How to Hang Art Above a Sofa: 12 Expert Tips and Your Key Questions Answered

If the question of how to hang art above a sofa is giving you grief, this post is going to sort you out. As an interior designer, art placement above a sofa is something I deal with on every project. And trust me, it’s not as tricky as you think.

Below I’ll talk you through exactly where above your sofa the art should sit, what frame colour it should be in, the ideal width of the artwork in question, plus a whole lot more.

By the end of this post I have every confidence you’ll be an art hanging professional (so much so that you might not even need my guide on how to hang art above a bed). But just in case, check out that post after this one to be sure.

Drop me a comment at the end of the post if you have any questions or need more guidance.

1. What Frame Colour Should the Artwork Above a Sofa Have?

Like with any room, the pieces in the space should speak to one another. Odd phrase, I know, but what I mean is that the items should have a connection. It can be through colour, texture, pattern, or another design element.

When hanging art above a sofa, it’s best that the frame around the artwork be in a colour or material that’s already in the room. It could be an oak frame that speaks to an oak coffee table in the space. Perhaps a black frame that speaks to a black lamp or black legs on the sofa.

Or, perhaps in a neutral room you’ll opt for a white frame so as to not detract from the artwork itself. There’s an personal preference aspect that comes into play here, but do try your best not to choose something like a dark black frame in an otherwise calm, muted living room. It’ll feel too severe on the wall.

2. How High Should You Hang Art Above a Sofa?

Everyone has a different style of sofa, with a different back height. But here’s the general rule: ideally, you want the bottom of your artwork to sit about 15 centimetres / 6 inches above the height of the sofa. If you have a high-back sofa with a headrest, you can hang the artwork a little lower.

Be mindful of how you use the room, also. If it’s a TV-watching room and you’re throwing yourself back into the sofa, you don’t want your head hitting the corner of an artwork every time you sit down. In a formal sitting room here you’re not as reclined, you can afford to sit the art a touch lower.

The goal is to have the artwork feel ‘connected’ to the sofa. They are close. They’re not so close they’re intimate, but conversely they’re not to far apart that it looks like they’re social distancing.

3. What Gap Should Be Between Art and the Ceiling?

You want less gap at the bottom (between art and sofa) than you do above (between art and cornice/ceiling). You never want the gap above and below your artwork to be exactly the same.

If the art you’re trying to hang above your sofa leaves a gap below of less than 15 centimetres / 6 inches (and there’s the same or less gap above the artwork to the ceiling) then the artwork is too big for the space and you need to find something with less height.

As every ceiling height is different, the golden rule is to ensure you have about double the gap above the artwork than you do below. You’ll have loads more if you have high ceilings, which is perfectly OK.

The artwork should have more of a relationship to the sofa than the cornice in a room with a high ceiling. Below for example, I’d ideally set the artwork lower.

4. How Wide Should the Art Be in Relation to the Sofa?

The exact dimensions of the artwork/s above a sofa is not the important part. The most crucial element to get right it ensuring the piece/s never, ever extend beyond the width of the sofa. You want the art hung above a sofa to step in on either side a little.

For example, if the sofa is two-metres wide (6.5 feet) you’d want an artwork with a width of around 1.6metres (62 inches). This means you have a good 20cm gap on either side of the artwork in relation to the sofa below.

You wouldn’t really want to go much narrower in width in the above example, otherwise the artwork will feel dwarfed in relation to the sofa below (as though it’s floating alone in the room).

Drop me a comment at the end of the post if you want me to tell you the exact art dimensions based on your sofa width.

5. Should You Hang One Two, or Three Artworks?

How many artworks to hang above a sofa really doesn’t matter, as long as you follow the rule above of ensuring they don’t extend beyond the width of the sofa.

Bear in mind though, the gap between your artworks should always be narrower than the space on the outer edges of the arrangement. If it’s two artworks side-by-side, the gap between them should not be exactly the same as the gap on the outer edges to the width of the sofa.

If you’ve placed your artworks side by side and stepped them in a little from the edge of the sofa, but the gap between them is wider than about 20cm, than the artworks are too small for the wall.

6. What Orientation Should Art Above a Sofa Be (Square, Portrait or Landscape)?

To achieve the most harmonious and scale-appropriate look when it comes to hanging art above a sofa, I’d recommend either one landscape/horizontal artwork, or two square artworks side-by-side.

Now, that’s not to say that two portrait-orientation (or vertical) artworks can’t sit side-by-side above a sofa, but it is more likely to create too-large a gap on the outer edges of the arrangement.

The image above illustrates what I mean. The space looks lovely, but the artworks in portrait orientation only work because it’s a small room and the sofa is in the corner. If it were a much larger space with a centred sofa there would be too much dead space either side of the prints.

Similarly, one square artwork above a sofa will create the same mistake (too much space either side). I generally prefer two square artworks above a sofa, but this is by no means a strict rule.

7. What Hooks Should You Use to Hang Art Above a Sofa?

The best type of hooks for hanging art above a sofa are going to vary depending on the weight of the artwork in question.

If you have lightweight canvases, for example, a set of 3M Command hooks would work successfully to install these. Just make sure you check the weight that the hooks can hold (marked on the front of the packet) before you buy. The last thing you want it an artwork falling on your head during a Netflix binge!

For heavier artworks in box frames, or glass-front artworks, the best type of hook is a sawtooth hook, which is attached to the back of the artwork. Failing that, you just want to ensure the artwork is hung on multiple sturdy hooks.

If you’re feeling nervous, call in a professional picture hanger. We use ours on every one of our interior design projects and they really leave you feeling confident your artwork is safely attached to the wall.

8. Can I Hang a Gallery Wall of Artworks Above a Sofa?

You can absolutely hang a gallery wall of artworks above a sofa. The image above shows you how it can work wonderfully.

Here’s the thing though: arranging them in the right way is key, as is choosing a collection of artworks that all work together seamlessly on the wall. Frame colour and style also comes into play. There’s definitely a few guidelines to follow.

Check out this post on how to create a gallery wall of art, and use some of those tips to ensure your arrangement doesn’t end up looking chaotic.

9. What Style or Artwork Should You Hang Above a Sofa?

Choosing artwork is such a personal journey for some, so I don’t want to box you into a particular style for your own home. What I do want to advise though, is that you choose something that speaks to you (that you honestly enjoy) but also consider the question: how do I want my living room to feel?

Artwork takes up a lot of visual real estate when hung above a sofa, so it will impact the mood in the room. So ask yourself, do you want the room to feel calm? Do you want it to feel energetic, lively, eclectic, etc. Once you have the answer to that question you can better determine the style of art you hang.

Here’s my no-regret art buying guide to ensure you make the right choice.

10. Using Wall Lights to Help a Smaller Artwork Shine

Above I guided you on the right width of the artworks you hang above your sofa. There might be a situation, though, where you already have your dream artwork but it feels a touch too narrow to hang above your sofa.

If this is the case, consider using wall lights to fill the void left on either side of the artwork. They don’t have to be permanently wired, either; there are options available now that stick onto the wall and are battery operated.

The same goes for an artwork that might not feel tall enough to hang above your sofa. Consider a wall light in a linear style and mount it above the artwork so it fills the space between the artwork and the ceiling and gives the piece more prominence in the living room.

11. Should the Artwork Above a Sofa be Glass or Canvas?

This is entirely up to you, but one thing to consider if how bright the room is and where your light source is coming from. By that I mean, where are the windows in the room and how much light are they shining on your artworks?

A bright room with lots of natural light flooding in bodes well for canvas artworks. Glass-front artworks in a room like this often create a lot of glare and it can be hard to see and appreciate the artwork you’ve hung above the sofa.

That said, many framers offer art glass which reduces glare if you have a favourite piece you want to hang behind glass above the sofa in your living room.

12. How to Ensure you Don’t Mess It Up

Something I recommend clients do when determining the ideal sizing of artworks they need is mocking up the art dimensions on the wall before they purchase.

Simply grab some builder’s tape and mark out the four edges of the art on the wall. This will allow you to see the scale of the potential artwork, ensuring it steps in from the edges of the sofa and leaves enough gap above and below, too.

You can also use post-its if they’re on-hand and mark out the corners of the artwork to get a feel for not only the size of art but where to position it before you hang it above a sofa.

Hopefully this post has answered all of your questions on how to hang art above a sofa. But as I’ve already mentioned, drop me a comment below if you need some more guidance and I can help you out.