A home office has two walls that matter: the one in front of you, which you look at for hours, and the one behind you, which everyone else looks at on calls. They want different things, and it's worth deciding which wall you're dressing before you choose a piece.
How big should art be above a desk?
Two-thirds to three-quarters of the desk's width, with the bottom edge 8″ (20 cm) above the desk top, or above the top of your monitor if the desk faces the wall. A 60″ (152 cm) desk takes 40 to 45″ (102 to 114 cm) of art. With a monitor in front, the usable height shrinks fast, so a horizontal piece, or a pair side by side, usually fits best.
If the desk faces a window instead, you'll be looking at the view, and the art belongs on a side wall you see when you look up from the screen, centred at 57″ (145 cm).
What works behind you on video calls?
The camera sees a horizontal band of wall behind your head, usually from about your shoulders to a foot or two above. Four rules for that band:
- Off to one side of your head, not directly behind it. A frame edge coming out of your ears is distracting; a piece to one side frames you instead.
- No glass. A glass framed print behind you reflects the window, your screen and your ring light, and on camera it often shows as a white rectangle. A framed canvas or a gallery wrap has no glare.
- Calm and simple. Busy patterns and fine detail shimmer on compressed video. Large shapes, soft palettes and strong simple lines read well.
- Big enough to read. A small piece shows up as a blur on a call. Something 30″ (76 cm) or larger on its longest side reads clearly from a typical desk distance.
Before you hang, sit at the desk, open your camera and tape a sheet of paper where the art would go. Move it until it sits where you want it in the frame.
What should you look at all day?
That one is personal, but people tend to tell me the same thing: the art they face while working should be restful, not demanding. Landscapes, water and quiet abstracts give your eyes somewhere to go when you look up from the screen. Save the strongest, busiest piece for a wall you pass rather than one you face.
One piece or a pair above the desk?
One horizontal piece is the simplest, and it's what I'd hang above a desk that faces the wall: one thing to look at when you look up. A pair, two matching pieces side by side with a 3″ (8 cm) gap, suits a long desk or a shared one, with one piece centred above each seat. Measure the pair as one width, gap included, and keep it inside the two-thirds rule. Pairs and triptychs has the spacing.
Avoid a busy gallery wall right in front of a desk. It's a lot to look at for eight hours, and pinned notes and calendars tend to creep in between the frames.
How do I light it?
Most home offices are lit for the desk, not the walls. A picture light above the piece, or a ceiling light aimed at about 30° from the wall, lifts it in the evening and helps on calls. The lighting guide has the numbers.
Next step
Quiet neutrals is a good place to start for the wall behind you. See any piece at approximate scale on your office wall in Your Blank Wall.
Questions we get asked
Treat the desk as its own small room: a piece above it sized to the desk, and keep the art in the rest of the room quieter so the two don't compete.
Both work. If you have shelves, lean one piece on a shelf rather than hanging a second thing on the wall; it reads as one composition on camera.
Above a narrow desk with no monitor, yes. Above a wide desk with a screen, a horizontal piece fits the space better. Horizontal, vertical or square? has more.