Sizing Jean Degottex prints for small bedrooms

A bedroom changes how a Degottex print reads. This guide sets the dimensions that hold their own in a modest room without crowding the wall or the bed.

Auvrique Editorial · Fine Art Editions

The short answer

The best Jean Degottex print size for bedrooms is usually a vertical piece between 40 and 60 centimetres wide, hung above a bed or beside a wardrobe. In a room under three metres across, a print wider than 70 centimetres starts to compete with the bedhead and the nightstand. For a narrow wall, the ideal dimensions for small spaces stay closer to 40 by 60 centimetres.

What bedroom walls can actually hold

A bedroom wall is not a gallery wall. The eye lands on the bed first, then on whatever sits above it or to the side of it. A Degottex print that works on a long gallery wall can feel oversized the moment it shares space with a headboard, a lamp and a nightstand. The practical test is simple. Stand at the foot of the bed and look up. If the print feels wider than the bedhead, it is probably too wide for that wall. A vertical format usually fits the rhythm of a bedroom better than a wide horizontal one, because the room itself is taller than it is wide.

The print does not need to fill the wall. It needs to sit in proportion to the furniture below it. A piece that is too small reads as an afterthought above a substantial bed. A piece that is too large reads as a billboard. The middle ground is where a bedroom print earns its place. That middle ground is narrower than most buyers expect, especially in rooms that were never designed for art at all.

Dimensions that suit a modest room

For a bedroom under three metres across, the useful range is narrow. A vertical print between 40 and 60 centimetres wide usually keeps its own space without pressing on the bed. Above a single bed, a width around 50 centimetres is often enough. Above a double bed, the same piece can sit off-centre beside the headboard rather than spanning the full width. That placement keeps the print legible and leaves the bedhead to do its own work.

The height matters as much as the width. A print that runs too tall can crowd the ceiling line or the curtain rod. A print that is too short can disappear against a bulky headboard. If the wall is short, a compact vertical piece reads better than a wide one, because the eye travels up the room before it travels across it. The ideal dimensions for small spaces are the ones that leave a little wall showing on both sides.

Quick sizing guide

Above a single bed, a vertical print around 50 centimetres wide usually fits without crowding the headboard.
Above a double bed, a print between 60 and 70 centimetres wide can work if it sits centred or slightly off-centre.
On a narrow wall beside a wardrobe, a print closer to 40 centimetres wide keeps the room from feeling boxed in.
In a room under three metres across, any print wider than 70 centimetres tends to compete with the furniture.

How the room changes what the print does

Degottex's work often carries a quiet, unsettled surface, and a bedroom is a room where the eye rests for long stretches. That combination matters more than the dimensions alone. A print with a dense, dark ground can feel heavier in a small room than the same image does in a larger one. A lighter composition can feel thin if the wall is already pale and the furniture is plain. The size you choose should leave room for the surface to breathe, not just for the frame to fit.

Lighting changes the calculation too. A print hung above a bed gets light from a bedside lamp as well as from the room above it. That softer light can pull detail forward, but it can also flatten contrast if the print is already dark. Before you settle on a size, look at the wall at night with the lamp on. A piece that looks balanced in daylight can feel crowded once the room is lit for sleeping.

A print that is too small reads as an afterthought above a substantial bed.

Placement	Useful width	Note
Above a single bed	40 to 60 cm	Keep the print narrower than the bedhead
Above a double bed	50 to 70 cm	Centre it or set it slightly off-centre
Beside a wardrobe	35 to 50 cm	Leave wall showing on both sides

Bedroom print sizes at a glance

Key takeaways

A vertical print between 40 and 60 centimetres wide suits most modest bedrooms.
A print wider than 70 centimetres tends to compete with the bedhead and nightstand.
Placement above or beside the bed matters as much as the dimensions themselves.
Look at the wall at night with the lamp on before you commit to a size.

Related questions

Should a Degottex print be hung above the bed or beside it?

Either can work, but the wall space decides. Above the bed suits a vertical piece that stays narrower than the bedhead. Beside the bed suits a narrower print on a wall that would otherwise stay empty. If the wall is short, beside the bed often leaves more breathing room.

What if the bedroom wall is already crowded with furniture?

Choose the smallest width that still reads as a deliberate piece, often around 40 centimetres. A crowded wall does not need a large print to balance it. It needs a print that does not ask the furniture to move. A compact vertical piece usually settles better than a wide one.

Does a framed poster or a canvas print change the size that fits?

It changes the visual weight, not the width you should choose. A framed poster usually reads a little sharper and more definite on a bedroom wall. A canvas print can feel softer, which can suit a quiet room. The width range stays much the same either way.

From the Auvrique collection

Made to order · Every size