Canvas or poster: which size for a car lover's wall

Start with the wall, not with the image

Three measurements are enough, and they take two minutes.

The width of the furniture below. A frame hung above a desk, a sofa or a sideboard should take up between half and two thirds of its width. Below that it floats. Above it, it crowds the room.

The viewing distance. The most forgotten criterion. In a hallway you walk past at three feet, you never see a large piece whole. In a living room where you sit thirteen feet away, a small piece turns into a postage stamp.

Eye level. The centre of the image sits around 150 to 160 cm from the floor, roughly 60 inches. Above furniture you go lower and leave 20 to 30 cm, around 8 to 12 inches, between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame.

The four canvas sizes

Our canvases come in four sizes, and each one is better than the others at a specific job.

30 x 40 cm, about 12 x 16 in. The supporting size. It works alone in a small space, a cloakroom, an entrance, a corner of a desk, or in a set of two or three to build a wall. Alone above a sofa, it looks timid.

50 x 70 cm, about 20 x 28 in. The most versatile, and the one to reach for when in doubt. It holds above a desk, in a bedroom, in a wide hallway. It forgives measuring mistakes.

70 x 100 cm, about 28 x 39 in. The size that makes a room. Above a sofa or a bed, this is the one that reads as deliberate decoration rather than a poster on a wall. It needs distance, ten feet at least.

100 x 140 cm, about 39 x 55 in. The centrepiece. One per room, on an empty wall, with nothing around it. In a garage or a large living room it changes the nature of the space. Anywhere else it fills it entirely.

Poster or canvas: not only a budget question

The two supports do not tell the same story, and the choice depends on the subject as much as on the wall.

Canvas. No reflection, no glass, a matte presence that absorbs light. It suits subjects made of material and atmosphere: a body panel, a night scene, a glowing track layout. It is the support that comes closest to a painting.

Poster. A4, A3 or A2. Paper renders fine lines, typography and technical documents better. It is the right support for a blueprint, a race sheet, a graphic illustration. And the small size owns it: a framed A4 in an office beats a large canvas in the wrong place.

A useful reference: A4 is about 8 x 12 in, A3 about 12 x 17 in, A2 about 17 x 23 in. Each size doubles the one before it.

With or without a frame

Every piece exists in both versions, and the choice depends mostly on the room.

Without a frame. The image stops where it stops, the whole thing stays light, and the result reads as more contemporary. The right call for a wall that is already busy, for a garage, for a workspace.

With a frame. The frame sets the object. It creates a margin between the wall and the subject, and moves the piece towards deliberate decoration. In a living room or an entrance, it changes perceived value far more than size does.

Which subject for which room

Size decides the place, subject decides the intent. Four situations cover almost every case.

The office. A technical blueprint, an exploded view, an engineering document. You look at it from close range, several hours a day: it needs details to discover, not one idea read in a second.

The garage or workshop. The car, large, no frame. The only room where the 100 x 140 imposes itself without argument, and where a frontal subject is allowed.

The living room. A circuit layout or a graphic composition. People who do not follow the sport read abstract shapes; people who do read Monaco or Spa. That is what makes them acceptable to the whole household.

The child's room. A clear colour, a driver, a number. Modest size, 30 x 40 or 50 x 70, hung lower than adult eye level.

Where to start

Three entry points, depending on what you are after.

Monaco F1 Circuit CanvasLiving room, large size Porsche GT3 RS CanvasGarage, no frame Porsche 917K PosterOffice, framed A3

Frequently asked questions