What Size Art Goes Over a Queen Bed?

Buying artwork to decorate your home is a fun but sometimes daunting task. The right piece of art can showcase your personality, set a mood and perfectly balance the room’s aesthetic. When you are shopping for the perfect piece to hang above your queen bed, you want it to possess all of these qualities. But when selecting artwork to hang above your queen bed, how big should it be?

Artwork above a queen bed should measure between 34 and 45 inches in width. As a rule, artwork above furniture pieces should be 4/7 to 3/4 the width of the furniture it hangs above. Artwork can range significantly in its height, depending on how high the ceiling is and your general aesthetic. There should be an 8 to 10 inch gap between artwork and the bed.

While there are no set laws or rules for artwork size, there are many guidelines. Using these guides can help you on your art collecting quest. It is best to understand these ratios and the idea of balance in order to keep the art hunting fun, rather than making it stressful.

When you are shopping for the perfect art piece to hang above your queen bed, you will not only want to know how wide it should be, but also how tall. While artwork width has formulas and ratios, when it comes to height, there are fewer guidelines for you to follow.

The main rule of thumb in regards to art height above the bed is that it should be around 8 to 10 inches above the bed or headboard. When you are determining if you want a short horizontal landscape artwork, or a taller dominating art piece, the choice is yours.

Taller, more grand artworks work best in rooms that have very high ceilings. This allows you to have a large statement art piece above your bed without making the space too busy. A tall art piece is also a good option for those trying to hide an ugly wall or certain imperfections.

When you select art to hang over your bed you need to consider your headboard, or your lack of headboard. If you have a headboard, you have less available space above your bed, and you will need to look for more specific dimensions when selecting art.

For queen beds with a headboard attached, you should look for artwork that is wide, but not as tall. This is particularly important when you have a tall headboard and bed frame and shorter ceilings. Think skinny wide art pieces. This shape will allow you to have space between the headboard and the art, and the art and the ceiling. If you have higher ceilings you have a wider variety of shapes to choose from.

When you do not have a headboard, remember the 8 to 10 inch rule still applies. In fact, make sure you place your artwork high enough that it does not get grazed by your body when you sleep, or sit up to read. If you are unsure about how high your art should sit, consider the standard height that most artwork is hung.

There are commonly held practices as to the exact height you should place artwork in general. As a standard, art is often displayed at about 58 inches in height. This is the height most art galleries and museums hang artwork. It allows for most adults to enjoy artwork at eye-level when standing, without having to adjust the neck very much at all.

While this rule may work great in most circumstances, you often need to make minor adjustments when you hang art above furniture. The standard rule is there should be between 6 and 12 inches between the piece of furniture and a piece of art. While this rule works well most of the time, there are three questions you need to ask yourself before you start drilling holes in your wall.

While all seen beds are the same width, the height where they rest can vary significantly. For example, some beds rest directly on the floor. This is common in some modern Eastern design styles.

Other beds sit on standard frames, and rest between two and three feet above the ground. Even other beds are on high frames with storage or loft space underneath. Be sure to consider this factor, and always allow a minimum 6 to 8 inch buffer between the bed and the art.

While the rule of thumb is that artwork should be displayed at 58 inches, this can be tricky if the art you are hanging is very tall. If you purchased tall artwork to place above your bed, do your best to anchor the focal point (normally the center of the artwork) at the 58 inch mark. When you can not be exact, try to find a spot close to it.

If you cannot do that, use the height of the bed and the ceiling as anchor points. Allow as much equal space between the two points you can, in order to create balance.

The size of your room can also factor into the size art you should hang over your queen bed. The biggest factor in room size when it comes to the size of your wall art is your ceiling height. Ceiling height plays a crucial role on how tall art can be.

While the standard width is largely established, there are no real limits on how tall your art should be. If you have vast tall ceilings, you can make a real statement by having a tall piece of art hanging above your bed.

If your bed sits in a very large room, you may even consider breaking some of the guidelines. A queen bed with a long wall as a backdrop may benefit from a grand scale piece of art. You may also think about creating a gallery wall. Gallery walls consist of several framed art pieces arranged together to form one large flowing concept overall, with individual artworks in each frame. These work great when you have ample wall space and a well-executed concept.

When you are looking to select artwork to hang above your queen bed, remember there are no rules. No clear rules exist for aesthetics. Still, it is common to choose artwork that is between 4/7 and 3/4 the width of the furniture it hangs over. This means it is best that the artwork above your queen bed measures between 35 and 45 inches.

There are also some factors you should take into consideration. Whether or not you have a bed frame or headboard both factor into the height and placement of your art and its size. The height of your ceiling also plays a role in how large the artwork above your bed can be. Also consider if you will choose one piece or a series of art, like a gallery wall.