An artwork can be exactly the right style and still feel wrong in a room if it is hung too high, too low or too small for the sofa beneath it.
The useful way to think about placement is not as a separate decorating decision. The sofa and the artwork should read as one composition: connected, balanced and easy to live with.
1. Start with the gap above the sofa
For most living rooms, leave roughly 15–25 cm between the top of the sofa and the bottom edge of the artwork.
This is close enough for the artwork to feel connected to the furniture, while leaving enough wall space for the arrangement to breathe.
If your sofa has tall cushions, a high back or a loose cover that changes height when someone sits down, allow a little more space. The aim is to avoid a print sitting so low that it feels cramped, or so high that it appears to float away from the sofa.
2. Measure the full arrangement, not each print
With a pair or trio, treat the set as one overall shape.
Measure from the outside edge of the left print to the outside edge of the right print, including the spaces between them. That full width is what should relate to the sofa—not the size of each individual piece.
As a useful guide, artwork above a sofa often looks most balanced when the overall arrangement spans around two-thirds to three-quarters of the sofa’s width.
A smaller arrangement can work above a compact sofa or in a narrow room. On a larger sofa, a very small group can feel lost.
3. Find the centre before you hang anything
Mark the centre of the sofa first, rather than centring the artwork on the wall.
Walls are not always symmetrical. A door, window, lamp or alcove can make the centre of the wall misleading. The sofa is the anchor, so centre the finished arrangement above that.
Stand back and look at the whole area. The artwork does not need to be mathematically perfect, but it should feel settled when viewed from the main entrance to the room.
4. Keep the spacing consistent
Even spacing makes a print set feel intentional.
For a pair or three-print arrangement, use the same gap between every piece. Around 5–8 cm is usually enough to let each print breathe while still reading as a single group.
Avoid adjusting one gap to accommodate a switch, a lamp or an awkward section of wall. It is better to move the whole arrangement slightly than to make the spaces uneven.
5. Test the layout with paper first
Before drilling, cut paper templates to the approximate size of each print.
Tape them lightly to the wall, step back and check the arrangement from where you would normally enter or sit in the room. This makes it easier to spot a set that is too high, too wide or too close to the sofa.
It is also a useful test in rented homes, where you may want to be more certain about placement before making any holes.
6. Let the room set the final height
General guidance is useful, but the room has the final say.
A low sofa with a tall ceiling may need the artwork placed slightly higher. A high-backed sofa, low ceiling or compact living room may need it closer to the furniture. Side lamps, tall plants and shelving also change how the arrangement feels.
The best placement is the one that makes the sofa, wall and artwork feel like they belong together—not the one that follows a measurement blindly.
A finished wall starts with proportion
When artwork is the right height and scale, it does more than fill an empty wall. It gives the living room a clearer focal point and makes the whole space feel more considered.
Explore the full collection to find coordinated print sets designed to work together from the start.