What Size Wall Art Do You Need? A Simple Guide to Print Sizes
By Murello · 2 October 2026 · 3 min read
A print that's too small gets lost on a big wall; one that's too large can swamp a narrow room. The good news is that choosing the right size isn't guesswork. With three simple rules and a tape measure, you'll find the size that really makes your wall work.
The most common print sizes
Before you choose, it helps to know the standard sizes, because they're what make finding a frame easy. Our prints use European sizes in centimetres:
- A4 (21 × 29.7 cm): perfect for a desk, a shelf or filling the gaps in a gallery wall.
- A3 (29.7 × 42 cm): ideal for a hallway, a bathroom or a pair of prints above a chest of drawers.
- 30 × 40 cm: a handy in-between size for arrangements.
- 50 × 70 cm: the go-to size for living rooms and bedrooms, big enough to hold its own.
- 70 × 100 cm: a real statement piece for large walls and high ceilings.
Our terracotta abstract print comes in four of these sizes, from A4 to 70 × 100 cm, which makes it a good way to compare how each one looks.
The two-thirds rule above furniture
It's the interior designer's favourite rule of thumb: above a sofa, bed or sideboard, your artwork (or group of artworks) should cover roughly two-thirds of the width of the furniture.
A few real-world examples:
- A 180 cm sofa: aim for a total width of about 120 cm. A single 70 × 100 cm print doesn't quite get there; two 50 × 70 prints side by side, or a 90 cm-wide canvas with a smaller piece, work better.
- A 140 cm headboard: about 90 cm wide. Our 60 × 90 cm minimalist landscape canvas, hung landscape, fits perfectly.
- An 80 cm chest of drawers: one 50 × 70 cm print, or two A3 prints side by side.
If there's no furniture in front of the wall, flip the logic: the artwork should fill between half and two-thirds of the width of the area you want to dress.
Think about viewing distance
The further away you'll be when you look at a print, the bigger it needs to be. In a narrow hallway where you pass within a metre of the wall, an A3 or 30 × 40 cm print reads perfectly. In a living room where you look at the wall from the sofa, three or four metres away, 50 × 70 cm is the minimum for real impact.
Level of detail matters too: a fine-line botanical illustration rewards a closer look, while an abstract print with bold blocks of colour holds up well from across the room.
One large print or several small ones?
Both work; it all depends on the effect you're after:
- One large print feels calm and uncluttered. It's the right call for a room that's already busy with objects or patterns.
- A set of 2 or 3 prints creates rhythm and covers a wide area without buying an oversized piece.
- A gallery wall suits large walls and anyone who loves mixing styles.
How high should you hang it?
Galleries follow a simple rule: the centre of the artwork sits about 145 to 150 cm from the floor, roughly at eye level. Above furniture, leave 15 to 25 cm between the top of the piece of furniture and the bottom of the frame, so the two read as one.
The frame changes the size you see
Remember that a frame adds a few centimetres. Our oak frame for 50 × 70 cm prints, for example, measures 54 × 74 cm on the outside. If you plan to add a mount, choose a frame larger than the print: a 30 × 40 cm print with a mount usually goes into a 40 × 50 cm frame.
The trick that saves you from mistakes
Before you order, cut sheets of brown paper or newspaper to the sizes you're considering and stick them on the wall with masking tape. Leave them up for a day or two and look at them from where you usually sit and stand: you'll know straight away which size is right.
