When shopping for a painting, size is almost as significant as the composition of this piece. A badly sized painting can either beat a room or permit the room to conquer the artwork, neither of which is aesthetically pleasing. For many, art is both a fire and an investment, and when it comes to the latter, then you ought to take the opportunity to buy something which’s perfect for your home.
Assess the length and width of the wall where you would like to hang the painting. If it’s going above a bed, couch or other piece of furniture, then just measure the open wall area, from the top of the furniture to the ceiling instead of from ground to ceiling.
Account for what’s on the wall when deciding on a size for the painting. Paintings hung above furniture ought to be less than 75 percent of the width of their furniture; for example, a painting above an 84-inch-long sofa ought to be 63 inches wide or less. Artwork hung over a fireplace tends to look best when the painting is as broad as the opening of the fireplace (no matter the magnitude of this mantel).
Stick to the three-eighths rule. When working with an otherwise empty wall, the rule of thumb is to pick out a piece that will leave empty space in the amount of three-eighths of the width of this painting on each side. This usually means that you can ascertain the ideal size painting by multiplying the width of the wall by 0.37; for example, a blank wall that’s 120 inches broad requires a painting that’s around 44 inches broad. When working together with nonstandard-shaped painting (such as a circle), use the widest point of this piece. With this exact same example wall, a circular canvas would have to be 44 inches in diameter to work on a 120-inch-wide wall.
Figure out the space between paintings in the event that you will be hanging more than one. Including hanging paintings above artwork, a fireplace or on a wall. When choosing a painting to hang alongside an present piece, the space between the two ought to be included when using the ratios described. For example, should you need to cover 68 inches of the wall using artwork to fulfill the three-eighths rule, then subtract the width of the current piece plus the space you intend to depart between the present painting and the new one from the 68 inches. If you have a 24-inch-wide piece hanging and intend to depart 4 inches of space, the newest painting ought to be 40 inches wide (68 – 24 – 4 = 40).
Factor frame size into your alternative. This is not necessary when working with unframed canvases; nevertheless, even a moderate 2-inch frame will include 4 inches of width to your painting, changing the ratio between the artwork and the magnitude of this wall.