How to choose art for your living room: size, height and style

The right artwork for a living room starts with the wall, not with the picture. Measure the space, choose a size in proportion to the furniture below it, hang it at eye level, and only then think about colour and subject. Here is each step, with the measurements galleries and interior designers use, in centimetres and inches.

The short version

• Measure the wall and the furniture in front of it first: width, height and the distance to the ceiling.
• Above a sofa, a single artwork or a group about two-thirds of the sofa's width looks balanced.
• On an empty wall, hang the centre of the artwork about 145–150 cm (57–60 in) from the floor. Above a sofa, keep the bottom edge 15–30 cm (6–12 in) above the back.
• Colours can pick up one or two shades already in the room, or make a clear contrast.
• Keep an original out of direct sun and away from radiators and fireplaces.

Start with the wall, not the artwork

Before you look at art, look at the room. Where does your eye land when you walk in? That is the place for your main piece. It is most often the wall above the sofa, but an empty wall beside the window or the one above a sideboard works just as well.

Most living rooms need one focal point. Put large works on every wall and none of them stands out.

Write down a few numbers: the width of the wall, the width of the furniture below it, the ceiling height, and where the light comes from during the day. They make choosing much easier, especially when you buy online and only see the work in a photo.

What size the artwork should be

The rule interior designers use most is simple: the artwork, or group of artworks, should span about two-thirds of the width of the furniture below it. Saatchi Art gives the same guideline for a sofa or a mantelpiece. For a 210 cm (83 in) sofa, that means a piece about 140 cm (55 in) wide. A much smaller picture looks lost above a sofa; one wider than the sofa overwhelms it.

Treat it as a starting point, not a law. A room with a low ceiling or a small sofa can take a smaller piece; a long empty wall can take a bigger one.

If you'd rather hang a group

Two or three smaller works hung close together can fill the same width as one large piece. A larger group, often called a gallery wall or salon hang, works best with one simple rule: keep the gaps between works equal, a few centimetres each, and build it around your main piece in the middle so the group reads as a whole. Lay the works out on the floor first and photograph the arrangement before you put a single nail in the wall.

A simple trick before you buy: cut paper or cardboard to the size of the works you are considering and tape it to the wall with masking tape. Leave it for a day. You'll quickly see whether the size is right or the wall wants something bigger.

Check the frame too. Listed dimensions may be for the canvas alone, and a wide frame adds several centimetres on every side. Always ask whether the size includes the frame.

How high to hang it

Museums and galleries usually hang work with the centre about 145–152 cm (57–60 in) from the floor, roughly an adult's eye level. On an empty wall, that's a good place to start.

Above a sofa or a sideboard the rule changes: the artwork should feel connected to the furniture beneath it. As a rule, keep the bottom edge 15–30 cm (6–12 in) above the back of the sofa. Hang it higher and it seems to float on its own.

When you measure, measure to the centre of the artwork, not to the nail. The nail sits higher than the centre by the distance between the hanger on the back and the middle of the work.

Colour and style: match or contrast

Two approaches almost always work. The first: pick up one or two colours from the room, from cushions, a rug, curtains or the wood of the furniture, and the artwork looks as if it has always been there. The second: go for a clear contrast. A strongly coloured piece in a white, grey or beige living room becomes the centre of the room at once. What rarely works is a piece that matches everything so well that it disappears.

The style of the artwork doesn't have to match the furniture. A classical landscape can look great in a modern living room, and an abstract piece next to an antique chest. Proportion and colour matter more than style.

For the subject, think about how you want the room to feel. A landscape or a still life usually brings calm, an abstract composition brings energy, a portrait brings presence. Still, you'll see this work every day for years, so choose something you genuinely love, not just something that goes with the sofa.

Light, and where not to hang an original

Conservators at Crawford Art Gallery advise keeping paintings out of direct sunlight, which can fade pigments and discolour varnish. They also advise against hanging them above a fireplace, near radiators or air-conditioning units, or in a bathroom.

In a living room, that usually means a few simple things:

• not on the wall that gets the afternoon sun;
• not above the radiator under the window;
• not above the fireplace;
• not right next to the steam of an open-plan kitchen.

Soft light from the side, or a lamp angled towards the wall, shows the texture of a painting better than direct sun.

Original or print

A print, on canvas or paper, is a copy of an image made in many identical copies. It's affordable, comes in any size and is a good choice if you want to fill a wall quickly or change your decor often.

An original is painted by hand by an artist and exists only once. It has real texture, brushstrokes and layers of paint, looks different in morning and evening light, and has a person behind it you can get to know. It costs more because you pay for the work and for its being unique, not just for the image.

If you'd like to know how to tell them apart, the principle is explained in detail, starting from icons, in our guide on how to tell a hand-painted work from a print.

Buying original art online, especially from abroad

When you can't see a work in person, a few checks save you surprises:

• The real size: width and height, with and without the frame. Compare them with your own wall, not with your impression of the photo. If you think in inches, divide the centimetres by 2.54.
• Technique and support: oil, acrylic, watercolour or mixed media; on stretched canvas, board or panel. It affects how the work looks and how you care for it.
• Close-up and daylight photos: a detail shot shows the texture, a photo of the work on a wall shows its real size.
• Questions for the artist: how they made it, whether it has a hanger, how it will be packed.
• What comes with it: whether it arrives framed and ready to hang or needs a frame, whether it comes with any document from the artist, and, if you live outside the artist's country, how it will be shipped.

Original art for your living room on Art4G

On Art4G, works are listed for sale by the artists who made them. You'll find original paintings and hand-painted icons in their categories, or you can browse all original works on Art4G. Each artwork page shows the dimensions, so you can compare them with your wall.

If you have a question before you buy, such as a photo in daylight or on a wall, you can message the artist directly from the artwork page once you're signed in. What comes with a work, such as a frame, a hanger or documents, varies from one artist to another, so it's worth asking before you order. You can also learn more on the profiles of the artists on Art4G.

For more ideas, see the other articles in Decor and inspiration.

Image credits: „Interior with Woman at Piano, Strandgade 30, Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1901” – Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916), Public Domain Mark (source).