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Gifts · 5 min read

Giving art as a gift, in Canada

Art is a lovely gift and an easy one to get wrong. How to choose a size that fits any wall, why ready to ship is usually the right call, and what to know about timing, returns and the signature at the door.

Diana, founderUpdated October 2026

Belleza by Montreal studio, shown in a roomRendered room, approximate scale
Belleza, 40″ × 40″

I love giving art and I'm nervous about it every time. A piece of art is personal, and it goes on someone else's wall, which you may not have seen. Over the years I've settled on a few rules that take most of the risk out.

Should you give art as a gift?

Yes, to someone whose home and taste you know, or with a way out if you've guessed wrong. Art is the gift that stays in view for years, which is exactly why a guess can go badly: nobody wants to feel they have to hang something every day.

So the two questions are: how well do you know their walls, and can they swap it if it's not right?

Ready to ship or made to order?

For a gift, I'd choose ready to ship almost every time, for three reasons:

  1. It's quicker. Ready-to-ship pieces come from our Montreal studio and leave within 2 weeks. Made-to-order pieces are made for you at our Burlington studio and leave in 3 to 4 weeks.
  2. It can be returned. Ready-to-ship pieces can be returned within 30 days, unhung and in the original box, with a 10% restocking fee and return shipping paid by whoever sends it back. Made-to-order pieces are made to the size and finish chosen, so they're final sale.
  3. What you see is what arrives. It comes in the size and frame shown on the product page.

Made to order is the better gift when you know the wall: a partner, a parent whose living room you've measured, a gift you're choosing together.

What size is safe for a gift?

Smaller than you'd buy for yourself. A piece around 16 to 30″ (41 to 76 cm) on its longest side fits a hallway, a bedroom, a powder room or the space beside a window in almost any home, and it can be hung from one or two small hooks. Big pieces need a specific wall.

If you know the wall, use the rules: two-thirds to three-quarters of the sofa, bed or sideboard below it. The measuring guide has the arithmetic.

What should you choose?

Look at what's already on their walls and in their rooms, not at what you'd hang yourself. A few safe directions:

  • Something tied to a place they love: a lake, a coastline, a city.
  • Quiet neutrals if their home is calm and pale; they sit with almost anything.
  • Black and white if their style is modern; it works with any palette.
  • A pair for a couple setting up a new home: two matching pieces they can hang together or apart.

When should you order a holiday gift?

Work back from the date. Ready-to-ship pieces leave the studio within 2 weeks, then travel by courier, so give yourself a margin of three to four weeks before the date. For made to order, add the 3 to 4 weeks the studio needs, and order a month or more ahead. When a studio's lead time stretches in a busy season, the product page says so before you order.

What happens at the door?

Every piece ships by courier across Canada, boxed with corner guards, and the courier asks for a signature. So send it to an address where someone will be home: yours, if you'd like to give it in person, or theirs on a day you know they'll be in. Shipping is free on orders over $499, and a flat $29 below. Everything ships from Canada and is priced in CAD, so there are no duties or brokerage at the door.

Next step

Ready to ship collects every piece that leaves within 2 weeks, and Small spaces has the sizes that fit almost any wall.

Questions we get asked

If it's a ready-to-ship piece, yes: within 30 days, unhung and in the original box. Made-to-order pieces are final sale.

Ask the recipient to open it within 5 days and email me a photo at diana@blankwall.ca, or send it through the contact page, if anything is wrong, and we'll make it right. The shipping and returns page has the details.

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