How to chose the right size print for your home?

Too big, too small....and just right! Did you know there's a trick to determining what size artwork will look best hung on your wall? Yep, because there's nothing like buying a piece of artwork, hanging it on your wall, only to realize the proportions don't look right...or worse, it's way too small for the space...duoh!!!

The trick is the following...any piece of artwork that you would like to hang centered above a piece of furniture (i.e. couch, bed) should be minimum 2/3rds the width of the piece of furniture.

Example #1 - Hanging Artwork Above Your Bed

Marcy in Atlanta wanted the perfect birthday gift for her daughter Jackie, who loves sunsets and Costa Rica. When she saw my sunset photo "Heaven", she knew it was the perfect print to hang above Jackie's bed. Her daughter has a full size mattress, with a headboard that is pretty much the same width of the full mattress (if the headboard is much wider than the mattress, you want to use the measurement of the headboard frame width vs the width of the mattress).

A standard full/double mattress is 53" wide, so we picked the standard size 24"x36" print so that "Heaven" wouldn't look too small above her bed using this rule this rule of 2/3rds (the minimum width print that would look best above a full sized bed is 31.8" = 53"x 66.6%). Marcy wanted the print to really make a statement, so she decided to add a 2" white mat to the frame, making the finished framed print 31.5"x43.5".

How perfect does "Heaven" look in Jackie's room?!?! Such a magical statement!

Example #2 - Hanging Artwork Above the Couch

The below white couch measures 60" long, so I worked with Nancy in Savannah, GA to print a custom sized "You Had Me at Sunset" print measuring 30"x40" that would look perfect in her living room. Add in the 3" silver frame around the print, and the framed print was just the right to hang above her couch. (60" x 66.6% = ~40")

--> SHOP "You Had Me at Sunset" <--

Ok, so what if you want a piece of artwork to hang on a large wall vs over a couch or bed?

The same 2/3rds rule applies!

Example #3 - Hanging Artwork On A Large Wall

Lindsay in Playa Grande, Costa Rica had a large white wall in her living area where she wanted to hang a print. Her wall dimensions measured 115 inches across (from the turquoise door to the wall), 113 inches high and the console table at 51 inches across and 21.5 inches tall. Given those dimensions, we used the console table as an anchor middle point, and went with a print size of 44"x66" and a 5" natural wood frame (for a total width of 71") to custom print and frame Beach Day. (115" x 66.6% = ~76")

--> SHOP "Beach Day" <--

Anddddddd one more trick! Before you make a final decision on artwork size, if you need help visualizing the size of the artwork on your wall, grab some Kraft paper or newspaper, cut the paper to the size, and hang the paper on the wall to get a good idea of the size.

Have any questions? I'm happy to help pick out the perfect print to go in your home! Send me a message here!

Pura Vida,