What Size Print Goes Above a Bed?

The simple sizing rules for art above a queen, king, or full bed — with exact measurements, so you get it right the first time.

The wall above a bed is the single most common place people hang art — and the single most common place they get the size wrong. Too small, and the print floats awkwardly in a sea of empty wall. Too large, and it looms. The good news: there's a simple rule, and once you know it, the decision takes thirty seconds.

The two-thirds rule

Art above a bed should span roughly two-thirds the width of the headboard. That proportion reads as intentional from across the room — wide enough to relate to the bed below it, contained enough to leave breathing room on either side. Designers come back to this ratio constantly because it simply works.

In practice, that means: above a queen bed (60 inches wide), you're looking for roughly 40 inches of art — a 24×36 print hung as a single statement piece, or a pair of 16×20s side by side. Above a king (76 inches), a large 24×36 still works beautifully with generous margins, or go to a trio of 16×20s. Above a full or double (54 inches), an 18×24 print is the sweet spot — significant without crowding.

When in doubt, go one size larger than your first instinct. Undersized art is the most common mistake in bedroom styling — oversized almost never is.

How high to hang it

Leave six to ten inches between the top of the headboard and the bottom of the frame. Closer than six and the two elements crowd each other; further than ten and the print stops relating to the bed and starts floating. If you have no headboard, hang the print so its centre sits 57 to 60 inches from the floor — standard gallery height.

One print or a pair?

A single large print reads as calm and confident — usually the right choice for bedrooms, where you want the wall to settle rather than energise. A matched pair (two prints from the same collection, identical size, two to three inches apart) reads as more deliberate and works especially well above wider beds. Avoid three or more pieces above a bed: it tips into busy, which is the opposite of what a bedroom wall is for.

See the sizes for yourself

If you're deciding between sizes right now, our size comparison page shows every print size to scale on a real wall, next to a person — it makes the decision concrete in about ten seconds. Then browse the prints knowing exactly what fits.