How high should art hang above a bed?

Leave 20–30 cm between the top of the headboard and the bottom of the frame, and centre the piece on the mattress rather than the wall. Hanging at standing eye level makes art float when you are lying down.

What size art works above a bed?

Roughly two-thirds of the bed's width for a single piece, or two frames hung a hand's width apart so they read as one composition across the headboard.

Do dark prints work in a bedroom?

Yes — black-ground prints usually hold a bedroom better after dark than pale ones, because bedside lamplight deepens their colour rather than washing it out.

How do I add a country to a bedroom without hanging anything?

Lean a framed print against the wall beside the bed, or fold an illustrated blanket in three across the foot of the bed. Both are reversible and need no holes.

Maison Maps — Interiors

Bedroom Wall Decor

The first wall you see and the last. It should feel like somewhere you have been.

Choose your country →See every food poster

Framed illustrated Singapore food poster hung beside abstract prints above an olive linen bed in lamp light

Choose the country you dream about, not the one that matches the cushions.

A bedroom is the one room decorated for an audience of one. Nothing has to perform: the wall above the bed is read lying down, half awake, in lamp light rather than daylight, and it should slow the room rather than fill it.

That is why illustrated food posters work here. They carry a whole country quietly — colour and warmth from the pillow, dish by dish when you stand close — without the visual noise of a photograph.

01The anchor

Centre it on the bed, never on the wall

The headboard is the horizon of the room, so everything above it belongs to the bed. Centre the frame on the mattress rather than the wall, and leave 20–30 cm between the top of the headboard and the bottom of the frame.

Width follows the same rule as a sofa: about two-thirds of the bed for a single piece, or a pair hung tight so they read as one. Anything higher than eye level standing up will float when you are lying down.

Illustrated Taiwan food poster in a black frame leaning against a bedroom wall beside a bed and a warm table lamp — Taiwan — leaning, unhung

02BEYOND THE FRAME

Beyond the wall: six ways to layer a room

Wall art doesn’t have to do all the work. Our illustrated food maps also come as blankets — bringing the same sense of place, colour and storytelling from the wall onto the bed. Layer one across the foot of the bed or let it become the statement piece of the room.

Illustrated Curaçao food blanket laid across a low bed in a deep blue bedroom with teak panelling — Curaçao

01

One country, quietly stated

One place and nothing competing with it. A folded blanket at the foot of the bed brings the country in quietly, complementing the artwork on the wall without adding another frame.

Curaçaoan wall art →

Illustrated Mexico food blanket laid over a bed in a warm-toned bedroom — Mexico

02

Warm walls, warm country

Against clay, olive or terracotta paint, layer bedding with the same heat in it. The blanket picks up the wall colour and turns the bed into part of the composition.

Mexican wall art →

Illustrated Egypt food blanket across a neutral bed in an evening bedroom — Egypt

03

A pair, read as one

One country above the headboard, the same country folded across the bed. The wall art holds the line; the blanket carries the colour through the room.

Egyptian wall art →

Illustrated Chile food blanket folded over the corner of a bed in a soft-lit bedroom — Chile

04

Off to one side

Not everything has to hang above the bed. A blanket folded over the corner or draped across a chair gives the room a second quiet corner.

Chilean wall art →

Illustrated Greece food blanket spread across pale linen bedding — Greece

05

Cool linen, bright colour

White and stone bedding takes far more colour than people expect. Let the blanket be the only saturated layer and the rest of the room reads as deliberate.

Greek wall art →

Illustrated Belgium food blanket folded at the foot of a neatly made bed — Belgium

06

Layered at the foot of the bed

A folded blanket across the end of the bed is the least permanent way to bring a country into a bedroom — and the easiest layer to change with the season.

Belgian wall art →

03Light

Judge it by the bedside lamp

Bedrooms are lived in at the two darkest ends of the day. A low bedside lamp throws light upward across a frame, so glazing catches, warm bulbs deepen reds and cool greys flatten almost to nothing.

Look at the wall at night, from the pillow, before you make a hole. Black-ground prints that seemed heavy at noon are usually the ones that hold a room after dark.

Illustrated Taiwan food poster leaning against a bedroom wall beside a glowing mushroom lamp at dusk — Taiwan — after dark

Illustrated Finland food blanket draped in a softly lit bedroom corner — Finland

04Before the hammer

Lean it for a week first

Stand the frame on the chest of drawers or against the skirting beside the bed and live with it for a week. Bedrooms are the easiest room to get wrong in a shop and the easiest to test at home.

When the position stops changing, cut a paper template, tape it above the headboard and check it from the pillow. Only then reach for the hammer.

Illustrated Singapore food blanket spread across a made bed in a bright bedroom — Singapore — the blanket collection

05Softening the room

Let the bed answer the wall

One blanket picking up a colour from the print is enough to tie the wall into the bed. Folded in three across the foot, it reads as intention rather than laundry.

It is also the gentlest way to introduce a country to a bedroom: no holes, no measuring, and it moves with you to the next room or the next flat.

06Where to start

Choose the place you dream about

Singapore

Hawker steam, chilli crab and a city that never cools.

Taiwan

Night markets, noodles and neon.

Italy

Long lunches, late light and a table that never empties.

Greece

Sea salt, olive trees and shared tables.

Mexico

Lime, smoke and crowded kitchens.

Morocco

Mint tea, saffron and shaded courtyards.

Egypt

Bread, beans and the long river.

Belgium

Chocolate, beer and Sunday steaks.

Browse all country collections →

Questions

Frequently asked

How high should art hang above a bed?: Leave 20–30 cm between the top of the headboard and the bottom of the frame, and centre the piece on the mattress rather than the wall. Hanging at standing eye level makes art float when you are lying down.
What size art works above a bed?: Roughly two-thirds of the bed's width for a single piece, or two frames hung a hand's width apart so they read as one composition across the headboard.
Do dark prints work in a bedroom?: Yes — black-ground prints usually hold a bedroom better after dark than pale ones, because bedside lamplight deepens their colour rather than washing it out.
How do I add a country to a bedroom without hanging anything?: Lean a framed print against the wall beside the bed, or fold an illustrated blanket in three across the foot of the bed. Both are reversible and need no holes.

Keep reading

Where to go next

Living room wall decor
Sideboards, sofas and gallery walls that grow a country at a time.
Kitchen wall decor
The same archive, styled for counters, sinks and dining walls.
Food posters
Every illustrated cuisine in the archive, country by country.
All country collections
More than a hundred countries, each with its own edition.