How to Measure for Wall Art Before You Buy

There is a moment, tape measure in hand, when the wall stops being a feeling and becomes a number. Sixty-two inches between the window casing and the corner. A console eight inches narrower than it looked. A light switch exactly where the frame wanted to go.

Nearly every sizing mistake is made before that moment rather than after it — a piece ordered against an estimate, or against the wrong number entirely.

This is the measuring half of the problem. What to measure, which listed dimension is the one that matters, and how to see a piece on your wall before you have paid for it.

Quick answer

Measure the furniture rather than the wall when art hangs above something, and use the artwork's outside frame dimensions rather than the image size. Then template the full outline in paper and painter's tape, and look at it from the doorway and from where you actually sit before you order anything.

Key takeaways

• Above furniture, the furniture width is the number that governs — not the wall width.
• Listed dimensions often describe the image or the paper. A mat and frame can add several inches on every side.
• Dimensions conventionally run height by width, so 36 × 60 is horizontal and 60 × 36 is vertical.
• A paper template costs nothing and catches the mistakes a tape measure alone will not.
• Judge the outline from the doorway and from a seated position, under the lamps you actually own.

What you are actually measuring

The instinct is to measure the wall. It is usually the wrong number.

When art hangs above furniture — a sofa, console, bed, sideboard — the furniture is what the eye reads the artwork against, so the furniture width governs. Measure it end to end, including the arms on a sofa and any overhang on a headboard. A headboard that extends behind the nightstands is wider than the mattress, and the mattress size will send you wrong.

On an open wall, measure the usable section rather than the whole wall: corner to window casing, doorway to corner, the run between two architectural boundaries. That section is the composition, not the wall it sits in.

With an L-shaped sectional, measure only the run directly beneath where the art will hang. Measuring around the corner gives a width that has nothing to do with the wall you are decorating.

While the tape is out, note the obstructions: switches and outlets, thermostats, vents, sconces, picture rail, the top of the baseboard, and the line of the trim. These are what turn a correct size into a piece that cannot actually hang there.

The listed number is not always the number you need

This is the most common ordering error, and it is entirely avoidable.

A print described as 24 × 36 is frequently the paper or the image. Add a mat and a frame and the finished object can be four to six inches larger in both directions. For sizing purposes you want the outside dimensions of the finished piece, frame included.

Two more traps worth knowing:

• Orientation. Dimensions are conventionally given height first. A piece listed as 36 × 60 inches is horizontal; 60 × 36 is vertical. The same two numbers describe very different objects.
• Round and irregular work. Use the outside diameter as the width, and for anything shaped, the width of its bounding box rather than the widest part of the image.

For groupings, the composition runs from the outside edge of the first piece to the outside edge of the last, gaps included. Three 18-inch frames with two 3-inch gaps span 60 inches, not 54.

Depth, which almost nobody measures

Width and height decide whether a piece looks right. Depth decides whether it survives.

In a hallway, a narrow entry, or anywhere people pass within arm's reach, total protrusion matters more than size. Measure from the wall to the furthest forward point of the piece, and remember that the mounting adds to it — a French cleat holds the frame off the wall by a small but real amount.

Dimensional work has a second depth to account for: the relief of the surface itself, which sits proud of the frame face. If you are working in a passage, ask for the wall-to-face figure rather than the frame depth. Our French cleat guide covers what the mounting hardware contributes.

Make the template

Everything above is arithmetic. This is the part that actually settles the question.

1. Cut paper to the finished outside dimensions. Kraft paper, newspaper, or taped-together printer sheets all work. Include the frame.
2. Test your tape on an inconspicuous patch of wall first. Painter's tape is gentle, but fresh or flat paint is not always forgiving.
3. Put it up at the intended height and mark the center, since that is the measurement you will hang to.
4. Cut a second template one size larger or smaller and put them up in turn. A single outline tells you whether something fits. Two tell you which is right.
5. For a grouping, template every piece, gaps and all. Arrangements look different on a wall than they do on the floor.

Leave the templates up for a day. A wall you pass twenty times tells you more than a wall you stand in front of once.

Look at it from where you will actually see it

A template judged from three feet away is judged from the one position nobody occupies.

Look from the doorway, which is how the room introduces itself. Look from the sofa or the dining chair, seated, because that is where the room is lived in and the eye line is six inches lower than you think. Then look at night, under the lamps you own rather than the daylight a photograph was taken in.

If you would rather see an actual piece in place than a paper outline, you can preview one on your own wall before deciding.

Then, and only then, the height

Size first, height second. They are separate decisions, and forcing them together is what produces a piece floating above a sofa.

• Open wall: center the piece 57 to 60 inches from the floor.
• Above furniture: leave 6 to 12 inches between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame, and let that govern.

A tall headboard, a low sofa, or an oversized piece can make both rules impossible at once. When they conflict, the relationship to the furniture wins, because it is the one the eye reads.

Where the proportions come from

The measuring above assumes you already know roughly what size you are aiming for. If you do not, the short version is two-thirds to three-quarters of the furniture width — and our wall art size guide works those ranges through room by room, with the chart and the common mistakes. Our size finder does the arithmetic for you.

Come back here once you have a range and need to confirm it against the actual wall.

Measuring for moss art specifically

The proportions are no different. Two things are.

Because the surface is textured rather than flat, a moss piece reads slightly larger than its dimensions suggest — the shadow between clusters gives it a visual weight a print of the same size does not have. And because it is dimensional, the depth question above applies in full: ask for the wall-to-face measurement before committing to a narrow space.

Since we build our frames in our own Chicago studio, a size that does not exist off the shelf is a normal request rather than an exception. If your template lands on a dimension nothing available matches, that is a reason to ask rather than to compromise.

Frequently asked questions

Do I measure the wall or the furniture?

The furniture, whenever art hangs above something. Measure it end to end including sofa arms and headboard overhang. Only on an open wall do you measure the wall, and then only the usable section between corners, windows, or doorways.

Does the size include the frame?

Yes. Use the finished outside dimensions. Listed dimensions often describe only the image or the paper, and a mat and frame can add several inches in each direction.

How do I make a template for artwork?

Cut paper to the full outside dimensions, mark the center, and tape it up at the intended height with painter's tape, testing the tape on an inconspicuous patch first. Cut a second template one size up or down and compare the two.

Which number is the width, the first or the second?

Conventionally dimensions run height by width, so 36 by 60 inches is horizontal and 60 by 36 is vertical. Confirm it against the listing rather than assuming, since not every seller follows the convention.

How do I measure for art in a narrow hallway?

Measure depth as well as width, from the wall to the furthest forward point, and include what the mounting hardware adds. In a passage, protrusion matters more than size.

How far in advance should I measure?

Before you order, and leave the template up for a day. Handmade work is built to the size you commit to, so a measurement corrected before the order costs nothing and one corrected afterward costs a rebuild.

Once the wall has given you a number

Every piece we make is built by hand in our Chicago studio, frames included, which means a template that lands between stock sizes is something we can build to rather than something you have to work around. Browse our moss frames, walls and panels, or start a custom piece sized to the outline on your wall.

The Moss Shop specializes in handcrafted preserved moss artwork for homes and businesses.