There are few things more important to a lounge than a sofa. Their vast size often means they dominate the room and this means that the rest of the room should be coordinated around it.
If your sofa sits against a wall, then what goes on that wall should work with the sofa. That space above the sofa is perfect for art. It's easy to get wrong, though. If you'd like to know how best to display art over sofas, read on!
Sofa placement is key
Before you think about what art to hang, it's important to ensure your sofa is correctly placed. Sometimes when a sofa is against a wall it can create a "boxy" feel. To avoid this, try placing other furniture or items at angles or a little away from the walls for a more casual, inviting feel.
You can try clustering items around the sofa to create a conversation area that's ideal for sitting, chatting, and watching TV. With pieces of furniture clustered around the sofa, we can create a sense of a defined space and that's especially helpful when the wall you're focusing on is a long one.
Size does matter
Now that our sofa is placed to perfection, we need to think about the size of our artworks. A good rule of thumb is to choose art that's about two-thirds the length of your sofa, either vertically or horizontally. Large pictures can be very helpful in breaking up a wall if it's a long one, but you may find those big paintings difficult to hang.
In that case, you should use multiple smaller pieces grouped closely together to form the appropriate size. Use several pieces of the same sizes, or use a range of sizes to create a more varied effect.
You say art, we say how high?
Correct height placement can be tricky without some prior research. Thankfully a simple rule of thumb is to hang artworks so that the center is about 60-63 inches above the floor. For most people, this is around eye level so it makes sense that you should hang your art here. You also should aim for no less than 9 inches from the bottom of the art and the top of the sofa.
If the picture doesn't seem to work at the aforementioned position, recruit a friend to hold the art on the wall and move it up and down until it looks good. You can then mark the spot and hang it there.
If you don't have anyone to help you, another great method is to cut pieces of paper to the size of the artwork and stick that to the wall to get an idea of how the art will look.
When your wall's too long
If you've followed all these steps and it still just doesn't look "right" due to a long wall, try adding more art! A good method is to add pieces of art to each side of the sofa, at equal sizes and distances from the central artwork. An asymmetrical arrangement can be appealing, but a symmetrical arrangement is easier to pull off.
There's no need to fear the space above your sofa any longer. We've given you the guidelines, now it's over to you to make it happen. We want to see a beautiful sofa-artwork combo for you to enjoy for years to come!
