Skip to content
Blog What Is the Best Canvas Painting Size for Your Wall?

What Is the Best Canvas Painting Size for Your Wall?

living room with large wall arts

You may be asking yourself, “What size canvas painting should I hang for walls?”

This article discusses this question and explains how to easily determine the canvas painting sizes on walls.

Choosing a painting that is just the right size for the walls will create a wonderful home.

Large paintings suit large rooms and small paintings suit small spaces.

We invite you to learn how to decide the size of the painting to hang for walls and create a comfortable home.

☑Table of contents

  • How to choose the best canvas painting sizes to hang for walls.
  • Right size of the painting that fits walls for the room.
  • Good size of canvas painting for your home Q&A

How to choose the best canvas painting sizes to hang for walls.

a large wall art above a sofa

What is a good size painting to decorate a room?

If you want to choose a painting of a size that is easy to display in a room, a painting between 9 x 12 inches (22.86 x 30.48cm) and 16 x 20 inches (40.64 x 50.8cm) is a good choice.

Paintings between between 9 x 12 inches (22.86 x 30.48cm) and 16 x 20 inches (40.64 x 50.8cm) ranges from medium size to large size.

These paintings are neither too large nor too small, so they are easy to decorate your interior.

What is the typical size of a painting canvas?

There are many typical size of painting canvases.

To check the size of the painting canvas, please refer to  “What Are Standard Canvas Sizes? – Exploring Typical Canvas Sizes“.

What size is a large painting?

A canvas size of a long side of 20 inches (50 cm) or more gives the impression of a large painting when displayed in a room.

Small paintings are less than 8 inches (20 cm) in width of the canvas.

Decorate a large painting in a large room and a small painting in a small space.

A room with wide walls and a high ceiling is suitable for displaying a large painting.

Here, we define a large painting as one with a long side of 20 inches (50 cm) or more.

On the other hand, rooms with narrow walls and not high ceilings can be balanced by decorating with medium or small paintings.

The balance between the size of the wall and the height of the ceiling determines the size of the picture you display on the wall.

When deciding on the size of a painting to hang in a room, be sure to check whether the walls are wide and the ceiling is high.

Select a painting that is large enough not to feel oppressive when you display it in the room.

Large paintings look good on large walls

Large paintings look good on wide walls.

On a narrow wall, a medium-size or small painting will look good.
Narrow walls are walls in a small room or walls separated by windows, doors, or tall furniture.

When you hang a painting on a wall, it is important that the walls on either side of the painting are sufficiently empty.

You should hang large paintings in rooms with large walls, such as living rooms.

If you want to know how to choose a painting that makes a room look larger, see the article below.

>> How To Choose A Wall Art To Make A Room Look Bigger.

hang large paintings in walls with high ceilings.

When hanging a painting on the wall, choose a size that allows enough space between the ceiling and the painting.

The reason for this is that when you hang a painting on a wall at eye level, the space between the top of the painting and the ceiling will feel oppressive if the space is too narrow.

When hanging a painting, check the ceiling height of the room and choose a painting size that matches the ceiling height.

You should hang large paintings on walls with high ceilings.

For walls without high ceilings, it is better to hang medium-sized or small paintings to achieve a good balance.

If you would like to know more about the height at which to hang a painting, please see “Ideal Height Of Hanging A Painting Above Sofa In Your Home“.

Right size of the painting that fits walls for the room.

dining room with a wall art

Decide on the size of the painting to display according to the room’s walls and ceilings.

Let’s take a closer look at the balance between them and the size of the painting.

suitable painting sizes for walls depends on the room.

Choosing the size of the painting to match the room will create a well-balanced interior.

For example, a large painting will look good on large walls, such as a living room or bedroom.

On the other hand, a medium or small painting will fit in a bathroom or kitchen where the walls are not as wide, or in a hallway where you can view the painting from nearby.

For reference, for detailed information on how to display paintings by room, please refer to “How to Decorate Your Home with Your Favorite Artwork“.

How to choose the art Size for a large wall

A large painting on a large wall gives a gorgeous impression.

When hanging a painting on a large wall, choose a size that is good for the wall margins on either side of the painting.
If you feel that the wall space is too wide, the painting is too small. Choose a larger painting.

When hanging a small painting on a large wall, hang several paintings side by side.
This way, the wall space will not be too large.

painting size for walls above a piece of furniture.

When hanging a painting on a wall above a sofa, bed, cabinet, shelf, etc., choose a painting that does not exceed the width of the furniture.

For detailed instructions on how to decorate above furniture, see “3 Ways to Find the Best Balance Between Furniture and Art“. If you want to hang a painting on a wall above furniture, see also.

If the painting is very long vertically, you should avoid to hang on the wall above the furniture.

The reason for this is that the wall above the furniture is short to the ceiling, making it difficult to achieve balance.

For your reference, we have compiled the following article on choices you should know when buying a painting for beginners. Please also take a look at this page.

>> Buying Art for Beginners: How to Buy Art for Your Home

Good size of canvas painting for your home Q&A

When is a picture too big for a wall?

If you feel oppressed when looking at a painting in a room, the painting is too large for the wall.
Choose a smaller painting to match the size of the wall.

Where should I Hang a small size painting?

Please refer to the article “How to Decorate Small Canvas Paintings – Tastefully Ideas” for details. Please click here.

Let’s check the size of the wall and the height of the ceiling.

Once you know the size of the walls in the room, you can determine the size of the painting you display.

If you are wondering where to buy a painting for your home, we also recommend the article, “Useful Tips of Where to Buy a Original Artwork for Your Home“.

We hope you will choose a painting of a size that fits walls and create a wonderful space.

New Arrivals