Inside all of us we have a spidey sense for bad design. We look at a room and can quickly spot if it’s out of balance. As non-interior designers, we may not be able to identify what exactly it is, but our design gut tells us it’s wrong.
Luckily, there are a few rules we can follow to quell that uneasy feeling that misplaced artwork can cause in a bedroom. Unfortunately finding the right size artwork for over a bed requires a splash of math but I’ve made it easy.
Rules for artwork size over a bed headboard
The basic rules for hanging artwork over a bed headboard are very similar to a couch:
- The centre point of the artwork should be 57″ – 60” from the floor, which is the eye-line of most people
- The artwork should be 6 – 12” from your headboard
- The canvas or frame size should be between 57% and 80% of the total visible space. Skip to the bottom for a calculator that can help you figure out the minimum and maximum artwork sizes for over a bed.
Widths of artwork based on bed size
King bed
King beds are typically 76” wide, your headboard may be closer to 80” which is what I’ll use here as the standard measurement. Using the rules above, you’re looking for artwork between 46″ and 64” wide.
- 48” x 24”
- 48” x 30”
- 48” x 48”
- 60” x 36”
You can also do multiple artworks, for example, two 24” x 24” or 30” x 24” since those widths combined are less than your max width of 64”. Have some fun here!
Queen bed
Queen bed mattresses are typically 60” wide, but headboards range from 60″ – 64”. Let’s use 64” as our measurement. We’re looking for artwork that is between 36” and 51”. Here are some common sizes for artwork that fit a queen bed:
- 36” x 24”
- 36” x 30”
- 48” x 24”
- 48” x 30”
- 48” x 48”
Full bed
Full mattresses are 54” wide, but 58” with a headboard. You’d want your artwork to be between 33” and 46”. Here are some common canvas sizes for artwork that would fit a full bed:
36” x 24”
36” x 30”
Why does the artwork size and placement over a bed matter?
Here’s an example of two artwork sizes over the same bed. The artwork on the left is appropriately sized for a King bed. This is a 48” x 30” oil painting called “The Dundas Valley’s Gold Forest” painted by myself, Heather Bridge. You can see the artwork is spaced about 8” from the headboard and is more than 57% of the width of the bed.
In the example on the right, I used i reproduction of “Stacks of Wheat (End of Summer)” painted by Claude Monet. The original is 29 9/16” x 23 5/5”, but I’ve scaled it down for dramatic effect. It also is hung far too high above the headboard.
Even though in the second example you are looking at a masterpiece by a renowned artist, I’m sure your design gut is telling you something is wrong with the placement. This also demonstrates that you may have a beautiful piece of artwork, but that placement can impact its overall appeal.
I hope this helps you with your future bedroom artwork placements.
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