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Wall art size guide for German rooms: new build, Altbau and villa
iHomeArt paints original canvases by hand and to order for homes, designers, hotels and offices across Germany, at the size each wall needs, from a new-build flat in Munich to an Altbau salon in Berlin. This wall art size guide starts where German rooms differ most, at the ceiling: a 2.40 m new build, a 3.5 m Altbau and a 7 m villa void each call for a different canvas, in centimetres and inches.
Ordering a canvas painted to size for Germany from iHomeArt
- 1 pieceMinimum order; volume pricing from 10
- Any sizePainted to the wall, oversized and multi-panel included
- About 10 daysTo paint, then 5–7 days by DHL, FedEx or UPS express to Germany
- Every stageApproved by photo or video before the next one starts
- 50 / 50Half upfront, half once you approve the final photograph
What German rooms measure
- New-build ceilings
- 2.40 m minimum in living rooms; 2.20–2.50 m depending on the state
- Altbau ceilings
- About 3.50 m in a renovated Berlin-Charlottenburg flat listed in 2026
- Living and dining room
- 30–40 m² in German planning guides; open plan with kitchen 50 m² and up
- Villa voids
- Ceilings up to 7 m in a split-level half-villa in Meerbusch
- Hanging rule in German guides
- Centre about 1.60 m; 10–30 cm above the furniture
Why does the right painting size in Germany start with the ceiling?
Because German ceilings run from 2.20 m in post-war flats to 3.5 m and more in an Altbau and 7 m in a villa void, and the height left above the furniture, more than the width of the room, decides how big a canvas can be.
Start with the Deckenhöhe, the ceiling height. The Musterbauordnung sets 2.40 m as the minimum for habitable rooms, with state codes between 2.20 and 2.50 m, and Hamburg's brick blocks of 1948–1966 mostly have only 2.2 m. Pre-war city flats often reach 3.3 m and more; a renovated Altbau flat in Berlin-Charlottenburg was listed in September 2026 with ceilings of about 3.50 m, and a split-level half-villa in Meerbusch reaches 7 m.
To find your largest canvas, take away from the ceiling height the top of the sofa (about 85 cm), a gap of 10–30 cm above it and some 30 cm of clear wall at the top. Under 2.40 m that leaves about 100 cm (39 in) of canvas height; under 3.50 m, more than 2 m (79 in).
-
New build
- Ceiling
- 2.40–2.60 m
- Canvas height
- Up to about 100 cm (39 in)
- Shape
- Horizontal, square or a pair
-
Altbau
- Ceiling
- 3.3–3.5 m, sometimes more
- Canvas height
- 150–200 cm (59–79 in)
- Shape
- Upright, or two squares stacked
-
Villa hall or split level
- Ceiling
- Up to 7 m in a void
- Canvas height
- 250–300 cm (98–118 in)
- Shape
- Tall upright, panoramic or a triptych
Wall art size guide for Germany: which canvas for which room?
Use the chart as a starting point: the sizes are for the canvas itself, for the rooms German homes actually have, and every one can be painted larger, smaller or in another proportion to fit your wall.
Sizes are for the canvas itself, hung with its centre at about 1.60 m and 10–30 cm above the furniture, as German home guides advise, unless a row says otherwise.
| Wall | Canvas (cm) | Canvas (in) | Shape |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sofa wall, new build (2.40–2.60 m ceiling) | 120–180 wide, up to 100 tall | 47–71 wide, up to 39 tall | Horizontal, square or a pair |
| Sofa wall, post-war flat (2.20 m ceiling) | 160–200 × 60–80 | 63–79 × 24–31 | Low panoramic |
| Open-plan living, dining and kitchen | 200–250 wide | 79–98 wide | Panoramic or two canvases |
| Altbau salon (3.3–3.5 m ceiling) | 100–150 wide × 150–200 tall | 39–59 × 59–79 | Upright, or two squares stacked |
| Villa living room, wall of 7 m or more | 250–300 × 100–120 | 98–118 × 39–47 | Panoramic or a triptych |
| Double-height hall or stair void | 120–150 wide × 250–300 tall | 47–59 × 98–118 | Tall upright or a stacked pair |
| Over a 180–240 cm sideboard | 120–180 × 80–100 | 47–71 × 31–39 | Horizontal |
| Over a 180 cm double bed | 100–140 × 70–100 | 39–55 × 28–39 | Horizontal or a pair |
| Study or home office | 60–100 | 24–39 | Upright or square |
| Hall or corridor | 50 × 70 each, in a run | 20 × 28 each | Series |
| Attic flat, along the knee wall | 150–200 × 40–60 | 59–79 × 16–24 | Low panoramic |
Between two rows, choose the larger. Browse upright, horizontal and panoramic paintings, or the rooms themselves in German homes, room by room.
How big should wall art be over the sofa in a German new build?
Two-thirds to three-quarters of the sofa's width, which is about 130–180 cm (51–71 in) over a 200–240 cm sofa, and no taller than about 100 cm (39 in) under a 2.40 m ceiling.
German home guides size a picture at two-thirds to three-quarters of the furniture beneath it, so the sofa sets the width and the ceiling the height. Planning guides give a living and dining room 30–40 m², and new German homes averaged 96.2 m² in 2024: this, not the salon, is the room most buyers are sizing for. Under 2.40–2.60 m, choose about 140 × 100 cm (55 × 39 in) over a three-seater, or two 70 × 100 cm (28 × 39 in) uprights side by side.
An open plan of 50 m² or more usually has a wall long enough for 200–250 cm (79–98 in) of panoramic canvas. In a Hamburg flat of the 1950s, with 2.2 m ceilings, let width do the work: a low panoramic of about 180 × 70 cm (71 × 28 in).
What wall art size suits an Altbau with 3.5 m ceilings?
Go tall: an upright canvas of 150–200 cm (59–79 in), or two squares stacked, hung from its lower edge 10–30 cm above the furniture, so that its centre rises well above the usual 1.60 m.
An Altbau wall is tall rather than long: double doors, tall windows and stucco divide the room, and a canvas sized for a 2.40 m room floats in a sea of plaster. The 1.60 m centre that German guides recommend suits a canvas up to about a metre tall; for a 180 cm (71 in) upright, measure up instead. With the lower edge about 20 cm above an 85 cm sofa back, the centre lands near 1.95 m and some 65 cm of wall stays clear below a 3.50 m ceiling.
In AD's 2026 round-up of German living rooms, an original oil by the painter Dennis Rudolph hangs centred over the sofa of a ground-floor Berlin Altbau flat, and in a 190 m² apartment the painting over the sofa is the owner's own. Where a double door interrupts the wall, stack two 100 × 100 cm (39 × 39 in) squares to reach the same height in less width.
How large should a painting be for a villa living room or a double-height hall?
On a villa's long living wall, a panoramic canvas of 250–300 cm (98–118 in) or a three-panel set; in a hall or void of 5–7 m, an upright of 250–300 cm, hung to be seen from the landing as well as the floor.
Villas for sale in Grünwald, south of Munich, offered 240–797 m² of living space in September 2026, and in Hamburg-Blankenese 144–635 m². Over two or three floors, that often means living rooms with walls of 7 m or more. Two-thirds to three-quarters of a 300–350 cm sofa is already 200–260 cm (79–102 in); on the longest wall, 250–300 cm is simply the right size.
A double-height space asks for height instead. A 1997 half-villa in Alt-Meerbusch opens its split-level living area to ceilings of up to 7 m, under a gallery corridor: a 250–300 cm upright, or two canvases stacked, holds a void like that. With 12 to 16 rooms in the larger listings, plan one statement canvas for the reception and 60–100 cm (24–39 in) pieces in the same palette for the studies and guest rooms; more in art for villas and whole-house projects.
What size of painting fits a German bedroom, dining room, study or hall?
Size to the furniture rather than the room: about 120 cm (47 in) over a 180 cm bed, 120–180 cm (47–71 in) over a sideboard, 60–100 cm (24–39 in) in a study and a run of 50 × 70 cm (20 × 28 in) pieces along a hall.
German floor-plan guidance gives the main bedroom 16–20 m², a home office 8–10 m² and the entrance hall at least 5 m². In rooms that size you see the wall from a few metres away, often sitting or lying down, so the furniture rule matters more than the ceiling. A 180 cm double bed, the common German width, takes about 120 cm (47 in) of canvas; the dining wall, read from the table, takes a horizontal about two-thirds the length of the sideboard. By room: bedrooms, dining rooms and halls and entrances.
-
Main bedroom
- Canvas
- 100–140 cm (39–55 in) wide
- Hang
- 20–30 cm above the headboard
-
Dining room
- Canvas
- 120–180 cm (47–71 in) wide
- Hang
- 10–30 cm above the sideboard
-
Study
- Canvas
- 60–100 cm (24–39 in)
- Hang
- Centre at seated eye level
-
Hall and corridor
- Canvas
- 50 × 70 cm (20 × 28 in) each, in a run
- Hang
- One line, centres at 1.60 m
What size suits a glazed tower flat or an attic flat under a sloping roof?
Size to the walls that stay upright: in a glazed tower flat that is often one sofa or bed wall, taking 120–160 cm (47–63 in); under a sloping roof, a low panoramic along the knee wall, or an upright on the gable end.
New towers trade wall for view. In Frankfurt's Eden tower a two-room flat measures 52 m² and a three-room one 94 m², and a 97 m² residence on the 41st floor of the city's Grand Tower is glazed from floor to ceiling on two sides. With glass on two walls and the kitchen on a third, one canvas of 120–160 cm, or a pair, does more than a scatter of small frames.
Attic flats are the opposite case: plenty of wall, little of it upright. Floor under a ceiling lower than 2 m counts only half towards a German flat's living area, so an attic flat has more sloping wall than its listing suggests. Under the slope, hang a low panoramic of 150–200 × 40–60 cm (59–79 × 16–24 in) along the knee wall; the gable end, which rises to the ridge, takes an upright.
Will a large canvas get up an Altbau staircase, and when should it be a pair?
Measure the narrowest turn of the stairs and every door on the way: a canvas too big to pass stretched can travel rolled and be stretched near you, or be painted as a pair or triptych that hangs as one.
An Altbau flat can sit four or five floors up, like a 167 m² flat on the fifth floor of a Prenzlauer Berg building listed in September 2026, and older stairwells can be tight at the turns. A canvas can travel three ways:
- Two or three panels. Each passes the stairs on its own and the set hangs as one, a natural fit for a wall split by a double door.
- Stretched or framed. Ready to hang. 3D plaster and heavy texture always travel this way, unless you agree a texture thin enough to roll.
Send us the stair and door measurements with the wall, and we suggest the format that will reach it; more in oversized and custom-size wall art.
How do you order wall art painted to the exact size of your wall?
Send a photo of the wall with its width and the ceiling height; we suggest the size, format and finish, your quote usually arrives within one business day, and you see your own canvas in photographs at every stage before it ships.
Every iHomeArt canvas is painted by hand to order, so these sizes are starting points, not stock. Choose from some 1,300 catalogue designs or have one designed for your project; any design can be resized, with the composition redrawn for the new proportion, recoloured to a fabric or wall paint photographed in daylight, or varied into a set. For a whole flat or villa, order one canvas first and the rest once it hangs on your wall. Acrylic on canvas is our standard, oil on request. For your own view, family photograph or crest, see paintings from your own image; the wider picture is in the Germany wall art guide.
Each canvas can travel stretched and ready to hang, framed, or rolled; a rolled canvas, the lightest and most economical way to send a large painting, arrives without stretcher bars, and any local framer can stretch it for you.
- Mark it on the wallTape the outline at the size you have in mind and look at it from the sofa and from the doorway.
- Send us the wallA photo, the wall width, the ceiling height and the stairs or lift the canvas has to pass.
- Approve each stagePhotos or video at every stage; the next starts only after your yes, and you approve the final photograph before dispatch.
Germany wall art size guide FAQs
Should I give you the canvas size or the size including the frame?
Give us the space the painting should fill and tell us whether you want a frame. Our sizes are always for the canvas; a frame adds its own width on every side, so we work back from the outer size you need to the canvas and confirm both with you before painting starts. Frames come in gold, silver, black, white or wood.
What size of art suits a hotel room or an office in Germany?
Hotel rooms vary more than homes: Hotel Telegraphenamt in Berlin has rooms from 21 m² to 140 m², so a standard room may take 80–120 cm (31–47 in) and a suite 200 cm (79 in) or more. Office receptions, read from the door, take 200–300 cm (79–118 in) across; Frankfurt's bank foyers hold works of 3 × 12 m and more.
How long does a made-to-size painting take to reach Germany?
About 10 days to paint, then 5–7 days by DHL, FedEx or UPS express to Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt or any other address in Germany. Larger orders may travel by air or sea freight instead; we choose the best route for your address and confirm the shipping cost before anything leaves.
Can I return a painting if the size turns out wrong?
German shoppers are used to sending online orders back; a painting made to your size works differently. You confirm the size before we start and approve a photograph of the finished canvas before it ships, so finished pieces are not returnable. Transit damage is rare, under 0.01% of pieces; if it happens, we take it up with the carrier and work out a solution with you, such as a replacement or a refund.
What is the largest canvas you can paint for a German wall?
Send us a photo of the wall with its width, the ceiling height and the way in: stairs, lift and doors. We suggest what suits: one large canvas sent rolled and stretched near you, or a two- or three-panel set that hangs as one. Every work is painted to your wall, not to a catalogue size.
Germany
Send us the wall and its ceiling height
Send a photo of the wall, its width and the ceiling height on WhatsApp, with the quote form or by email, and tell us if the canvas has to climb stairs. We usually reply within one business day with a size that suits the room, a shortlist from the catalogue and a price for each piece.
More of the Germany guide
The overview and each part of the guide answer one buying question for Germany.
- Germany: overviewWall art in Germany, hand-painted to the size of your wall for Altbau flats, villas, offices and hotels.
- Villas & Altbau homesWhich painting each room of a German home takes, from the Altbau interior's stucco salon to the villa stair and the Dachschräge.
- Offices & institutionsOffice wall art in Germany
- Hotels & restaurantsHow to choose art for hotels and restaurants in Germany, from Altbau lobbies to Alpine inns.
- Where to buyWhere to buy art in Germany
- Taste & stylesGerman wall art ideas
Sources
- Uni Bamberg press release – Deutschland ist Retouren-Europameister · 2022-09-07
- Britta Kadolsky — Kunst in und vor Frankfurter Bankfoyers · 2026-09-18
- Bilder aufhängen: 6 Tipps & Regeln – Wohnglück
- Raumhöhe – Wikipedia (de) · 2024-09-16
- Wohnung kaufen in Berlin-Charlottenburg – immobilo · 2026-09-18
- Altbauwohnung kaufen Berlin (Baujahr bis 1949) – immowelt · 2026-09-18
- Villa kaufen in Grünwald (82031) – 20 Angebote | immowelt · 2026-09-18
- Villa kaufen in Hamburg Blankenese – 11 Angebote | immowelt · 2026-09-18
- Einzigartige Bauhaus-Villenhälfte in Alt Meererbusch – Baum Immobilien · 2026-09-18
- EDEN Tower Frankfurt – Skyline Atlas · 2026-09-18
- Luxusimmobilien Frankfurt kaufen, Marktüberblick 2026 · GT·41 · 2026-09-18
- 14,4 % weniger fertiggestellte Wohnungen im Jahr 2024 – Statistisches Bundesamt · 2025-05-23
- Wie groß sollte ein Wohnzimmer sein? | SchwörerHaus Blog · 2024-02-01
- Raumgrößen: Richtwerte für die Raumaufteilung im Grundriss – Fertighaus.de · 2026-08-19
- Telegraphenamt Berlin · 2026
- AD Magazin: Die schönsten Wohnzimmer Deutschlands: 9 persönliche Wohnwelten von Kreativen · 2026-09-01
Researched 2026-09-19. Prices and figures are as published by the sources on the dates shown.