How to Hang Posters: Height, Formats, Frames and Spacing

If you want to hang a poster, place the centre of the picture at about 145 to 150 centimetres; above a sofa or dining table, rather at 130 to 140 centimetres, with 20 to 30 centimetres of space above the furniture. Add a standard format such as A2, A3, A4 or 30 × 40 cm, an understated frame and even gaps of 5 to 8 centimetres when several prints hang together.

A good print in the wrong place looks like a mediocre one, and that's almost always because it hangs too high. This is about craft: height, format, frame, arrangement. The examples come from our Posters collection, because at Good-Natured we design our prints to fit standard frames and to work together as a series. Which designs and verses suit a wall in the first place is a topic of its own; here it's about how to show them at their best.

“The most common reason a picture doesn’t work isn’t the picture. It’s that it hangs twenty centimetres too high.”

1. Hanging posters: how high is right?

The rule of thumb from museums: the centre of the picture sits about 145 to 150 centimetres above the floor, which is average eye level when standing. For hallways, stairwells and any wall you walk past, that works well.

In living spaces it only partly applies. Above a sofa or a dining table you're sitting down, so the centre is better at around 130 to 140 centimetres. This is where most people hang things too high.

Rule of thumb above furniture: 20 to 30 centimetres between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame. More looks disconnected, less looks cramped. And a picture above a sofa should take up about two thirds of the sofa's width. A single A4 poster looks lost there, while an A2 poster or a row of three A3 posters looks calm and complete.

In practice: mark the desired centre on the wall, add half the frame height upwards, then subtract the distance from the top of the frame to the hanger. That's where the nail goes.

2. Which formats are there and which goes where?

A2 (42 × 59.4 cm) is the large format for an empty wall, above the sofa, the bed or the dining table. A single A2 poster fills a space that would otherwise need several smaller prints, and looks particularly calm. You can see which designs Good-Natured offers in A2 in our Posters collection.

A3 (29.7 × 42 cm) is the most flexible format. It works on its own above a chest of drawers and just as well in a series. In A3, Good-Natured offers, for example, all nine designs of the Fruit of the Spirit series such as the Love poster (12 €), the Names of God posters such as YHWH (12 €) and the Easy Yoke poster.

A4 (21 × 29.7 cm) is small and good for desks, hallways, bedside tables and groups of several prints. The Mercy poster, for example, comes in A4 and A3 (ab 10 €).

30 × 40 cm is a little shorter and wider than A3, the most common frame size in shops and therefore the easiest to frame. This format includes the Alpha & Omega poster and the Yes & Amen poster (each also in A4, ab 10 €) as well as the Heavenly Mindset poster (12 €).

A practical tip: stick to standard formats. Frames for A2, A3, A4 and 30 × 40 cm are available in every furniture and DIY store; custom sizes mean made-to-measure frames, which often cost more than the print itself.

3. Frame or no frame?

With a frame, a print looks more finished and lasts longer, because glass protects it from dust, grease and moisture. In children's rooms and hallways, acrylic glass is the better choice because it doesn't shatter; with large A2 frames it also saves noticeable weight.

With a mount, a small print looks bigger and calmer. Proven combinations: an A4 poster in a 30 × 40 frame with a mount, an A3 poster in a 40 × 50 frame or an A2 poster in a 50 × 70 frame. Especially with a series, this looks very tidy.

Without a frame, using poster hangers, clips or a magnetic rail, a print looks lighter and is quick to swap. Good for anyone who likes to rearrange, for shared flats and for rented homes where you don't want to drill much.

When it comes to frame colour: a frame shouldn't stand out. Black, white or light wood work almost everywhere. Our posters are delivered without a frame, so you can choose one that suits your furniture.

4. How much space between several posters?

Same format, same frame, same spacing. That's the calmest look of all: three or four prints in a row with about five to eight centimetres between them. A series like Fruit of the Spirit is made for this, with nine designs in a shared style that can be combined freely. What lies behind the nine words is explained in The Fruit of the Spirit: 9 qualities and what they mean today.

Grid of four or six posters: two rows, equal gaps horizontally and vertically. The centre of the whole grid (not of each poster) then sits at 145 to 150 centimetres.

Different formats? Then at least one shared edge: all aligned at the top or all on the same centre line. An A3 poster next to two A4 posters hung one above the other makes a calm group, as does an A2 poster in the middle with an A3 poster on each side.

Lay them out on the floor first. It saves holes and almost always leads to a different arrangement than the one you had in mind. To be completely sure, cut the formats out of brown paper and stick them to the wall with masking tape.

5. Which poster works where?

Living room: a single A2 poster or a row of three A3 posters above the sofa, or a 30 × 40 poster above a sideboard, perhaps just leaned against the wall rather than hung.

Hallway and entrance: a verse or a name of God that you pass every day, for example from our Poster with Bible verse collection. Here the museum height of 145 to 150 centimetres works best.

Desk and workspace: A4 at eye level when seated, so a centre of around 120 to 130 centimetres.

As a gift: a poster together with a matching frame makes a complete gift for a housewarming or a wedding. Ideas are in Christian wedding gifts: 3 ideas that are about the couple.

Conclusion

Centre at 130 to 150 centimetres, 20 to 30 centimetres of space above the furniture, a standard format, an understated frame, and lay everything out on the floor first: that's how a nice print becomes a wall you enjoy walking past. If you're still looking for the right design, the Posters collection from Good-Natured has verses, names of God and the complete Fruit of the Spirit series in standard formats from A4 to A2.