The most common mistake we see in homes is a painting that’s too small for its wall. It floats, looks lost, and makes the room feel unfinished. The good news is that getting it right takes a tape measure and five minutes.
The two-thirds rule
Measure the furniture under the wall: a sofa, bed, sideboard or table. Choose a painting, or a group of paintings, about two-thirds of that width. Over a 210 cm sofa, that’s a canvas around 140 cm wide, or two 60 × 90 cm paintings hung side by side.
Hang it lower than you think
Aim for the centre of the painting to sit 145 to 155 cm from the floor, which is roughly eye level. Above furniture, leave 20 to 25 cm between the top of the sofa or headboard and the bottom of the frame, so they read as one group.
- Living rooms: one large landscape, or a pair of matching abstracts.
- Bedrooms: calmer colours, hung a little lower.
- Shrine rooms: thangkas at or just above eye level when you are seated.
- Offices and cafés: bold abstracts that read from across the room.
Still not sure?
Send us a photo of your wall with one measurement marked on it, and we’ll mock up how a painting will look in the space. It’s free, and it saves a lot of nail holes. Our size and hanging guide has the main measurements in one place.
