The Right Borduas Print Size for a Small Bedroom

A small bedroom punishes oversizing. The wall is short, the viewing distance is close, and a large gestural abstract can overwhelm both. Here is how to pick a Borduas print that holds the room without crowding it.

Auvrique Editorial · Fine Art Editions

The short answer

For a small bedroom, choose a Borduas print between 18x24 and 24x36 inches. Below 16x20 the gestural marks lose their force; above 30x40 the work dominates a wall meant for rest. A single print at 24x36, hung at eye level over the bed or dresser, gives the strongest result.

Why Small Rooms Need Smaller Prints

A bedroom wall is usually interrupted. A headboard, a window, a wardrobe, a door swing. The clear run of wall above a bed in a small room is often no more than 40 to 50 inches wide, and the viewer sees it from a bed or a doorway, rarely from across a room. That viewing distance matters. Borduas worked in a gestural, spontaneous mode, and his compositions reward a viewer standing close enough to read the paint. In a bedroom, that closeness is built in.

The practical rule is simple. The print should span roughly two thirds to three quarters of the width of the furniture below it, and its top edge should sit 8 to 10 inches above the headboard or dresser. For a queen bed, that points to a print in the 24x36 inch range. For a full or twin bed, or a narrow dresser, 18x24 is the better fit. Anything larger starts to fight the room.

Framed Poster or Canvas

Format changes how a size reads. A framed poster adds a border, which visually contains the work and suits a small room where you want the print to sit quietly. A canvas edition has no frame, so the image runs to the edge and feels larger than its measurements suggest. The same 24x36 image will read bolder on canvas. A framed poster format, the kind used for editions like White Lilies framed poster, keeps the footprint predictable.

Canvas has one further advantage in tight spaces. It sits shallow against the wall, so it clears doorways and walkways without projecting. If you are weighing the two, look at how a full bleed image behaves in an unframed canvas edition and decide whether that edge to edge quality suits your wall. For a first purchase in a small room, the framed poster is the lower risk choice. It is easier to reposition and easier to live with.

Check before you commit

Measure the clear wall width, not the wall itself, and subtract the furniture.
Confirm the print can hang with 8 to 10 inches of clearance above the headboard.
Stand where you will actually see it, usually the doorway, and check the sightline.
Leave at least 2 inches of wall on each side of the frame so the work can breathe.

What the Work Asks of a Room

Borduas was a central figure of the Automatist movement in Quebec, working in a spontaneous abstract manner, most famously through the 1940s and 1950s. His paintings often run in blacks and whites with sudden passages of strong color. On a small wall, that contrast carries. A print at 24x36 will read as a statement; at 18x24 it reads as an accent. Neither is wrong, but they do different jobs.

If the room already has patterned textiles or strong color, lean smaller and let the print sit back. If the room is plain, the larger size earns its place. Print quality matters more as size drops, since fine gradations in the brushwork become visible at close range, so it is worth reading about what makes a Borduas print high quality before ordering. And if the bedroom is small but the room you are really furnishing is not, the sizing logic changes entirely, as set out in the living room sizing guide.

In a bedroom, the viewer is lying down. Size the print for that sightline, not for a gallery wall.

Print size	Best fit	Effect in the room
16x20 in	Twin bed, narrow dresser, tight alcove	Accent piece, sits back quietly
18x24 in	Full bed or standard dresser	Balanced, easy to live with
24x36 in	Queen bed with clear wall above	Strong focal point without crowding
30x40 in and up	Rarely suits a small bedroom	Overwhelms the wall and the sightline

Sizing guide for a small bedroom

Key takeaways

A print between 18x24 and 24x36 inches is the right range for most small bedroom walls.
Size the print to two thirds of the width of the furniture below it.
Framed posters read smaller and calmer than canvas at the same dimensions.
Hang the top edge 8 to 10 inches above the headboard and check the view from the doorway.

Related questions

Can I hang two smaller Borduas prints instead of one large one?

Yes, and it often works better in a small room. Two prints at 16x20 or 18x24, spaced 2 to 3 inches apart, fill a wall above a queen bed with more flexibility than a single 24x36. Keep them in a tight pair. A scattered arrangement fragments a small wall and makes the room feel busier.

How high should a print hang above a bed?

Place the top edge 8 to 10 inches above the headboard. Higher than that and the print floats away from the furniture, which makes a small wall feel disjointed. If there is no headboard, hang at standing eye level, roughly 57 to 60 inches to the center of the print.

Is canvas or framed paper better for a humid bedroom?

Bedrooms run more humid than hallways or living rooms, especially in winter. A canvas edition tolerates that environment well because the image is sealed into the fabric. A framed poster behind glass is also protected, but avoid hanging either directly above a radiator or on an exterior wall prone to condensation.

From the Auvrique collection

Made to order · Every size