Choosing a size feels like it should be the easy part — you already picked the photo, you already picked the style. But size is what actually determines how the portrait behaves in a room, and it’s worth five minutes of thought before you check out.
Here’s how to think about it, room by room.
12×16″: the personal-space size
This is the size for a desk, a shelf, a bookcase, or a small wall in a home office where the portrait is meant to be noticed up close, not from across the room. It’s also a strong choice if you’re hanging more than one piece together — a boat portrait alongside family photos, for instance — where you don’t want any single piece to dominate.
16×20″: the versatile middle
If you only want to order one size and don’t want to overthink it, this is usually the safe answer. It holds its own on a hallway wall or above a side table, without requiring the kind of open wall space that larger pieces need. Most home offices and dens can accommodate this size without any rearranging.
18×25″: the statement piece for a mid-size wall
This size starts to read as a genuine focal point — the kind of piece you’d hang centered above a couch, a fireplace, or a desk, where it’s meant to anchor the room rather than accent it. It’s a common choice for a den or living room wall that currently has nothing on it, or that’s currently holding something smaller than the space deserves.
24×36″: the boat-deserves-it size
This is the size for a boat that’s earned some wall real estate — a large den, an office with high ceilings, a stairwell, or anywhere you want the portrait to be the thing people notice when they walk in. It’s also, frankly, the size that photographs best for detail: the brushwork in an oil painting or the fine lines in a pencil sketch have more room to actually be seen. If you’re on the fence between two sizes and the wall can handle it, this is the one people tend not to regret sizing up to.
A quick way to check before you order
Cut a piece of paper, cardboard, or even painter’s tape to the dimensions you’re considering and hold it up to the actual wall. It sounds unnecessary until you do it once and realize the size you assumed would work either disappears on a big wall or crowds a small one. Two minutes with tape saves a lot of second-guessing later.
Whatever size you land on, it’s chosen the same way on every style page — upload your photo, pick your style, and adjust the size once you can already see how the portrait looks. No guessing required.