Bedroom Wall Painting

The bedroom is the worst room in the house for art that shouts. It is the one space where you are tired, where you are not performing for anyone, and where a painting has to survive being looked at every morning and every night. Most bedroom art fails for the same reason: it was chosen for the wall instead of the room.

Here is what works, what to measure before you buy, and what a hand-painted piece costs.

What size painting goes above a bed?

Measure the bed, not the wall. Interior design guidance converges on the same proportion: artwork above a bed should span about two thirds of the bed's width, with most designers accepting a range of 60 to 80 percent (Sense Canvas, retrieved 2026-09-21). Austin Gallery publishes the same two-thirds to three-quarters ratio for art hung over furniture (Austin Gallery, updated June 2026).

A queen bed is about 150 cm wide, so look for a piece between 100 cm and 112 cm across, or a pair that adds up to that. A king bed at 76 inches works best with art around 50 inches wide.

The second measurement matters more than the first. Leave 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) between the top of the headboard and the bottom edge of the canvas. Austin Gallery advises 4 to 8 inches for the same gap. Art Cosmo notes the practical reason: hang it high enough that your head does not touch the frame when you sit up against the headboard, which is around 27 to 35 inches above the mattress (Art Cosmo, retrieved 2026-09-21).

If there is no headboard at all, measure from the mattress instead and use a larger gap of 14 to 16 inches, so the piece reads as intentional rather than floating.

Most people hang too high. That single mistake disconnects the art from the bed and leaves the wall above it looking empty.

Which colours work in a bedroom?

Colour decides whether the room rests or buzzes, and it is the thing you notice first from the doorway.

Cool and muted tones settle a room. Blues with grey in them, soft greens, dusty pinks, warm neutrals. These read as calm under low evening light, which is when a bedroom gets used.

High contrast keeps a room awake. Sharp black-and-white, strong geometrics, saturated reds. These are excellent in a living room or a hallway. In a bedroom they can feel loud at night, which is exactly when you want the opposite.

Light matters as much as palette. Bedrooms are usually lit by lamps rather than daylight, so a painting with deep warm tones looks different in the room than it does on a screen or in a bright shop. Room Reveal makes the same point about viewing art in the light where it will actually hang (Room Reveal, June 2026).

If your room is already calm and you want one point of interest, a single strong piece works. If the room is busy, go quieter with the art and let the bedding carry the colour.

Where should a bedroom painting go?

Three positions do most of the work.

Above the bed is the anchor. It is the first thing you see entering the room and the last thing before you close your eyes, so it sets the tone more than anything else in the space.

Opposite the bed gets the longest view in the house. You look at it for the minutes before sleep and the minutes after waking, which is more sustained attention than any gallery gives a painting. This is the spot for something you genuinely like looking at rather than something that simply matches.

A reading nook or single chair benefits from a smaller piece at eye level when seated. The museum standard for hanging is to place the centre of the artwork 57 to 60 inches from the floor, which is average eye level (Austin Gallery, June 2026). Art placed at standing eye level is too high when you sit down, which is the most common mistake in a corner like this.

One or two pieces is usually right for a bedroom. More than that starts to feel like a gallery wall, which is a living room idea.

What do hand-painted bedroom paintings cost?

Bedroom paintings start from Rs 1,960 at Loka Loka. Here is how the sizes and prices run:

• 12×12 inches: Rs 1,960 rolled, Rs 3,080 stretched
• 24×24 inches: Rs 7,840 rolled, Rs 9,800 stretched
• 36×36 inches: Rs 17,640 rolled, Rs 21,000 stretched
• 18×18 inches: Rs 4,480 rolled, Rs 6,160 stretched
• 30×30 inches: Rs 12,320 rolled, Rs 15,120 stretched
• 48×48 inches: Rs 46,400 rolled, Rs 47,500 stretched
• Custom commissions: from Rs 3,000 per square foot, sizes from 12×12 inches

Three things move the price: the size of the canvas, the amount of detail, and whether the piece is ready or painted to your brief.

A hand-painted original starting at Rs 1,960 can cost less than a framed print of similar size. Prints carry licensing, printing, and framing. All of that sits on top of an artwork made once and reproduced many times. A painting carries the painting and the canvas.

The other reason originals get expensive has nothing to do with paint. Galleries hold rent, take commission, and add markup. An online studio painting to order carries none of that overhead, so more of what you pay goes into the work itself.

Where the Price Difference Comes From

A small studio like ours makes its art in house, which keeps prices stable and predictable because no layer of markup sits between the studio and you.

A large marketplace works differently. It takes a commission of 40 to 50 percent from the artist on every sale, and that commission lands in the price you pay. The same canvas therefore costs far more than it needs to, which is the main reason original art starts to feel out of reach for people who genuinely want to buy it. Selling directly from the studio means more of your money goes into the painting.

	Loka Loka Studio	Marketplace (Memeraki, Saatchi, etc.)
What you get	Hand-painted original, limited run	Mix of originals and prints
Price	From Rs 1,960, transparent	Varies, often higher
Custom commissions	Yes, from Rs 3,000/sq ft	Limited
Limited editions	Yes, 10 per design	Not always
One of a kind	Yes, every piece	Not always
Where prices come from	Made in-house, stable	Artist plus 40 to 50% marketplace commission
Ships	India and worldwide	Varies

How we make a bedroom painting

Because we paint to order rather than ship from stock, the process is worth knowing before you buy, and it answers the question most buyers ask after paying.

Every piece is painted by hand in oil or acrylic on stretched canvas, or on rolled canvas for international orders. We use kiln-dried wooden stretcher bars so the canvas stays taut and warp-free over time. Commissions run 6 to 8 weeks from order confirmation to delivery, and ready pieces ship in 7 to 10 business days within India.

We send progress photos while a commission is underway, so you see the painting develop rather than waiting blind. For larger or more detailed work, especially oil, the upper end of that range applies, because oil needs longer drying time.

Full details on materials, sizing, and shipping sit in our frequently asked questions. If you want the wider picture on who we are and how we work, read about Loka Loka Studio.

Why every design is a limited run of 10

A bedroom painting is something you live with daily, and you do not want to find the same one in a friend's house.

Prints are repeatable by design. They can be produced again and sold to anyone anywhere, which is why a print is inexpensive and why the same image turns up in many homes.

An original exists once, or in a fixed small number of pieces. We keep every design to a limited run of 10. When those 10 are painted and sold, the design is retired. We do not reprint it and we do not flood the market with it, which is what keeps the piece yours.

Custom sizes for awkward bedroom walls

Bedrooms are full of awkward walls. A chimney breast, a window on one side, a wall wider than any standard canvas.

We paint to order, so size is not fixed. If you need a piece at a specific dimension, or a palette pulled toward your bedding rather than one from a collection, we can paint an original to your brief at any size from 12×12 inches upward. You can see how commissions work on our custom art page, or browse ready pieces and collections. If you are still deciding on scale, browse the collections to see how the same sizes sit in a room.

How this guide was put together

The measurements in this guide come from published interior design guidance rather than opinion. We compared sizing and hanging recommendations from Sense Canvas, Austin Gallery, Art Cosmo, and Room Reveal, and kept the figures where those sources agreed. Where they differed we gave the range rather than picking one number, which is why you will see 6 to 10 inches instead of a single measurement.

The pricing is ours and is current. We paint to order, so we are describing the process we actually run rather than repeating a general claim about how art is made.

Last updated 21 September 2026. We are the studio that sells these paintings, so treat our product guidance as our own view and the design guidance as sourced.

You can read more about Loka Loka Studio or contact us with any sizing question before you buy. This guide is written and maintained by the studio; questions about it reach us directly.

Frequently asked questions

What size painting should go above a bed?

Two thirds of the bed width, with 6 to 10 inches between the headboard and the bottom of the canvas. For a queen bed around 150 cm wide, that means art roughly 100 to 112 cm across.

What colours are best for bedroom wall art?

Cool and muted tones such as soft blues, greens, dusty pinks, and warm neutrals read as calm under evening light. High-contrast and saturated reds work better in living rooms.

Are hand-painted bedroom paintings expensive?

They start from Rs 1,960 for a 12×12 inch rolled canvas. Larger sizes rise from there, up to Rs 47,500 for a 48×48 inch stretched piece.

Can I get a painting in a custom size for my bedroom?

Yes. Commissions start from Rs 3,000 per square foot from 12×12 inches upward, in oil or acrylic on stretched canvas.

Do you ship bedroom paintings across India?

Yes, across India and worldwide. Domestic orders arrive in 7 to 10 business days, with international shipping available.

Related guides

If you are still deciding, these guides cover the questions we get asked most:

• Large paintings for a living room, what suits a big wall, and why scale matters
• Handmade paintings on canvas, what you actually get, and how to tell it from a print