How to Choose Living Room Wall Art: Size, Height and Layout

The living room has the most-looked-at wall in the house, and it is also where the most common mistake happens: hanging a picture that is too small for the wall. Here is how to get size, height and placement right.

1. Measure the wall first, choose the art second

Measure the width and height of the empty space. If you are hanging above a sofa, a console or a fireplace, size the artwork against the furniture, not the whole wall.

A reliable rule: the total width of the piece (or set) should be about two thirds of the furniture below it. For a three-seat sofa of roughly 200 cm, aim for 130-140 cm of artwork.

2. Hanging height: eye level

Galleries hang work so that its centre sits 145-150 cm from the floor — the eye level of a standing adult.

Above furniture a second rule applies: leave 15-20 cm between the bottom of the frame and the top of the furniture. More makes the piece look adrift; less feels cramped.

3. One piece or a set?

A single large piece is strong on a wide, empty wall. On a long wall, or when you want symmetry, three-piece sets give a more balanced result. Keep 5-8 cm between panels; wider gaps read as three separate pictures.

4. Choosing a size

Our prints come in four sizes:

• 30×40 cm — hallways, above a desk, as part of a set
• 40×50 cm — small walls, pairs
• 50×70 cm — living room walls, a single piece above a sofa
• 61×91 cm — wide walls, a standalone focal point

These are the visible print dimensions. With the frame, the outer size is 2 cm larger on each side — a 50×70 cm print occupies 52×72 cm on the wall. Account for that in tight spaces.

5. Frame colour

Match the frame to the wood in the room rather than to the wall: the coffee table, the shelves, the floor. Walnut suits darker furniture, oak suits lighter tones. Black works almost anywhere and pushes the image forward; white softens the piece on pale walls.

6. Test before you drill

Cut newspaper to size and tape it to the wall. Leave it for a day and look at it at different hours. Five minutes of this saves a hole in the wrong place.

You can also place prints on a virtual wall with our Wall Designer.

Three common mistakes

• Hanging too high. The closer to the ceiling, the lower the room feels.
• Choosing too small. When in doubt, go one size up.
• Forgetting the frame. The outer size is 2 cm larger on each side.

Browse all wall art, or by style: boho, minimalist, famous painters.