What Size Push Pin Map Do I Need? A Complete Sizing Guide

Here's the short answer: for most living room walls, the middle size wins. That's the 30 x 45 gallery wrapped world map or the 32 x 47 framed canvas. Size down to 24 x 36 for an office or hallway, and size up to a three panel set if you've got a big empty wall that needs a statement piece. The rest of this guide is the "why," with the wall math we walk customers through every week.

I'm Brenda. My husband Mike and I founded Push Pin Travel Maps in Denver back in 2012, after we couldn't find a stylish, high quality map to track our own travels. Fourteen years and more than 250,000 travelers later, "what size should I get?" is still the question we answer most. So let's answer it properly.

What sizes do push pin maps come in?

Push Pin Travel Maps canvases come in three sizes: 24 x 36 inches, 30 x 45 inches, and 34 x 51 inches. Framed float mount versions of the same prints measure roughly 26 x 38, 32 x 47, and 36 x 53 inches once the frame is on. Rolled posters go larger still, up to 44 x 66 inches for DIY framing.

Every canvas map ships with 150 pins, free personalization, and a foamboard backing that holds pins securely. If you want the full spec sheet for each format, our complete size and style chart lays out all of it in one place. This guide is about the harder question: which of those sizes belongs on your wall.

What size map fits your wall?

The rule we give customers: measure the furniture under the wall, then pick a map about two thirds of its width. Leave at least six inches of clear wall on each side, and center the map so its middle sits close to eye level, around 57 to 60 inches off the floor.

That one rule settles most debates. A standard 84 inch sofa calls for art around 56 inches wide, and the 30 x 45 gallery wrap or the three panel set lands right in that zone. A 24 x 36 above that same sofa tends to look like it's floating, too small for the wall it's on.

Some quick placements we see over and over:

• Above a sofa or bed: 30 x 45 gallery wrap or 32 x 47 framed canvas. Go three panel if the wall is wider than nine feet.
• Home office or den: 24 x 36. It fits above a desk or credenza and still reads clearly from a chair.
• Hallway or stairwell: 24 x 36, since viewers stand close and narrow walls crowd anything bigger.
• Dedicated travel wall: 34 x 51 framed at 36 x 53, or the three panel set. This is the "guests stop and look" tier.

One more tip before you commit: cut a piece of kraft paper (or tape together newspaper) to the exact size and stick it on the wall for a day. It takes ten minutes and has saved plenty of our customers from second guessing. When the map arrives, our guide on how to hang your push pin travel map covers the rest.

Which size should you get for your kind of traveling?

Wall space is half the decision. The other half is how you travel, because a map you'll pin twice a year and a map tracking a lifetime of cities have different jobs. Here's how we'd match sizes to travelers after fourteen years of these conversations.

Remember that pins mark cities, not whole countries. One good trip through Italy can add four or five pins on its own, so a travel style with multiple stops per trip is the most common reason customers wish they'd sized up.

Which size do most people choose?

The 24 x 36 gallery wrap is our best seller, and it has been for years. It's the entry price point and it fits nearly any wall. The whole world still reads clearly at that size. If you're torn and your wall is modest, it's the safe pick.

I'll vouch for the small size personally, though. Mike and I used a 24 x 36 Blue Oceans world map at our own wedding in Sacramento in May 2013, with city name tags standing in for table numbers. On the right wall, the small map isn't a compromise at all.

Does size change how many pins you need?

Every map we make includes 150 push pins regardless of size, so you won't run short on day one. What changes with size is pin density: how crowded those pins look once your travels start filling in. On a 24 x 36, thirty city pins across Europe already feel snug. On a 34 x 51, the same thirty pins have room to breathe, with space left to plan future trips in a second color.

Count the cities you'd pin today, add the ones you're determined to reach, and if that number clears 40, lean toward a bigger map. And if you eventually need more pins or want to color code past trips versus dream trips, our map pins collection has standard sets and themed ones, from nautical to sports.

Gallery wrapped, framed canvas, or 3 panel?

Size and format get decided together, so a quick tour of the three formats. Gallery wrapped maps have the print folded around the edges with no frame: clean, modern, and the most affordable canvas option in our gallery wrapped collection. Framed float mount canvases add a finished border in your choice of frame color, which suits traditional rooms and makes the map read as furniture grade art. The 3 panel maps split the world across three canvases for a modern triptych look that carries a big wall on its own.

All three formats pin the same way, with the same foamboard backing. Pick the format for your decorating style, then the size for your wall. Our world map collection shows every style side by side if you want to browse.

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

Measure your furniture, apply the two thirds rule, and be honest about how many pins your travels will earn. For most homes that lands on the 30 x 45 Gallery Wrapped Executive World Travel Map or its framed equivalent, with the 24 x 36 as the right call for smaller walls and the three panel set for the biggest ones. Whichever size you choose, it ships ready to hang, pins included.

Brenda Phelps co founded Push Pin Travel Maps with her husband Mike in 2012 in Denver, Colorado. Since then they've helped more than 250,000 travelers find a map for their journey. Every map is handmade in the USA.