City map art print styled on a modern living room wall

How to Style a City Map Print in Your Living Room

A city map print is one of the most versatile pieces you can put on a wall. It brings geography, memory, and design together in a single frame — but only if it's styled well. Get it wrong and it looks like a poster. Get it right and it anchors the whole room.

Choose the Right Size for the Wall

The most common mistake people make with wall art is going too small. A print that looks generous on a screen often disappears on a real wall. For a living room, these are the sizing rules:

  • Above a sofa: go for 18×24 minimum. 24×36 if the sofa is large.
  • A single feature wall: 24×36 or a gallery arrangement of smaller prints.
  • A narrow hallway or alcove: 12×18 works well — contained and deliberate.
  • Above a console or sideboard: match roughly two thirds of the furniture width.

When in doubt, go one size larger than you think you need.

Placement: Height Matters More Than You Think

Art hung too high is the most common interior mistake. The centre of your print should sit at roughly eye level — around 145–150cm from the floor. If it's going above furniture, leave 15–20cm of breathing room between the top of the piece and the bottom of the art.

For gallery walls, treat the arrangement as one piece — find its collective centre and hang from there.

Frame It Properly

A city map print deserves a proper frame. Our recommendations:

  • Black frame, white mount: the classic choice. Clean, modern, works with almost any colour scheme.
  • Natural wood frame: warm and considered. Works beautifully with earthy tones and linen sofas.
  • Slim metal frame in brass or gold: adds a premium touch and suits minimal interiors.

Always use a mount (mat board). It creates breathing room between the print and the frame and immediately elevates the perceived quality of the piece.

Colour Pairing

Trip Mapper city maps come in two colourways — Bright (blue and gold) and Blue Ink (monochrome). Here's how to pair them:

  • Bright (blue and gold): pairs well with warm neutrals — cream, sand, terracotta.
  • Blue Ink (monochrome): works with virtually any palette. Particularly strong against white walls with dark furniture.

The Gallery Wall Approach

One of the best ways to display city maps is as a collection. A set of three — your hometown, a city you love, a city you want to visit — makes for a genuinely personal and visually powerful display.

Shop Trip Mapper city map prints and find the perfect piece for your space.

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