Terres d'avant colored painting large format: how to choose it and hang it in an office
7 min read · by Walensky
TERRES D'AVANT COLORED PAINTING
An empty office wall always ends up looking like a waiting room. The one facing your desk, with its beige paint and the single power strip sticking out: it calls for something alive. A blue and yellow triceratops of impressive scale, for example, rather than an outdated company calendar.
The Terres d'avant collection relies on bold colors and prehistoric silhouettes to transform this kind of wall without tipping into gimmickry. But between the desire and a successful hanging, there are measurements to respect, and that is precisely where things most often go wrong.
The direct answerFor a large-format colored Terres d'avant painting in an office, plan for an L size (120x70 cm) to XXL (160x90 cm) for an individual office wall, and a 2XL to 4XL (up to 240x140 cm) for an open space or meeting room where viewing distance matters. The basic rule: the artwork should occupy 60 to 75% of the width of the wall or piece of furniture it hangs above, and its center should sit at about 1.50 m from the floor, the natural eye height whether seated or standing.- The format is chosen according to the width of the available wall, not on the strength of a passing crush alone.
- The standard hanging height remains around 1.50 m at the center of the artwork, even in an office.
- Acrylic glass for a room without direct light, Alu Dibond facing a window.
The Terres d'avant collection: bright colors inspired by prehistory
Terres d'avant is a graphic, colorful reinterpretation of the prehistoric world: sauropods, triceratops, T-Rex, treated in palettes that blend ochres, deep blues and sunny yellows. Nothing like the grey, earthy documentary imagery usually associated with dinosaurs.
Each painting in this range is an exclusive digital creation by Walensky's artists, printed in Italy on acrylic glass or Alu Dibond. It is neither a canvas nor a reproduction of an existing work: it is a piece designed for a contemporary wall display, with colors that pop without turning garish.
An office does not need to be sober to be serious. It needs a wall that tells a story, even briefly, between two meetings.
Which format to choose based on office size and layout
The format of a large-format painting is calculated first against the width of the wall, not against the mood of the moment. A tiny triceratops on a 4-meter wall gets lost; an oversized format in a 10 m² office overwhelms the space.
Individual office vs open space
In a typical individual office, the wall behind the workstation is often between 1.80 m and 2.50 m wide. An L (120x70 cm) or XL (140x80 cm) format is more than enough to fill the space without crowding the room.
In an open space, walls are longer and the visual distance greater: colleagues glimpse the painting from afar as they pass. An XXL (160x90 cm) or 2XL (180x100 cm) format then makes full sense, especially if the wall is wider than 3 meters.
Meeting room and circulation areas
A meeting room requires a seated viewing distance of at least 2 to 3 meters: it is the ideal place for a 3XL (200x112 cm) or 4XL (240x140 cm) format, which becomes the room's natural focal point during discussions. In a corridor or circulation area, however, favor a format that never encroaches on the passage itself: people look while walking, not while stopping.
Custom sizes exist from 80x46 cm to 280x160 cm on most references in the collection. Handy for the awkward walls of open spaces, which never measure exactly the right width.
Our selection
Triceratops Painting - Coloured Majesty - Dinosaur Edition
From €273.90
Discover this paintingAt what height and where to hang a large colored painting
The standard hanging height places the center of the artwork at about 1.50 m from the floor, the average eye height while standing in a circulation area. In an office, this rule can be adjusted slightly depending on whether colleagues are mostly seated or on the move.
Facing a seated workstation, the center can be lowered slightly to 1.40-1.45 m, keeping the artwork within the natural field of view without raising the head. In an open space traversed on foot, stay at 1.50 m.
For lighting, an acrylic glass painting reflects light: it shines, quite literally, but dislikes direct reflections from a window. Matte Alu Dibond handles natural light without fuss: it is the logical choice facing a window. In both cases, a supplementary light angled slightly sideways avoids stray reflections on nearby screens.
— Also to discover
Integration examples: colorful dinosaurs and a working atmosphere
A T-Rex in blue and yellow, vivid yet structured, works surprisingly well in an executive office: it brings character without distracting, especially when hung alone on a clear wall.
The diplodocus at sunset, with its orange gradients, sits more naturally in a break room or corridor: warm tones soften the cold atmosphere of glazed open spaces. The giant sauropods, for their part, find their place in large meeting rooms, where their impressive scale engages with the size of the room.
In every case, one detail matters more than the others: the coherence of the furniture. An office with very mineral furnishings (light wood, brushed metal) accommodates these vivid colors better than a space already overloaded with graphic touches.
Combining several paintings from the collection for an impactful wall
Composing a wall with several Terres d'avant pieces calls for some rigor: strict horizontal alignment, regular spacing of 5 to 10 cm between each artwork, and a palette coherence that avoids visual cacophony.
- Two identical formats side by side (two L 120x70 cm, for example) create a soothing symmetry effect.
- A large central format flanked by two smaller ones works well on a very wide wall.
- Avoid mixing more than three different dominant hues on the same wall: the result quickly becomes muddled.
For this type of composition, the multicolored crocodile with its urban reflections or the megalodon shark bring a variation of motif while staying within the same vivid color range, useful for breaking the repetition of dinosaurs without disrupting overall harmony.
If your office is part of a larger shared space, take a look at our selection of paintings for coworking spaces : the same principles of proportion and hanging apply there, often with more marked traffic constraints.
In the same spirit
Multicolor Crocodile Painting - Urban Reflections - Kaprosuchus edition
From €273.90
Discover this painting →Frequently asked questions
What painting size to choose for an office wall?
Measure the width of the wall and aim for 60 to 75% of that width for the artwork. A 2-meter wall calls for an L or XL format; a 3-meter wall or more justifies an XXL or beyond.
At what height should a large painting be hung in a professional space?
The center of the artwork goes at about 1.50 m from the floor in a standing circulation area, and can drop to around 1.40 m facing a seated workstation.
How to combine several colored paintings on one wall?
Keep regular spacing of 5 to 10 cm, align the edges horizontally, and limit yourself to two or three dominant hues to avoid a disjointed effect.
Is a colored painting suitable for a serious work environment?
Yes, provided it is properly sized and isolated on a clear wall: color does not undermine seriousness, it is the surrounding visual overload that causes problems.
An office that looks like every other one goes unnoticed; an office with a two-meter-wide blue triceratops does not. The right format and the right hanging make all the difference between a painting that asserts itself and one that drowns in the decor.
To go further on color codes and muted atmospheres, our article on a Braque-inspired painting in earth tones for the office offers a more understated approach, complementary to the energy of Terres d'avant. And to explore the full range of formats designed for professional spaces, head to our office painting collection.
Explore our collections
