How Do Art Prints Interact with Furniture?


Art prints have the ability to completely transform a space – but that doesn’t mean you can just add any type of art print to any location. Art prints need to be considered against the current décor, and especially the furniture. 

So, before you hang a detailed art pint above your bed or a tiny art print above a huge sofa, read this post to learn how art prints interact with furniture. Here’s what you need to know.

Three Tips for Matching Art Prints with Furniture

Walk into any home with art prints and you will find them hanging in the usual spaces. In a hallway, on a shelf or above a bed are all common places to find art prints. However, there are a number of considerations when placing art prints with some items of furniture:

  1. Considering the Spectator

Sometimes art prints can be full of fine details and viewers need to get up close to really appreciate the piece. Other times they are big abstract pieces that can be enjoyed from up close or the other side of a room.

If you have a detailed piece, you need to position it away from furniture that obstructs the viewer from appreciating it from up close. For example, a detailed art print should not be placed above a sofa or bed – unless you want guests to climb over these pieces of furniture to get a good look.

As a general rule, it is better to keep detailed art prints in spots where you can walk right up to them, such as hallways, while prints with fewer details can be placed in these harder-to-view places.

  1. Match Colours When Possible

Both art prints and furniture should be considered as part of the overall theme of your décor. For that reason, they need to interact. 

Colours are the easiest way of achieving this and the colours within the print should match the furniture around them. For example, a black leather sofa may pair well with a black and white abstract art print.

Many modern homes use furniture of neutral pallets such as browns, whites, creams and blacks – but this doesn’t mean you can never choose a colourful art print. The simple addition of a colourful sofa cushion, tablecloth or throw can subtly match the colour within an art print, and really make it pop!

  1. Size Matters

The furniture in our homes come in all different sizes. Sofas are usually wide, bookshelves are long and dining room tables can be small, rectangular, circular and/or large.

For this reason, sometimes it is not the content of the art print which matters when matching it with furniture, but the size of it. Placing a small circular art print above a long three-seater sofa will not work well. It is better to try and match the sizes and shapes of furniture with the art print.

This doesn’t mean you can’t use smaller art prints above large furniture items. However, you should group many of them together to create a larger collage that responds well to the size of the large surrounding furniture.

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