How to Choose Wall Art Above an L-Shaped Couch

You've found a print you love, but the sofa below it has a long back and a chaise that reaches into the room. Should the picture be centered on the whole wall, the entire L shape, or just the straight section?

Start with the length of the sofa back that actually sits against the wall. Centering a piece above that section often gives the art and couch a clear relationship. Then look at the room as a whole: a window, doorway, or tall lamp may give you a reason to shift the artwork to one side.

Decide what the art is grouping with

Stand in the doorway and look at the couch and the wall together. If the sofa sits off-center, a picture centered on the empty wall can look disconnected from the seating. Try moving your paper template over the long back of the couch first. If an end table and lamp sit beside it, include them in the view before choosing the final position.

For a chaise sectional like our 96-inch gray boneless couch, the chaise reaches forward into the room. It doesn't add another stretch of wall behind the sofa. Use the back of the seating area and the available wall space as your starting references.

If the couch floats away from the wall, the relationship is looser. You might group a print with the console or cabinet along that wall instead of trying to make it line up perfectly with a sofa several feet in front.

One large piece or a group of smaller ones?

One print can be a good choice when the sofa wall is simple and you want the picture to have space around it. A wide piece echoes the long line of the back; a taller one can work if there is room above it and the frame doesn't crowd a nearby window.

For a collection, lay the frames on the floor first. Move them around until you like the spaces between them, then treat the outer edges of the group as one shape when you hold it up to the wall. Your favorite small photo doesn't need to fill the wall by itself. It may sit comfortably beside a larger print or with a few related pieces.

Don't feel obliged to fill every gap. If a window leaves only a narrow strip of wall, a smaller piece there and a larger one on a neighboring wall may be easier to live with than a tightly squeezed gallery.

Look at the colors you already have

Gray corduroy gives the room visible texture even when the fabric is a single color. A print with a lighter background can stand out against it; darker artwork can give the wall a quieter, more continuous look. Pick up a color from a rug or an object you like, but let the art keep its own character.

Frames change the impression as much as the print. A dark frame creates a clear edge against a pale wall. A wood frame can connect the picture to a table nearby. If you're keeping an existing collection, you can mix frame finishes and repeat one or two colors in the pictures to make the group feel related.

Try the arrangement before making holes

Cut paper to the outside dimensions of your frame or frame group, and use removable tape suitable for your wall to try a position. Look at it from the doorway and from the seat opposite. Sit on the couch and lean back, too; leave room so people won't bump into the frame.

When you've found a position you like, use hanging hardware suited to the wall and the weight of the artwork. If the wall or the sofa moves later, you can always rearrange the collection with it.