Art Print Size Guide: How to Choose the Right Size

To choose an art print size, measure the furniture below it and aim for about two-thirds of that width. If there is no furniture, measure the free wall. If one print falls short, hang three. This guide applies that rule to the five ENVOL sizes, with worked examples for a sofa, a bed and a hallway.

What sizes are available?

ENVOL prints come in five sizes. In portrait, the print is as wide as the first number.

• —30×45 cm: a shelf, a desk wall or a small hallway.
• —40×60 cm: above a sideboard or a desk, or beside a bed. The safe middle.
• —50×75 cm: above a sofa, a bed or a fireplace.
• —60×90 cm: a wide wall, or a sofa with nothing else around it.
• —70×100 cm (75×100 cm on canvas): the largest size, for a long wall or a tall room.

The first four sizes share a 2:3 proportion. The largest is slightly wider in proportion, so the image is trimmed a little at top and bottom to fill it.

How wide should a print be?

Above furniture: about two-thirds of the furniture's width. A 120 cm sideboard wants about 80 cm of art; a 210 cm sofa wants about 140 cm.

On a bare wall: go by the free width.

• —Up to 100 cm, between a door and a window: 30×45 or 40×60 cm.
• —100 to 200 cm: 50×75 or 60×90 cm.
• —Over 200 cm: 70×100 cm, or a set of three.

Hang the centre of the print at about eye level, around 150 cm from the floor. Above a sofa or a bed, leave 15–20 cm between the furniture and the bottom edge.

What size print above a sofa?

No single portrait print reaches two-thirds of a sofa, so you have two options: one large print, or a row.

• —Two-seat sofa, about 160 cm: one 60×90 cm portrait, or three 30×45 cm in a row (about 102 cm with 6 cm gaps).
• —Three-seat sofa, about 210 cm: one 70×100 cm portrait, or three 40×60 cm in a row (about 132 cm with 6 cm gaps).

A single large print works best with a strong vertical subject, such as Paris Trocadéro at 70×100 cm. A row suits a low ceiling.

What size print above a bed?

• —Double bed, 140–160 cm: one 50×75 cm landscape (75 cm wide), or three 30×45 cm in a row.
• —King-size bed, 180 cm: two 50×75 cm portraits side by side (about 106 cm with a 6 cm gap).
• —Above each bedside table: one 30×45 cm portrait on each side.

Positano in landscape at 50×75 cm is a good example: a wide coast above a wide bed.

What size print for a hallway?

Hallways are seen up close and in passing, so smaller works.

• —Narrow wall between two doors: one 30×45 or 40×60 cm portrait.
• —Long corridor: a row of 30×45 cm prints at equal gaps, at eye level.
• —Wall at the end of a corridor: this one is seen from a distance. Go to 60×90 cm. Zermatt, the Matterhorn at blue hour, suits it.

Portrait or landscape?

Portrait is available in all five sizes. Landscape is available in 30×45, 40×60 and 50×75 cm only, so anything larger is portrait.

• —Choose portrait for a narrow wall between two windows, a tall room, or a subject with height.
• —Choose landscape for a low wall, a sloping ceiling, or a wide piece of furniture. Saint-Tropez in landscape at 50×75 cm above a 120 cm sideboard hits the two-thirds rule almost exactly.

Paper, canvas or framed: does it change the size?

• —Fine art print: unframed, shipped rolled in a protective tube. A frame and any mount you add will take up extra wall, so measure for the finished piece.
• —Canvas: stretched on 38 mm bars and ready to hang. No frame, so it fills exactly its stated size, and it stands 38 mm off the wall. The only format that goes to 75×100 cm.
• —Framed print: arrives ready for the wall, with a white mount, in eight frame colours. Allow a little extra width for the frame when you plan a row.

How to hang a set of three

Equal sizes, equal gaps, centred on the furniture below. Leave about 5–8 cm between frames for small sizes, a little more for large ones.

Every collection has a set of three with 10% off applied automatically: one unframed 30×45 cm print of each. Start with The Cities or The Riviera Collection. For a larger trio, order three prints separately in the size you need; the set discount applies to the 30×45 cm set only.

Still not sure?

Cut sheets of newspaper to the size and tape them to the wall. If you still can't decide, choose one size up: a print that is slightly too large rarely looks wrong, and a print that is too small usually does. For a gift, 40×60 cm is the safe choice.

Every print is made to order in 3–5 business days and delivered free. An unused print can be returned within 14 days of delivery. Details are on the returns page.