Most homes have one painting in the living room and a lot of empty walls everywhere else. The usual reason is not budget. It is uncertainty. Which painting goes where? How big? How high? Will a Gond tiger look odd in the bedroom? Is a Pichwai too formal for the dining room?
This guide goes room by room through a typical Indian home and suggests what kind of painting works on each wall, with examples you can actually buy. Before that, four rules that apply everywhere.
Four rules for any wall
1. Measure first, then cut paper
Measure the wall and the furniture in front of it. Then cut a sheet of newspaper to the size of the painting you are considering and tape it up for a day. You will know within an hour whether it is too small. Almost everyone buys too small.
2. Hang at eye level
The centre of the painting should sit roughly 57 to 60 inches from the floor, about where an average adult's eyes fall. Above a sofa or console, leave 8 to 10 inches between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame.
3. Use the two-thirds rule above furniture
A painting above a sofa, bed or sideboard looks right when it is about two-thirds the width of the furniture. A 7-foot sofa wants a painting, or a group, around 4 to 5 feet wide.
4. Respect light and damp
Direct sun fades natural pigments and paper. Damp walls and bathrooms are hard on cloth and paper. Works on paper and cloth should be framed under glass, ideally UV-protective. Canvas is more forgiving.
Now, the rooms.
The living room: your one big statement
The scale of a Pichwai is part of how it tells its story
This is the wall people see first and look at most, usually above the sofa or facing the entrance. It can carry the biggest, boldest painting in the house.
What works: a large canvas with a strong central subject that reads from across the room. Gond and Bhil canvases are excellent here because their patterns hold up at a distance and reward a closer look. A large Pichwai brings colour and a sense of occasion, which is why "Pichwai paintings for living room" is one of the most searched phrases around Indian art.
Examples on Rooftop:
- Sahdev Pusham's Joyful Cows - Gau Charai, 50 x 37 inches, a herd walking across a soft blue ground. It sits well above a three-seater sofa.
- Siya Shyam's Village Celebration, a Gond festival on bright yellow that suits a room where people gather.
- Browse Pichwai paintings for a statement piece in cloth.
Tip: if your living room is double height, go vertical. Suresh Kumar Dhurve's Turtle's Tale of Life is five feet tall and needs a wall you can step back from.
The dining room: food, harvest and gathering
Dining rooms are for long, slow looking. People sit facing the same wall for an hour. A painting with plenty of detail and a story keeps conversation going.
What works: harvest and festival scenes, village life, food. A Pichwai of Annakut, the festival where mountains of food are offered to Shrinathji, is the most fitting subject imaginable. Warli harvest scenes and Madhubani wedding processions work beautifully too. Long horizontal works suit dining walls because tables are long.
Examples on Rooftop:
- Brajbhushan Dhurve's The World of Jungle, 67 inches long, with elephants climbing a tree for the view. Plan the frame with care; it needs a long wall.
- Sadashiv Mhase's Village Community, a whole Warli settlement on cow dung ground.
Keep paintings on paper away from the steam of serving dishes, and avoid hanging anything directly above a sideboard where hot food sits.
The bedroom: calm, close and personal
The bedroom wall is seen up close and in low light, often first thing in the morning. Choose something quieter.
What works: smaller works with fine detail, softer colours, and subjects that feel peaceful or personal. Rajasthani miniatures of Radha and Krishna, especially Kishangarh, have a tenderness that suits a bedroom. A single Bhil tree of life, a Warli spider's web or a soft landscape all work.
Examples on Rooftop:
- Lado Bai's Tree of Life & Human, a pink deer whose antlers grow into a tree.
- Pravin Mhase's The Delicate Web of Life, a quiet Warli spider's web on cow dung ground that holds the wall above a bed.
- Browse miniature paintings.
Above the bed, follow the two-thirds rule and hang a little lower than usual so the painting relates to the bed rather than floating above it.
The Delicate Web of Life by Pravin Mhase, a quiet Warli work for a bedroom wall
The pooja room: devotional art in its proper place
Many Indian art forms were made for worship, and the pooja room is where they make the most sense.
What works: a Pichwai of Shrinathji or Krishna for Vaishnav homes. A Mata ni Pachedi for devotees of the mother goddess. A Kerala mural for South Indian temple traditions. A Thangka for Buddhist homes. Searching for a "Pichwai painting for pooja room" is common for good reason, since that is close to what Pichwais were made for: they hung behind the deity in the temple.
Pooja rooms often have lamps, incense and flowers, so smoke and moisture are real. Frame paper and cloth under glass and leave some space between the painting and any open flame. Our guide Your first Pichwai: 9 things nobody tells you explains how to choose a devotional piece with care.
Tulsi worship, a Chitrakathi painting. Devotional scenes like this sit naturally in a pooja room
The entrance: a welcome in one look
Visitors see the entrance wall for a few seconds, so it needs to make an impression quickly.
What works: medium-sized works with a strong silhouette and clear colour. Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, is a natural subject for a doorway in many homes. A pair of Gond animals face to face, a Warli peacock dance or a bright Madhubani fish all say hello well.
Examples on Rooftop:
- Gariba Singh Tekam's A Couple of Black Elephants, two elephants on a yellow ground. Black on yellow carries from the door.
- Pravin Mhase's The Enchanting Peacock Dance, a Warli monsoon scene that suits a passing glance.
The Enchanting Peacock Dance by Pravin Mhase, a Warli scene that reads well from the doorway
Corridors and staircases: tall and long
Corridors and staircases are the walls most people leave bare, and they are perfect for formats that do not fit anywhere else.
What works: tall, narrow canvases between doors and along staircases. Long, low scroll-like works above a corridor console. Phad and Paitkar, both scroll traditions, were designed to be read along their length, so they feel at home in a passage you walk through.
Examples on Rooftop:
- Suresh Kumar Dhurve's Birds in the Forest, 18.5 x 52 inches, almost three times as tall as it is wide. Made for the strip between two windows or the side of a staircase.
- Kishor Gayen's Paitkar Tribals IV, a long, low strip of village figures that reads like a scroll laid flat.
On a staircase, hang paintings so their centres follow the angle of the stairs, about 57 to 60 inches above each step.
Paitkar Tribals IV by Kishor Gayen, a long, low work made for a corridor
The study or home office: something to rest your eyes on
You spend hours facing this wall, often on video calls. Choose something you will not tire of and that does not shout.
What works: detailed, small-to-medium works you can rest your eyes on between tasks. Miniatures are ideal. So are dense Gond or Bhil works on paper, where each look reveals something new. If the wall behind you shows on video, a single mid-sized painting looks far better than a cluttered shelf.
Example: Kaushal Prasad Tekam's Forest Animals, 15 x 11 inches, four wild boars packed with thousands of hand-made dashes. A painting for close looking.
The children's room: animals and stories
Children love art they can read: animals, people doing things, stories with a beginning and an end.
What works: Warli scenes, which children can learn to draw themselves. Gond and Bhil animals in bright colours. A Kalighat cat with a fish, which is funny at any age. Hang at the child's eye level, lower than usual, and use acrylic glazing instead of glass for safety.
If your child gets curious, Rooftop's Artventures books and art courses are a good next step, and Warli and Madhubani are especially easy for young learners.
The kitchen: small, cheerful and easy to clean
Kitchens are hard on art, with heat, steam and splashes. Keep it small, framed under glass and away from the stove.
What works: small cheerful works with food, animals or everyday life. A Kalighat fish, a Madhubani fish (a symbol of good fortune in Mithila), or a small Warli harvest scene. Canvas paintings that can be wiped with a lightly damp cloth, like the Seashore painting in our under-₹10K list, are the practical choice.
The Seashore painting, a small canvas that copes with a kitchen wall
Quick reference
| Room | Size | Best art forms | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living room | Large, 3 to 5 feet | Gond, Bhil, Pichwai | Too small is the common mistake |
| Dining room | Large, horizontal | Pichwai Annakut, Warli, Madhubani | Steam near paper |
| Bedroom | Small to medium | Miniature, Bhil, Warli | Keep it calm |
| Pooja room | Medium | Pichwai, Mata ni Pachedi, Kerala Mural, Thangka | Smoke and flame |
| Entrance | Medium | Gond, Warli, Madhubani | Needs a clear silhouette |
| Corridors, stairs | Tall or long | Phad, Paitkar, tall canvases | Follow the stair angle |
| Study | Small to medium | Miniature, detailed Gond or Bhil | Video background |
| Children's room | Small to medium | Warli, Gond, Kalighat | Hang lower, use acrylic glazing |
| Kitchen | Small | Kalighat, Madhubani fish, canvas | Heat and splashes |
Buying for several walls at once
If you are furnishing a new home, you do not need nine paintings on day one. Start with the living room, then the entrance, then the bedroom. Add the rest over a year as you find pieces you love.
Mixing art forms across rooms is fine and often looks better than matching everything. Within one wall, keep it simpler. Two dense patterned works side by side tend to fight, so pair a busy Gond or Bhil piece with something plainer.
Rooftop's price-band guides help you plan across budgets: under ₹10K, under ₹25K, under ₹50K and under ₹1 lakh. Every painting is an original, comes with a certificate of authenticity, and has an enquiry button if you want to check size, colour or framing before you buy.
Browse all original paintings on Rooftop and start with the wall you look at most.
Frequently asked questions
How big should a painting be above a sofa?
About two-thirds the width of the sofa. For a 7-foot sofa, look for a painting or group around 4 to 5 feet wide, hung 8 to 10 inches above the back.
How high should I hang a painting?
Place the centre of the painting about 57 to 60 inches from the floor. Above furniture, measure from the top of the furniture instead.
Which painting is best for a pooja room?
A Pichwai of Shrinathji or Krishna, a Mata ni Pachedi, a Kerala mural or a Thangka, depending on your tradition. Frame paper and cloth under glass and keep them away from lamps and incense.
Can I hang paintings in a bathroom or kitchen?
Avoid bathrooms for original paintings. In kitchens, keep paintings small, framed under glass and away from the stove.
