Single, Diptych or Triptych: How Much Wall Do You Actually Need?

Last updated: July 2026 · By Stanislav Arnautov · Berlin · 14 min read

The question people actually ask is "which one should I get," and the honest answer is that it has almost nothing to do with budget and almost everything to do with the wall.

A triptych is not a better version of a single deck. It is a different object with a different job, and putting one on the wrong wall looks worse than putting a single deck there — more expensively worse. This guide gives you the measurements and the arithmetic to get it right the first time.

The three formats and exact dimensions

Three things follow from these numbers that are worth stating plainly.

These are tall, narrow formats. Diptychs and triptychs are 85 cm tall and only 45 or 70 cm wide; a single deck is 85 × 20 cm and can hang either way. That is unusual in wall art and it is the whole reason decks work where framed pictures do not: they fill narrow strips — beside a door, between two windows, along a corridor — that conventional art cannot address.

The gaps are part of the measurement. A triptych is not three decks you arrange however you like; it is a single image split across three panels, designed to be hung with 5 cm between them. Change the spacing and the image no longer aligns.

A triptych is more compact than many people expect. At 70 × 85 cm it is narrower than most sofas, desks and beds, and it reads as a tall, vertical piece rather than a long band. That is the single most useful fact in this guide.

The two-thirds rule, with real numbers

The standard interior design guideline is that artwork hung above a piece of furniture should span roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of that furniture's width. Narrower and the art looks stranded; wider and it overhangs, which reads as a mistake rather than as a choice.

Run the arithmetic backwards and each format tells you exactly what furniture it belongs above.

This is where most people go wrong, so it is worth being blunt about it. A standard three-seat sofa is 200–220 cm wide, and no single format reaches two-thirds of that width. A 70 cm triptych above a 210 cm sofa covers about a third of it, so it works as a centred, vertical focal point rather than as a band spanning the sofa.

Triptychs are the largest format and give the most presence above a sofa, a sideboard or on a wall with no furniture beneath it. For a fuller span above a long sofa or sectional, group several pieces rather than expecting one set to cover the width.

Match the format to your furniture

Measure the furniture, not the wall. The wall tells you what will physically fit; the furniture tells you what will look right.

Above a three-seat sofa (200–220 cm) — a triptych. At 70 cm it is the widest format, centred as a vertical focal point; a diptych (45 cm) suits a quieter wall. A single deck here looks lost.

Above a two-seat sofa or loveseat (150–170 cm) — a diptych, or a triptych if you want the wall to feel fuller. Both stay well inside the sofa width, so the choice is about how much presence you want.

Above a bed — measure the bed, not the mattress. A double (140 cm) takes a single deck hung horizontally, which echoes the line of the headboard. Above a king (180 cm), a diptych or triptych centred over the headboard works as a vertical focal point; at 45 or 70 cm wide, both sit well inside the bed width.

Above a desk or console (110–140 cm) — a single deck. This is the format's home ground, and it is why a single is not a compromise purchase.

Above a sideboard or long console (200 cm+) — a triptych, centred; at 70 cm wide it sits well inside the furniture width.

A corridor or stairwell wall — any format, because there is no furniture to relate to. Here the constraint is the wall length: leave at least 30–40 cm of clear wall at each end, so a triptych needs a run of about 130–150 cm minimum.

Room by room

The stairwell case is worth expanding, because people get it wrong in an interesting way. A staircase wall wants a sequence that follows the diagonal, so three separate single decks stepped down the incline works far better than one triptych hung level beside it. The triptych is a single image and must stay level; three singles can follow the stairs.

Our room-by-room decorating guide covers colour and palette matching for each of these spaces.

Hanging height and spacing

Two numbers cover almost every case.

Centre at 145–150 cm from the floor when there is no furniture beneath — this is standard gallery eye level and it is the height museums use. For a diptych or triptych, 85 cm tall, that means the top edge sits at roughly 190 cm and the bottom at roughly 105 cm.

Leave 15–20 cm above furniture when there is a sofa, headboard or sideboard below. Any less and the art appears to rest on the furniture; any more and the two stop reading as a group. This rule overrides eye level — a piece above a sofa will usually sit slightly lower than 150 cm, and that is correct.

Spacing between panels is 5 cm for diptychs and triptychs, and this is not adjustable in the way it is for a gallery wall. The image is split across the panels and designed around that gap. If you hang a triptych with 10 cm gaps, the composition stretches and the alignment across panels visibly breaks.

For separate single decks displayed as a group, 5–8 cm is the range that reads as intentional. Full instructions for fixings, wall types and levelling multi-panel sets are in the mounting guide.

When a single deck is the right answer

A single deck is the correct choice more often than the pricing suggests, and it is worth saying so rather than steering everyone upward.

Small rooms. In a flat under about 50 m², scale down, not up. A single well-placed deck in a small room reads as confidence; an oversized piece reads as a room straining.

Rooms that already have art. If there is work on the walls, a triptych can compete with it. A single deck sits alongside what you own.

Narrow walls. The strip beside a door, between two windows, above a radiator. These are the spaces nothing else fits, and they are precisely where a single 85 cm deck earns its place.

When you want to start. Buying one deck and living with it for a month tells you more about what you want than any amount of deliberation. Decks are also straightforward to add to later, because the format and the framing logic stay consistent.

As a gift. Unless you have measured the recipient's wall, a single deck is the safer purchase. Our gift guide goes into this: scale mismatches are the most common reason a gifted artwork never gets hung.

Five sizing mistakes

1. Expecting one set to span a sofa. A triptych is 70 cm wide, about a third of a 210 cm sofa. Hang it as a centred focal point, or group several pieces if you want to cover the width.
2. Measuring the wall instead of the furniture. A 4 m wall does not mean you need 4 m of art. If there is a 200 cm sideboard on it, the sideboard sets the scale.
3. Hanging too high. Almost everyone does this. Centre at 145–150 cm, or 15–20 cm above furniture, and resist the instinct to go higher.
4. Changing the panel gaps. The 5 cm spacing on a diptych or triptych is part of the artwork. Widening it breaks the image across the panels.
5. Scaling up in a small room. A large piece does not make a small room feel larger. It makes the walls feel closer.

Frequently asked questions

What size is a skateboard wall art deck?

A single deck is 85 × 20 cm, or 33.5 × 7.9 inches. A diptych of two panels spans 45 × 85 cm, and a triptych of three panels spans 70 × 85 cm, both with 5 cm gaps between the panels included in those measurements. Diptychs and triptychs are 85 cm tall, the same as a single deck's length, which is what makes decks useful in places conventional framed art cannot go: the narrow strip beside a door, the space between two windows, a corridor wall. The height stays constant across the multi-panel formats, so the main variable when choosing is width, and width should be decided by the furniture below rather than by budget.

Should I buy a diptych or a triptych for above my sofa?

For a standard three-seat sofa of 200–220 cm, a triptych is usually the better choice. The design guideline is that artwork should span roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of the width of the furniture beneath it; at 70 cm, a triptych covers about a third of a 210 cm sofa and a diptych (45 cm) about a fifth, so neither spans the sofa. The triptych has more presence as a centred, vertical focal point; for a fuller span, group several pieces.

How high should I hang skateboard wall art?

Centre the piece at 145–150 cm from the floor when there is no furniture beneath it, which is standard gallery eye level. A diptych or triptych is 85 cm tall, so centred at 145–150 cm its top edge sits at roughly 190 cm and its bottom at roughly 105 cm; a single deck hung horizontally is only 20 cm tall. When there is a sofa, headboard or sideboard below, a different rule takes priority: leave 15–20 cm of clear space between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the artwork. Any less and the piece appears to rest on the furniture; any more and the two stop reading as a single group. This usually places the artwork slightly below strict eye level, which is correct.

Can I change the spacing between triptych panels?

Not without visibly damaging the composition. A triptych is a single image split across three panels and designed around a 5 cm gap, which is included in the stated 70 cm total width. Widening the gaps stretches the composition and breaks the alignment of the image where it crosses from one panel to the next — lines and colour fields that should continue across the gap no longer meet. This is the key difference between a multi-panel artwork and a gallery wall of separate pieces: with individual single decks you can choose your own spacing, and 5–8 cm reads as deliberate, but a diptych or triptych has one correct spacing.

What size skateboard art fits above a bed?

Measure the bed frame rather than the mattress. A double bed at around 140 cm suits a single deck at 85 cm, which lands close to two-thirds of the bed width. Above a king bed at around 180 cm, a diptych (45 × 85 cm) or triptych (70 × 85 cm) centred over the headboard works as a vertical focal point, well inside the bed's width. Leave 15–20 cm between the top of the headboard and the bottom of the artwork.

Is a triptych too big for a small apartment?

Usually not. At 70 × 85 cm, a triptych is narrower than most sofas and fits most walls in a small flat; what matters more is a clear stretch of wall around it. The instinct to scale up in a small room is still worth resisting. A single deck at 85 cm placed well reads as confidence, while an oversized piece reads as a room straining against its own dimensions. Small spaces also tend to have walls broken up by doors, windows and radiators, which leaves narrow vertical and horizontal strips where an 85 × 20 cm deck fits and nothing else does.

Article summary

Skateboard wall art comes in three formats: a single deck at 85 × 20 cm from €140, a diptych at 45 × 85 cm from €230, and a triptych at 70 × 85 cm from €310, with 5 cm gaps included in the multi-panel measurements. Choose the format by measuring the furniture beneath, not the wall, and apply the two-thirds rule: artwork should span roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of the furniture's width. A single deck hung horizontally suits desks, consoles, armchairs and double beds of 110–140 cm. A diptych (45 cm wide) suits a bedside table or narrow console, and a triptych (70 cm wide) a desk, dresser or console of about 95–105 cm; above a standard sofa, a triptych is the strongest single piece, centred as a focal point. Hang at 145–150 cm to centre, or 15–20 cm above furniture, whichever applies. Panel gaps on diptychs and triptychs are fixed at 5 cm because the image is split across the panels. In small rooms, scale down rather than up.

About the author

Stanislav Arnautov is the founder of deckarts, a graphic designer and print specialist originally from Ukraine, now based in Berlin, where he personally designs and prepares every deck. Follow the work on Instagram or at stasarnautov.com.