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What size art to buy?

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Wall Art Size Guide

It’s time to tackle the big question in buying art: What size painting should I buy? Let’s face it, there’s an “art” to displaying art. Despite having listed size options, or seeing staged pictures, it can be a little hard to visualize a piece in your home. But fear not, here is your definitive wall art size guide! When deciding what’s best for your space though, I suggest you consider three things: Orientation, Focus, and Subject.

Orientation

The orientation of a painting affects how you display it and how it feels in the room. As a general rule vertical pieces have an active energy while horizontal is more calming. While less common, there is also the square size which has a more stable and centered feeling. These differences will have a subtle effect on the room, so it’s important to consider them.

Focus

You also want to consider if this will be the focus of the room/wall, or if you want it to accessorize the space. As may be somewhat obvious, the larger the painting the more focus it will pull. This holds true for a single painting on the wall, or when styling a gallery wall of paintings. Consider this in hand with our previous point, orientation. Vertical paintings draw the eye more quickly and are great for accents. If you want one focal painting to set the mood of a room, horizontal is better. 

wall art size guide gallery artwork

Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik

Subject

Of course, a painting is more than its outline. The subject and coloring of the painting will affect how it should be displayed. Very busy and bright pieces work best smaller. They are already very intense and can be overwhelming when large. A simpler painting does well large as you can better process it as a whole and appreciate it.

pink peonies pink lilies canvas art

Reference

Once you’ve thought through all this, it’s time to address specifics. There are some pretty standard sizes you’ll see. An 11″ x 14″ canvas is a bit larger than a standard page and works well as part of a gallery wall. A 16″ x 20″ canvas is around the size of your midsection. It’s great for smaller wall sections, or also in galleries. Finally, the 24″ x 36″ size will stand around your waist or lower. If you want a single painting to fill a living room wall, I would go no smaller than this.

wall art size guide

While this seems like a lot to consider, don’t be daunted. Much of this information we recognize when viewing art already. Trust your gut. At the end of the day, accessorize your space how you want. There is no true right or wrong, just what you want.