Best Moving Boxes for Large Wall Art

Your wall decorations are an indispensable part of your home’s personality. Whether you prefer priceless original paintings, inexpensive prints of pop art, or framed photos of your poodle, it’s key that your wall decor survives the journey between your old home and your new one.

Luckily, there’s a ton of boxes made specifically to protect wall art during a big move. While you can move without these special boxes, the back of a moving truck can be dangerous for fragile things. Instead of risking irreparable damage to your wall decor, we recommend getting the right boxes to properly pack your pictures.

To help you keep every painting, print, and photograph safe and sound, we’ve put together a list of our favorite picture moving boxes.

Keep reading to find the box that will protect your wall art during your next move.

With U-Haul’s picture shipper, you definitely get what you pay for. This vault-like kit protects your most valuable framed artwork and photographs. It features foam panels to gently cradle your picture, corner protectors to guard against any drops, and a durable cardboard shipping box.

One thing to keep in mind: This box won’t work for pictures of all sizes. The largest picture it could safely hold would be 41 inches x 31 inches. The box’s foam is designed to hold pictures in place, so it can be used for pictures that are smaller than these dimensions. It could even hold several small pieces at once as long as they fit side by side.

While it is exceptionally durable and secure, this box is also pricey. For this reason, we only recommend getting the U-Haul picture shipper for your most cherished and irreplaceable wall decor.

This box is actually four separate cardboard corners that fit together and overlap to protect a mirror or picture.

(Note: The “4-piece” in the title refers to the box’s four pieces, not four different boxes. If you buy this product, you will get just one box.)

By arranging the pieces in different shapes and sizes, you can use the box to safeguard almost any picture that measures up to 60 inches x 40 inches. Amazon doesn’t specify the minimum size this box can hold, but it should work for most standard sizes of photos and prints.

Handy DIY tip: if you have a utility knife, you can always cut the box down to size if it ends up being too big for one of your pictures.

After you have assembled the box around your picture, you’ll need to tape the four pieces together so they stay in place.

What you see is what you get with this moving box from U-Haul. While it may not be as adjustable or durable as the other two boxes we’ve listed, it’s ideal for anyone moving on a tight budget.

That said, the box does have one nifty feature. It’s designed to fit seamlessly with another large picture box from U-Haul to double its width. This means that if you get two of these boxes, you can piece them together to hold a picture twice as wide as just one of the boxes could hold. (One box is good for art measuring up to 48 inches x 32 inches.)

Keep in mind that no padding is included with this box, so you’ll need packing peanuts, bubble wrap, or wadded newspaper to protect your wall art from damage in transit.

Alternatively, U-Haul recommends using their Picture Packer Kit with this box. The kit is sold separately but is also reasonably priced.

When you move, you’ll want to make sure that all your fragile belongings are in sturdy boxes that will keep them as safe as possible. Luckily, the boxes listed above work for mirrors as well as pictures. Some people even use them for flatscreen TVs, though it’s not always recommended. To be safe, only pack TVs in boxes labeled as TV boxes.

Dishes are particularly vulnerable to the hazards of riding in a truck. Whether you need to pack up a cheap set of plates or a priceless china set that’s been in your family for generations, you can read our boxes for packing dishes guide to learn how to safely pack dishware.

Like mirrors and dishes, glassware sets also need specialty boxes to ensure they don’t get damaged. Our guide to moving boxes for glasses can help you find the best boxes for your pricey cups and wine glasses.

When you’re moving wall decor that you simply can’t replace, we recommend using U-Haul’s picture shipper for its exceptional protection.

If you’re packing up an especially large or an unusually shaped piece, the adjustability of Office Depot’s 4-piece box should do the trick.

Lastly, if you’re moving on the cheap and don’t have a lot of money to throw at boxes, we think U-Haul’s large picture box is your best bet.

Did you move recently? If so, which boxes did you use to protect your wall decor? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!