Bedroom Wall Decor Ideas: Sizes That Fill the Wall Above the Bed

By Li-Lu Studio · Last updated: 18 October 2026

You have a bare wall above the bed and a tab full of pictures you like. Then you hold one up in your head and cannot tell whether it will look right or lost. Most bedroom wall decor ideas show you the finished room and never say how wide anything was.

This guide does the opposite. It starts with the size, in centimetres, then moves through the ideas that work at that size: a pair, a gallery wall, a blank wall, no headboard, the walls beside the bed. Along the way you will see where a small handmade object fits in the gap that is left. For a room where the bed is the only big thing, the finished handmade toys page shows the kind of object I mean.

A wall above the bed does not look empty because the picture is dull. It looks empty because the picture is too small for the bed under it.

What size should the art above your bed be

It is the question behind most bedroom wall decor ideas above bed, and the one that gets the least straight answer.

You can do this with a tape measure. Take the width of the headboard and aim for two-thirds to three-quarters of it. That is the whole rule, and it works for a single piece, a pair or a set.

The reason is simple. A bed is wide and heavy, and a small piece floating above it is the most common bedroom mistake. The eye reads the headboard and the picture as one shape, and the picture has to be big enough to belong to it.

• Measure the headboard, not the room and not the wall.
• Multiply by two-thirds and three-quarters. Your piece should land between the two numbers.
• Between two sizes? Take the larger. Too small is the regret people actually have.

I do this with a tape measure on the bed before I look at a single picture. It takes a minute and it removes the guessing. I always take the larger of two sizes, and you should too.

Pro tip: measure the headboard in centimetres first, then convert shop sizes from inches, not the other way round.

When the size is right and the wall still feels bare, one small handmade figure on a shelf below it finishes the job.

The size table by bed width

Here are the three common beds. The numbers come straight from the headboard width, with the nearest standard canvas size next to each.

You can picture the queen row on the wall. A 122 cm piece spans most of the headboard. Over a king, a 152 cm piece reaches nearly from one nightstand to the other.

If you are asking what size art above a bed suits yours, and it is not on the list, work it out from the headboard width and use the same two fractions. The table is only the rule done for you.

Two things the table does not cover: a pair of smaller pieces, and a bed with no headboard. Both get their own sections below.

You also get a quieter wall if you stop at the art and add one 23 cm figure on a shelf below, rather than a second frame.

How high above the headboard to hang it

Leave 15 to 25 cm between the top of the headboard and the bottom of the art. That usually puts the centre of the piece at about 145 to 152 cm from the floor, which is average eye level.

You will want to hang it higher to fill the wall. Resist it, as I do. A piece pushed up the wall looks as if it is drifting towards the ceiling, cut off from the bed.

1. Measure from the floor to the top of the headboard, with the tape you already have.
2. Add 15 to 25 cm. That is where the bottom edge goes.
3. Check the centre lands near 145 to 152 cm. If it does not, move the bottom edge down a little.

A tall, upholstered headboard changes the sum. It already fills the wall, so close the gap to 10 to 15 cm and keep the art in the lower half of the size range. Or use a pair that sits lower and flanks the middle.

One more thing I check: the glass. Heavy framed glass directly over the pillows is a comfort and safety question, not only a style one. Lighter canvas or an unglazed print is easier to live under.

The same measuring tape sets the shelf height below the art. A 23 cm figure on a ledge 15 to 25 cm under the frame keeps the whole wall in one block.

One big piece or a pair above the bed

Both work. They solve different problems, and you choose by how much pressure you want on one picture.

• One big piece: calm, one clear focal point, the simplest way to make the bedroom look finished.
• A matched pair: symmetry, and less riding on a single choice.
• A set of three: useful on a wide bed, where one piece would need to be very large.

With a pair, measure them as one shape. The two pieces and the gap between them should still land in the two-thirds to three-quarters range. Keep 5 to 10 cm between pieces so they read as a group and not as two strangers.

A single oversized piece can bring more soul to a room without cluttering it, and smaller pieces come into play when you want to tell a story. That is a good way to choose: one big piece for calm, several small ones for personality.

I pick a pair when I am unsure of the subject, and you can do the same. If one frame turns out wrong, the other still holds the wall up.

Under a pair, one handmade figure on a ledge adds a third point without a third frame.

Pro tip: hang the pair first with tape, then step back to the doorway and check they read as one block.

Bedroom wall decor ideas for a blank wall

These wall decor ideas for bedroom walls that have nothing on them start with a decision, not a purchase.

Art over the headboard is the standard move, but it is not a rule. If the wall has a window, a sloped ceiling or one clean stretch you like, it can stay plain and something else can carry the room.

What I do with a blank wall is decide what it is for before I fill it. You can do the same in one evening. There are only a few honest answers:

• It frames the bed: then one piece sized to the headboard is enough.
• It is quiet on purpose: then the colour of the bedding and the lamp do the work.
• It is waiting for light: then a mirror on the side wall does more than a picture.

You may think an empty wall is calm. It is not if it looks like nobody decided. It reads as calm when one thing on it is clearly chosen. That is why one correctly sized piece beats three small ones you were not sure about.

If you only have a plain wall and a small budget of attention, start with the bed-sized piece and leave everything else alone for a week. If two of you share the room, the couples bedroom guide helps you agree on it. You will see what the room still needs.

Often the answer is one small object, like a 23 cm handmade figure on a narrow shelf, and not another picture.

A gallery wall that does not outgrow the bed

A gallery wall above bed height works only if the group stays inside the width of the headboard.

A gallery wall is one of the most classic bedroom ideas, and it works best with pieces of different scales. One large frame anchors it, and a few small ones fill in around it.

The trap is size. A gallery that spreads past the bed on both sides stops belonging to the bed and starts to look like a second room on the wall.

1. Pick the biggest piece first and size it to the headboard with the table above.
2. Add smaller frames around it, keeping 5 to 10 cm between each.
3. Treat the whole group as one shape. Its outer edges should still fit inside the two-thirds to three-quarters range.

I keep the subjects related, and you should too. Family photos work well, as does one artist or one palette. The wall should feel timeless and yours, which is easier when the frames agree on something.

If you are tempted to keep adding, stop at the width of the headboard. The one accent per surface guide covers the other surfaces in the house. A gallery that is wider than the bed is the first sign it has outgrown it. Put the one non-flat thing on the shelf below, such as a 23 cm figure.

Pro tip: lay the whole arrangement on the floor next to the bed and photograph it before a single nail goes in.

What to do with a wall and no headboard

With no headboard, the art does the headboard’s job. It anchors the bed, so it needs to be a little larger than you would otherwise choose.

You measure the mattress width instead of the headboard, and use the same two-thirds to three-quarters. Then you hang the piece lower than usual:

• Bottom edge: 20 to 25 cm above the pillows.
• Width: sized to the mattress, leaning to the larger side.
• Shape: horizontal or square, so it echoes the bed.

Too small is the risk here. A modest piece on a big bare wall leaves the bed looking as if it is floating, with nothing behind it. A handmade figure on the bedside shelf helps the same way.

This is also the one case where a wide set of two or three panels is worth a look. On a long platform bed it can span the wall in a way one piece cannot, and the gaps between panels stay small.

If you rent and cannot drill much, a wide piece leaned on a narrow shelf behind the bed gives the same weight without a row of holes. See the bedroom shelf guide for how a shelf is laid out.

Vertical pieces over each nightstand

Vertical art does not belong above the bed. A tall piece over a wide bed leaves dead air on both sides and makes the headboard look narrow and unanchored.

It does belong over the nightstands. Hang a tall piece above each one and the wall gains height and a clear rhythm around the bed.

• Match them: the same artist or the same subject on both sides.
• Hang them level, not higher on one side because the lamp is taller.
• Keep the middle simple: if the sides are busy, let the bed wall be quiet.

Vertical works for a narrow accent wall beside the bed too. Save it for that and for the nightstands, and keep the bed wall horizontal or square. The nightstand below each vertical piece takes one 23 cm figure and a lamp.

You will see designers hang large, vintage vertical pieces over nightstands for softness in an otherwise white room. The softness comes from the pair, not from the size of either one.

If your nightstand wall is short, hang the pieces lower than the centre of the bed art so they do not compete with it.

A picture ledge under the art: what stands on it

A ledge under the main piece gives the wall a second layer without a second frame. It is also the best place for something small and three-dimensional, which a flat picture cannot give you.

You need to keep the ledge shallow. A depth of 15 to 20 cm holds a phone, a lamp base and a book, and anything deeper pushes towards the pillow. Leave one third of its length empty.

1. Put the largest thing slightly off centre, not above the middle of the bed.
2. Add one flat thing beside it: a small frame or a book laid down.
3. Leave the last third bare.

This is where the free advice about size runs out. The rule tells you how wide the art is, but not what to put in the space that is left. You end up with a second small frame, and the wall gets busy again. I did the same.

What works better is one object with some weight to it. A 23 cm handmade figure is about the height of a hardback book, so it sits next to a lamp and a book without crowding either.

Pro tip: stand a hardback book on the ledge first and look at it from the doorway.

The gap between the art and the nightstand

Once the piece is sized to the headboard, a strip of wall is left on each side. Over a queen bed with a 122 cm piece, that is about 15 cm either side of the headboard edge, and the nightstand sits underneath it.

That strip is the part nobody tells you to size. It tends to get a second frame, a hook with a bag on it or nothing at all, and nothing is the one that looks unfinished.

A better answer, and the one I use, is to keep the surface under the strip for one object, and let the wall stay bare above it.

• On the nightstand: a lamp and one object, because one to two items is the limit on a small table.
• On the ledge: one object, with a third of the shelf left empty.
• On the wall: nothing, so the main piece reads clearly.

I tried filling the strip with a small frame once. It made the main piece look smaller, because the eye now had two things to compare. The bare strip did more for the art than a frame beside it.

For the nightstand side, the bedside table decor guide goes through what goes on the table itself, and a 23 cm figure is the size that stays beside a lamp.

A mirror on the side wall

A mirror does a job a picture cannot: it brings light. Hung above a nightstand, it adds light to a dark wall, and it gives the pair of nightstands height and symmetry.

You use it where the bed wall is already decided. If the headboard wall carries a big piece, put the mirror on the side, not over the bed, so the two do not argue.

• Above a nightstand: hung level with the bed art’s bottom edge or just below it.
• On the facing wall: where it catches window light and bounces it back.
• Not behind the lamp: the bulb then shows twice and the glare goes in your eyes.

Mirrors also help a small bedroom feel bigger and brighter, which is why they come up so often. If your room is small, the small bedroom guide sizes the rest of the accents.

One caution: do not hang a mirror where you see yourself the moment you lie down, unless you like that. Check from the pillow before you drill. On the nightstand beneath, a handmade figure makes a small second point of colour.

Colour: one shade from the bedding

You pick one colour from the bedding and repeat it once on the wall. That could be the tone of a figure, the mat inside a frame or a stripe in the print. It connects the wall to the bed without matching everything.

Texture does the rest. Linen bedding, a knit throw and a wood nightstand make a room look rich even with one artwork on the wall, so the picture does not have to carry the whole mood. For a pink palette, the grown-up pink room guide shows three shades that work.

• Calm room: keep the art in tones close to the bedding.
• Plain room: let one object bring the colour, and leave the print neutral.
• Busy bedding: choose a quieter piece, or the wall and the bed compete.

A high-energy subject right where you sleep can work against rest. Put the calm piece above the bed and the bold one on the wall you see when you are awake.

For a darker palette, the mid-century bedroom guide shows how wood, cream and black hold together. If you want the colour in an object and not in the print, choose a figure in the bedding shade.

The paper test: check the size before you order

I check every size this way before I order. Cut paper or painter’s tape to the size you are weighing and outline it above the headboard. It costs nothing and it settles most arguments about size.

1. Cut or tape the shape to the full width and height of the piece.
2. Stick it where the bottom edge will go, 15 to 25 cm above the headboard.
3. Stand in the doorway, then lie on the bed and look up from the pillow.
4. Leave it up for a day before you decide.

If it looks slightly too big on paper, it is usually right on the wall. If you are between two sizes, take the larger one.

You can run the same test for the ledge. Stand a book on the shelf where the object will go and look from the door.

If you keep moving the tape, the wall is telling you the piece is the wrong shape. Try a different shape before you try a smaller one. Once the size is settled, you can see the 23 cm figures that would stand under it.

Pro tip: take a photo of the taped shape and look at the photo, because a camera shows crowding your eye skips.

Li-Lu Studio

Hi, I'm Li-Lu. I hand-finish every figure myself in the UK — soft yarn body, wired ears, laced boots, one at a time. Around 200 designs so far, and no two batches are quite identical.