How To Get the Perfect Size Painting For Your Wall

It all started with a comment a customer made on our oversized art, Storm Over the Marsh (above). The customer expressed how much she loved the print, only she wished it came in a smaller size.

“That was our aha moment,” says our wall decor buyer, Karen. “We have all this great art, typically offered in a single size, and the fact is people’s homes and walls are not one size only.”

Thanks to that one customer comment, we’re excited to introduce new sizes for 30 of our top-selling prints and new art. Most of the selected art is now available in three sizes — what we consider medium, large and extra large — but actual sizes vary according to the proportion of the individual piece.

“Now’s the time to check back and see if an old favorite is in the size you need,” Karen urges. “We also have some fantastic new art we’re really excited about, too.”

This is wonderful news, of course, but how do you know which size art is right for you? If you asked Karen (and we did), she would say that it largely depends on two considerations: the size of your space and the width of the art in relation to your furniture.

For example, in a smaller area with more narrow walls, such as an office space or breakfast nook, you’ll want to size down to fit the space. Here, we chose a pair of small, framed botanicals.

However, a great room, a master bedroom or the end of a large hallway presents the perfect opportunity to make a statement. Scale up to create that eye-catching focal point. You can make an impact with a single large piece or by hanging art in groups, as we did here with this pair of Nordic Abstract Art.

While there are no hard and fast rules to hanging art, your composition is going to be much more pleasing to the eye if the width of the artwork is not wider than the the furniture it’s hanging over. The general rule of thumb we use is that artwork should be about 75% of the width of the furniture, and this applies to a single piece of art or a grouping. Above, we hung our Portal Art in the 47-inch size above our Louis 63-inch Sideboard.

To help you, here’s a general guideline for how wide your art should be over specific pieces of furniture:

Demilune – 30” wide

Console – 40” wide

Sofa – 50-60” wide

But what about scale? “People get overly concerned about the scale of a piece, and I don’t feel like there’s a right or wrong size as long as its anchored to something, such as a piece of furniture,” offers Karen.

A small piece on a big wall places importance on that singular piece, as if it’s hung in an art gallery. Conversely, large art, like our Parisian Wall Art, displayed on a big wall makes an entirely different statement and becomes the defining element in a room.

When choosing art for your room, the most important thing is that you love it, says Karen. “It doesn’t have to be exactly to scale or color coordinate with your decor. What’s important is that it makes a personal statement about you. It’s what you love.”

For more design inspiration, visit our Pinterest Boards, or find more gorgeous rooms in our Photo Gallery.