Big sculptural pieces - do they work above a bed or is that weird?

I hung a big luna moth over my bed a couple years back, wingspan close to four feet, and I ended up moving it within a month. Not because it scared me at night but because the lighting was wrong. I had it flat against the wall above the headboard and every shadow from my bedside lamp made the wings look like they were shifting around. That movement in the dark was the part I hadn't planned for. I took it down and put it above the sofa instead and it's been perfect there ever since, gets seen by everyone who comes over, and I can actually look at it properly instead of from flat on my back. My take is that a bed wall needs something with a calm silhouette, and a beetle with all those layered panels and spiky legs is the opposite of calm. Same size moth reads softer because of the rounded wing shapes, so yeah, subject matter absolutely changes the answer for me. One thing that might save it for you: try hanging it over the bed temporarily with removable strips and sleeping with it for a week before committing. If you forget it's there by night three, it stays. If you keep catching it in your peripheral vision when you roll over, that's your answer and the sofa is waiting.

I'd vote for the entryway or living room, but my reason has nothing to do with it being spooky at night. I built a big paper dragonfly a few years back, maybe three feet across, and I hung it over my bed becasue I loved it and wanted it to be the last thing I saw. Two things happened. First, dust. Beds generate a surprising amount of lint and skin flakes, and the layered panels on mine collected a fuzzy film in the crevices within a few months that was miserable to clean without bending the wings. Second, I knocked it once pulling the blanket off in a hurry and cracked two of the cell panels at the abdomen. Paper that size over a sleeping spot just takes too much accidental abuse.

It lives above the coat hooks in my entryway now, hung high enough that nobody brushes it coming through the door, and it gets way more appreciation there anyway. Everyone who walks in comments on it. Over the sofa is a decent middle ground if you want to see it daily, though watch the sun path in your room, since stained-glass style paper fades fast in direct afternoon light.

As for beetle versus moth, honestly the shape matters less than the legs. Anything with visible leg joints reads more creature-like from across a room, which is exactly what makes it a conversation piece in an entry and a 3am jump-scare over a pillow.

Agreeing with the sofa idea, that's where mine ended up too. I made a big paper scarab a while back, maybe two feet long, and it lived above my couch instead of the bed. Best part I didn't expect is the afternoon light from the living room window hits those layered panels and the whole thing glows for like an hour. In a bedroom you'd never see that, you're asleep when the light is good. Also guests always ask about it, wich never happened when I kept favorite pieces in the bedroom. An atlas beetle that size would probly look unreal with sun coming through it, so I'd aim for whichever wall gets natural light.

Made a paper stag beetle a while back, maybe half this size, and hung it in the hallway where it catches light from the stairwell all day. The thing that actually saved mine was a light misting of matte fixative. The card stock I used had a slight sheen to it and every time I walked past with a lamp on behind me the wings would flash white. Two coats and it went dead flat, reads like real chitin now instead of craft supplies.

Might be worth testing on a leftover panel of yours before you pick a spot, since those stained-glass layers probably catch light even harder. Also curious how heavy the body got after all that layering, did you reinforce the back at all?

I've never made anything close to this size so I can't speak to the bed question, but I keep picturing six feet of wings made of little see-through panels and I have to ask, how do you get it to stay flat and not sag in the middle? I glued a small paper fish once and the tail drooped after a week. Also wondering if something that big needs a special hook or if regular picture strips can hold it. Either way I hope you post a photo when you pick a spot.