How big art above a sofa should be, how high to hang it and when to choose a pair, with every house size in centimetres and two sofas worked through.
The picture above a sofa is the one most often got wrong, and nearly always in the same direction: it is too small. A frame that looks generous in a hallway looks lost above three seats. The fix is arithmetic, not taste.
Two thirds of the sofa.
Measure the sofa from arm to arm, then aim for art that covers about two thirds of that width. Less than half and the picture looks lost; much more than three quarters and it starts to crowd the arms. The rule holds for one photograph, a pair or three in a row: measure a group from the outer edge of the first frame to the outer edge of the last.
A three-seater of about 200 cm asks for 130 to 140 cm of art. A two-seater of about 160 cm asks for roughly 105 cm.
The house sizes, in centimetres.
Every photograph from the house comes in six sizes. These are the sizes of the photograph itself, long edge first; a frame, and a mount if you choose one, add to every edge.
Collectors, 30 × 20 cm. Keepsake, 46 × 30 cm. Study, 61 × 41 cm. Signature, 76 × 51 cm. Gallery, 91 × 61 cm. Grand, 107 × 71 cm.
Above a sofa, the useful ones are the top three. A landscape Grand is 107 cm wide before its frame; a landscape Gallery, 91 cm; a landscape Signature, 76 cm.
Two sofas, worked through.
A three-seater of 200 cm. One landscape Grand gives 107 cm of photograph, and a little more once framed: enough on its own against a plain wall. For the full two thirds, hang a pair of portrait Signatures, each 51 cm wide, with 8 to 10 cm between them. That is about 110 cm of photograph before the frames, and the frames carry it close to the mark.
A two-seater of 160 cm. A landscape Gallery, 91 cm before its frame, lands close to two thirds once framed. A pair of portrait Studies, each 41 cm wide with a hand’s width between them, does the same job in a taller shape.
How high to hang it.
Leave 15 to 25 cm between the back of the sofa and the bottom of the frame. Closer and the frame meets the cushions; higher and the picture drifts away from the furniture it belongs to. Hang it to the sofa, not the room. The usual rule of centring art at standing eye level does not apply to a wall you look at sitting down.
With a pair, keep the bottom edges on one line and the gap exact. The two frames should read as one picture.
Choosing the photograph.
Wide photographs suit a sofa wall because the sofa is wide: the eye travels along both in the same direction. Still Water is mostly open water and pink light, calm enough to sit beneath every evening. The Hairpin looks down on a mountain road folding back on itself, and rewards a closer look. Above the Weather builds a long view in layers of snow, cloud and rock.
If the wall is wide and the ceiling low, stay landscape. If the ceiling is high, a pair of portraits uses the height without giving up the width. Before ordering, mark the size on the wall with masking tape and live with it for a day; the measuring guide explains the paper template in full.
Photographs for the living room.
Wide views, quiet water and long mountain light, printed to order in six sizes and framed by hand.
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Filed 14 October 2026, under Living with art.
