Above-Bed Wall Decor: What to Hang Over the Headboard

The wall over the bed is usually the first thing you see from the door, and in a small bedroom it is often the only wall wide enough to carry a real focal point. It is also the one wall where a wrong size shows immediately: too small and the piece floats, too large and it presses down on the bed.

Good above bed wall decor comes down to three decisions made in order: how wide, how high, and what kind of piece. One condition applies to all of them. Whatever goes here hangs over the place where you sleep, so it has to be lightweight and securely fixed.

How wide: the two-thirds rule of thumb

Aim for decor that spans roughly two thirds of the bed width. At that proportion the piece looks connected to the bed without competing with it. Anywhere between half and three quarters still looks right; below half, the art reads as an afterthought.

If your headboard is wider than the mattress, measure the headboard instead. For a pair or a set of three, the width that counts is the whole group, gaps included.

How high: the gap above the headboard

Leave roughly 6 to 10 in (15 to 25 cm) between the top of the headboard and the bottom of the decor. A smaller gap looks cramped and puts the piece within reach of pillows; a larger one separates the two until they stop reading as a single composition.

With no headboard, hang the piece high enough that propped-up pillows and the back of your head clear it comfortably when you sit up, often around 24 in (60 cm) above the mattress top. A bare wall behind the pillows can look unfinished, though, and a simple headboard solves that before any art goes up. There are low-cost versions in the guide to DIY headboard ideas.

In a room with a low ceiling, keep at least a hand-width of plain wall above the piece. Decor that nearly touches the ceiling makes the ceiling feel lower.

Center on the bed, not the wall

Small rooms often push the bed off-center to clear a door or closet. Hang the decor on the centerline of the bed anyway. The bed and what hangs over it are seen as one object, and an arrangement centered on the wall instead will look as if it slipped sideways.

To find the line, measure the headboard width, mark the midpoint on a strip of painter’s tape stuck to the wall, then step back to the doorway and check it by eye before fixing anything.

Six options and where each one fits

One wide piece

A single horizontal canvas, around 40 x 20 in (102 x 51 cm) over a queen, is the calmest answer. One object means one outline, so the wall stays quiet. Choose an unglazed canvas or a print in a light frame with acrylic glazing instead of glass.

A matching pair

Two identical pieces side by side, about 3 in (8 cm) apart, repeat the symmetry of two pillows and two nightstands. This suits a full or queen bed in a narrow room, because the vertical gap between the pieces adds a sense of height.

A triptych

Three slim panels make a wide span out of small, light parts, which is useful over a king or a wide headboard. Keep the gaps equal and no wider than about 3 in, or the set breaks into three separate things.

A lightweight textile

A woven hanging, a quilted panel or a length of printed fabric on a slim wooden rod is soft, quiet and has no hard corners. It adds texture where the bedding is plain, and it is the gentlest thing to have over your head.

A painted shape

An arch or wide rectangle painted behind the bed, slightly wider than the headboard and rising 12 to 18 in (30 to 46 cm) above it, puts nothing on the wall at all. It works where the ceiling slopes or where you simply prefer nothing overhead. If you rent, get permission before painting.

A picture ledge

A shallow ledge with two or three small, light frames leaning on it lets you change the art without new holes. Over a bed, choose a ledge with a raised front lip, keep the frames few and unglazed, and leave out vases, books and anything else that could slide.

A cluster of many small frames can work here too, but it needs planning to keep its outline tidy; follow the steps for a bedroom gallery wall.

What to keep off this wall

Skip heavy mirrors, heavy or deep shelves and glass-fronted frames directly over the pillows. A piece that would be perfectly reasonable above a dresser is a different matter above a sleeping head, and the lighter alternatives listed here look just as finished.

When the wall behind the bed is awkward

A window behind the bed already is the focal point. Leave the wall above it alone and let full-width curtains frame the bed instead.

Under a sloped ceiling, the wall above the headboard may be too short for art. Use the painted shape, or a low textile, and put framed pieces on a full-height wall elsewhere; the wider list of small bedroom wall decor ideas has options for those walls.

If wall lights already flank the bed, count them as part of the composition. Keep the decor inside the space between them, with about 4 in (10 cm) of clear wall on each side, so the lights and the art do not crowd each other.