Art Print Size Guide: Every Size, Frame and Mat We Offer, and How to Choose

Every size we sell, and what it measures

Every print in the shop comes in the same eight sizes. The number you pick is the size of the print itself, in inches, width by height for a portrait piece. A frame adds its moulding around the outside, and the optional mat adds a white border inside the frame, so a finished framed piece measures a little larger than the print size on the label.

The sizes fall into three shapes. That matters when you hang two or more side by side, because prints of the same shape line up cleanly at the top and bottom.

12 x 18, 20 x 30 and 24 x 36 all share the 2:3 shape, so the same print looks the same at any of those sizes, just bigger or smaller. 8 x 10 and 16 x 20 share 4:5. 18 x 24 and 36 x 48 share 3:4. If you want a big print over the sofa and a small echo of it in the hall, pick two sizes from the same shape family.

Unframed prints start from $40 at 8 x 10, and framed pieces start from $80. Our most ordered size is 24 x 36, which is why it carries the Most Popular badge on every product page. The 36 x 48 carries Best Value, because framed it costs the least per square inch of anything we make.

Frame colors and the white mat

Every size can be ordered framed. There are four frame colors: Black, White, Walnut and Natural Wood. Frame color never changes the price, so pick on looks alone. Framed pieces arrive ready to hang.

• Black: the crispest edge. Good on white or cream walls, with black and white prints, and on bold graphic pieces like travel posters and type prints.
• White: the lightest touch. It lets pale backgrounds blend into a white wall and keeps a nursery or bright bedroom airy.
• Walnut: a deep brown that warms up rust, amber and gold tones. It sits well with leather furniture, dark floors and cabin rooms.
• Natural Wood: a lighter honey tone for oak, pine, rattan and farmhouse rooms. It softens a print without darkening it.

On framed orders you can add one slim white mat, about 1.5 in on every side, at any size. It adds $20. A mat gives the print breathing room inside the frame, which suits quiet prints with lots of empty space and black and white pieces. It also makes a small print feel more finished. Skip it on bold, full-bleed designs that look best running right to the frame, and skip it if the wall space is tight, since the mat adds about 3 in to each dimension before the frame.

Cowboys & Cowgirls

Ride of the West

From $40.00

The Wild Ones

The Galloper

From $40.00

Dust & Shadow

Spine Line

From $40.00

Three prints that take a white mat well: lots of open space around the subject.

How to pick a size for your sofa, bed or console

The most useful rule for art over furniture is two thirds. Measure the piece of furniture, then aim for art (or a group of prints with the gaps included) that covers about two thirds of that width. Much less and the art looks like it is floating. Much more and it crowds the room.

Height matters just as much. Common guidance puts the center of the art about 57 in off the floor, which is eye level for most people. Over a sofa or a headboard, let the bottom edge sit 6 to 10 in above the top of the furniture instead, so the two read as one arrangement. When you hang two prints side by side, leave 2 to 3 in between them.

Hung wide means turned so the long side runs horizontally. That only works for prints designed as landscapes, like HOWDY Dust or Welcome to the West. For portrait prints, reach the width you need with a pair or a row. Our wall sets are built that way: three or four prints that share a look and hang as a row.

No furniture under the wall? Stand in the doorway you walk through most and look. A 24 x 36 reads well from across a living room. In a hallway you walk right past the art, so 11 x 14 or 12 x 18 is plenty, and three in a row does more than one big piece. Tape a sheet of kraft paper cut to size on the wall for a day before you order. It is the cheapest way to be sure.

Ceiling height changes the math too. On a standard 8 ft wall, a 24 x 36 upright over a sofa leaves a comfortable band of wall above it, while a 36 x 48 upright can start to crowd the ceiling. On a tall wall or a stairway, go up a size or stack two pieces so the art fills the height instead of sitting low and small. We cover the lower ceiling case in detail in choosing art for an 8 foot ceiling room.

Typography

HOWDY Dust

From $40.00

Desert Series

Echoes of the Plains

From $40.00

Dust & Shadow

Street View

From $40.00

Good anchors for a sofa or bed wall at 24 x 36 and up.

Framed or unframed: which to order

Order framed if you want to hang it the day it arrives. The piece comes ready to hang, in the frame color and mat you chose, and you never have to hunt for an odd frame size.

Order unframed if you already own a frame, want a specific moulding we do not offer, or are buying for someone who likes to pick their own. The print alone is also the lighter option for a renter, a dorm or a bunk room, where you may hang it with clips or a poster hanger. Unframed prints in our standard sizes fit ready-made frames sold in those same sizes.

• Budget: a framed 24 x 36 costs several times the print alone, so if you plan to frame it yourself, the print saves the most at big sizes.
• Timing: an unframed print takes 3 to 5 business days to make, a framed piece 5 to 7.
• Shipping: print-only orders over $100 after discounts ship free in the US. Orders with a framed piece pay the actual postage, worked out at checkout from your ZIP code.

You can also mix the two. A common setup is one framed anchor over the sofa and a few unframed prints for a hallway, framed later as the budget allows. If you do mix, keep the frame color the same across the room so the pieces read as one set.

How your order ships

Every piece is made to order in the USA. Allow 3 to 5 business days to make an unframed print, or 5 to 7 for a framed piece. Orders ship to US addresses and arrive 3 to 7 business days after that, and you get a tracking number the moment yours ships.

A rolled print wants to curl for a day or two. Unroll it face up on a clean table, set a few books on the corners with a sheet of paper under them, and leave it overnight. Wash and dry your hands first, and handle it by the edges.

If a piece arrives damaged, we replace it free. Email a picture of the damage and the box within 7 days of delivery. You can also return a piece in its original condition within 30 days of delivery. The full details are on our shipping and returns page, and once it is on the wall, our hanging guide walks through hooks, heights and spacing.