certainly nothing wrong with choosing wall art based on your personality and taste, you have to consider the wall space you currently have if you want to achieve a cohesive look in the room.
So before you put pieces of artwork back into storage or start ordering wall art online, consider the following tips we have in store for you in our wall art size guide.
Different Sizes of Wall Art
Image Credit: The Artling
There are five general types of wall art sizes that you can hang depending on the amount of wall space you have available. And when you have the right one, you can hang it up on your chosen space for a complete and pulled together interior design.
Mini-sized Wall Art
Image Credit: Pinterest
Measurements: 10-17 inches
Mini-sized frames are very good for small spaces. And these always come cohesively when they’re grouped together in clusters. You can hang them by themselves, but if you plan to, avoid placing them in expansive and spacious rooms. Miniature-sized wall art works better in intimate spaces like studies or bathrooms.
Small-sized Wall Art
Image Credit: Whirley Pop Popcorn Maker
Measurements: 18-24 inches
Much like mini-sized wall art, small-sized wall art is good-looking when they’re grouped together. Form a gallery wall with small wall art lined into a grid. Or you can try aligning them horizontally in wide spaces, and vertically when your space is narrower.
Medium-sized Wall Art
Measurements: 25-32 inches
Medium-sized art pieces look good hung alone or grouped with smaller-sized artwork — depending on the space and the room. When hung in groups, they can act as the focal point of any gallery wall. And when you plan to hang them alone, make sure you place them right where your eyes drift towards where you can see it. You can place them right at the very end of a sofa or aligned above the middle of the headboard.
Large-sized Wall Art
Measurements: 33-40 inches
Large pieces of wall art can be hung alone above carefully chosen furniture. Whether that’s a fireplace mantle, above the sofa, the headboard, or above end tables lining the hallways. They need to be hung up alone if you want them to stand out and be the focal point of a room. Grouping them together will only end in overwhelming a room with too much large wall art.
Oversized Wall Art
Measurements: 41 inches or larger
Oversized wall art is effective at drawing people’s attention. For this reason, oversized wall decor is best hung in a completely empty wall space. It would look great if you have a hallway devoid of any accents or additional furniture. And if you have a big enough wall space in the dining room, you could hang oversized wall art there too.
Calculate Space with Math
Another way of determining the exact size of the wall art you need is to do some simple mathematics. And in this wall art size guide, we can give you the following steps.
- Measure the length and width of the space that you have available. Wall space pertains to the blank area you need to fill. This means uncovered by molding, furniture, etc.
- Multiply the length by .57 and .75
- Multiply the width by .57 and .75
What you should look for is wall art that covers two-thirds to three-fourths of your wall.
Finding the Right Height for the Wall Art
How high your wall art will hang depends on the height of your ceiling, and where you plan to display your art. You need to consider the height of placement — whether it’s at a blank wall or above pieces of selected furniture.
Image Credit: Digi7Solutions
If you’re going to hang your wall art above a dresser, a fireplace, a sofa, or your headboard, the bottom part of the piece must hang 6-12 inches above the top of the furniture. And for width, as we’ve mentioned, choose a piece that is two-thirds to three-fourths of the width of the chosen furniture.
Image Credit: Hay Needle
For fireplaces, hang your wall art 3-6 inches above the mantle. Choose artwork with width larger than the fireplace opening, yet smaller than the mantle.
The End of the Wall Art Size Guide
When it comes to filling an empty wall with wall art, there is no such thing as a solid rule. But all we will really leave you with is to be mindful of scale and your available wall space.
As a general rule, landscape wall art works well for wider walls. Portraits and vertical layouts are more ideal when placed in narrow strips of space.
Consider filling up at least fifty percent of your wall space to — whether that’s single wall art or several of them. This way, you can keep your artwork from being overwhelmed by the space. In addition, you also allow it to command the attention it deserves.
And when you’re not entirely sure, use sticky notes to mark corners and specific spots. You can get a better sense of scale that way, along with visualising the piece before purchasing wall art or fixing it to the wall.