Bare Walls in Need of Art

[nylucy4]

So I've lived in my house for two years now and have yet to put anything up on the walls. I don't have that much interest in decorating but know that the house looks really bare. Can anyone make suggestions of where to get nice-looking but not too expensive art or wall-hangings? Thanks in advance for the suggestions!

[catharine]

I've found great stuff at Marshalls/TJ Maxx/Homegoods. World Market and Kirkland's also have reasonably priced wall art.

You can also check out Home Decorators' website, and while you're there make sure you browse their outlet site.

Good luck.

[LadyWild]

When we bought our house, we were desperate for art, but all of it was so pricey. We bought stretcher bars, the things that you stretch canvas across. We then got fabric from the fabric shop and stapled it to the fabric. Its been up now 6 years and still looks great.

[SusanMac]

We have a giant wall in our new family room that is bare b/c I've been scared to do anything with it.

I love the fabric idea! I assume you get those bars at art supply stores?

We are also considering blowing up some photos from a few recent trips and matting/framing those. We kind of like the unique/personal approach to wall art. Has anyone ever done this w/their own photos? I assume Kinko's could print these out for us?

[funniegrrl]

Originally Posted by catharine

I've found great stuff at Marshalls/TJ Maxx/Homegoods. World Market and Kirkland's also have reasonably priced wall art.

You can also check out Home Decorators' website, and while you're there make sure you browse their outlet site.

Also Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

I believe World Market has a sale on their wall art this week.

[DanaSD]

We got a lot of our wall art from Cost Plus. Also, like others have said Kirklands, Homegoods, Bed Bath and Beyond. You can find cheap posters online but its the frames that are expensive if you need non-standard sizes.

We've also done a 'clothesline' in our son's room with his art but I've seen people hang their own black and white photos from it and it looks great. I think Ikea sells a silver colored clothesline that has a modern look to it.

You can also hand up things like plates in the dining room, small rugs, or other nonstandard things. Bed Bath and Beyond and Lowes are great sources for inexpensive wall shelves and wall candle holders.

[MKSquared]

The Salvation Army near us carries stock from art.com. We've gotten a ton of framed and unframed art for next to nothing. (Went online once and priced it out - it was close to $2,000 worth of art that we bought for maybe $150.)

I've seen a project that I'm really itching to try:
1. Find an old map, or have one blown up. I think we'd probably go with London, but you can do a city that's near and dear to you.

2. Find smallish identical frames - square works best.

3. Divide the map into the frames.

4. Hang the frames, keeping the spacing identical. It might look something like this grouping from designsponge.

[Jewel]

Nearly every piece of 'artwork' hanging in my home was purchased from www.allposters.com. I generally get them wood mounted or on canvas. No frames and/or glass on most of them, and we love the look. You can search by theme, by size, whatever you're looking for. We've always been very pleased with the quality, and in the rare instance something hasn't come out right the customer service is amazing!

[cchhbb]

[QUOTE=MKSquared;1517550]The Salvation Army near us carries stock from art.com. We've gotten a ton of framed and unframed art for next to nothing. (Went online once and priced it out - it was close to $2,000 worth of art that we bought for maybe $150.)

MK,

Where is the Salvation Army store? My parents live outside Columbus so I get back to Ohio several times a year. I'd love to do some inexpensive art shopping on my next trip.

Thanks,
Cheryl

[Middydd]

Originally Posted by catharine

I've found great stuff at Marshalls/TJ Maxx/Homegoods.

Second that. Here it's Winners/HomeSense.

They have the best selection at the best prices. Not only framed pictures, but interesting mirrors, metal pieces, clocks etc.

They make it really easy to dress up bare walls.

[mbrogier]

Flickr, an online community where you can upload your photos, share them with friends, and use them for web hosting. They have a section where they list partner companies that can turn your photos into anything from invitations, books, to framed art and photos on canvas.

Sending your photos to one of these places to enlarge them and print them will give you a better quality print than Kinkos. The printers these companies use to print your photos will produce professional quality results. Kinkos just doesn't do enough color photography printing to put these very expensive printers (over 10k each) in every store.

I have gotten art at TJ Maxx, Homegoods, Marshalls, etc, but I also look at what they have in stock, especially on clearance, for the frames. Custom framing is expensive!

If you just want the mat, you can have that cut for around $5-$10 at Michaels or stores like that. I used to have to buy mat board for college art projects, and I could get it for $5 a sheet. They'd even cut it for me.

Art schools have public shows, and many times most of the artwork is for sale. You can get some great art for affordable prices from students just starting out. I have a linocut from one of my art professors that was a wedding gift. His linocuts now go for $800 to over $1,000. It's amazing how much art can appreciate in 10 years.

I also look for prints and photographs at shops when I go on vacation. They make great souvenirs--says the girl who carted posters all over France. One my mom bought at Monet's home in Giverny was professionally framed and hangs over her fireplace.

I got a poster of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre and had it laminated so it would last. It hung on my dorm room wall, and I'd decorate it for different holidays. Girls would come by my room just to see what I had done to Mona--like put her in a santa hat and beard made from cotton balls and colored paper.

[swedish cook]

Originally Posted by LadyWild

When we bought our house, we were desperate for art, but all of it was so pricey. We bought stretcher bars, the things that you stretch canvas across. We then got fabric from the fabric shop and stapled it to the fabric. Its been up now 6 years and still looks great.

Marimekko has some dramatic fabrics.

[jenniferW]

Originally Posted by swedish cook

Marimekko has some dramatic fabrics.

Thank you for posting this link. They have some fantastic fabric. I've been wanting some new curtain panels and I'm finally inspired. Thanks again!

[jjsooner73]

Originally Posted by LadyWild

When we bought our house, we were desperate for art, but all of it was so pricey. We bought stretcher bars, the things that you stretch canvas across. We then got fabric from the fabric shop and stapled it to the fabric. Its been up now 6 years and still looks great.

Could you post a picture? I'm a visual person--I need to see it to "get" it.

[leebee]

It may not be all that common, but our public library allows you to check out framed artwork. That way, you can try some things out before you commit.

[LadyWild]

I just went through years and years of photos. This is the best one showing one of the pieces of fabric art. Its not great. We have 3 large squares with different fabrics going all the way up to the ceiling. Our original intention was to replace the fabric ever few years to change things up...we've been far too lazy for that.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11856622@N03/3969192090/

This link has a cool example:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_L-deInbQA9...Picture+15.png

This even gives you instructions:
http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2...-wall-art.html

You can get stretcher bars at Michaels or Joanns, places like that. I think we ordered ours online because they were a bit cheaper and we had an exact size we needed. I can't remember exactly where. Its been too long.

The cool think about the bars is you buy each bar. So if you want it rectangular, you just buy 2 short bars and 2 long bars.

[jjsooner73]

Originally Posted by LadyWild

I just went through years and years of photos. This is the best one showing one of the pieces of fabric art. Its not great. We have 3 large squares with different fabrics going all the way up to the ceiling. Our original intention was to replace the fabric ever few years to change things up...we've been far too lazy for that.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11856622@N03/3969192090/

This link has a cool example:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_L-deInbQA9...Picture+15.png

This even gives you instructions:
http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2...-wall-art.html

You can get stretcher bars at Michaels or Joanns, places like that. I think we ordered ours online because they were a bit cheaper and we had an exact size we needed. I can't remember exactly where. Its been too long.

The cool think about the bars is you buy each bar. So if you want it rectangular, you just buy 2 short bars and 2 long bars.

Thank you! I think that looks like something I could actually do AND afford.

[EllenL]

I've gotten all my art from eBay. It's amazing how much they have and how reasonably priced some of the stuff is. I like abstract oil and acrylic paintings, but they have any type you can imagine.

It's not art per se, but I think shadowboxes are interesting on a wall and can display interesting objects d'art, such as this one at Crate and Barrel (I'm considering buying it, but can't decide what to display in it---does anyone have any suggestions?).

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family...c=1435&f=29125

[mightyh]

I have framed my kids' artwork and decorated most of the upstairs with it.

I have also done something similar to what MaryKate suggested--I bought a book of vintage maps--cheap--off ebay then got similar black frames from Target and cut various maps to size to make a wall grouping of maps. I love how that turned out!

I have also purchased a beautiful matte calendar--World Market, Whole Foods, and www.paper-source.com are good places to look--cut the pictures to size and framed them.

Find some pretty wrapping paper and frame it (again, PaperSource is a good place to get this). Or find some pretty patterned paper (wrapping or scrapbooking) and make it the background for your art. Then cut out silhouettes (either of your family or of shapes/animals/objects you like) and glue together. Here is a link to the finished project: http://thedenckhoffs.blogspot.com/20...rld-peace.html

I love World Market for decent prices on art and they have quite a variety.

One piece of advice... if you find a store that has decent prices or good sales on various sized frames, buy those then have them cut the picture mat to fit (both your art and the frame). MUCH cheaper than having them frame the entire piece of art.

[EmilyD]

another site I've stumbled on -- and haven't yet ordered from -- is this one http://www.20x200.com/ where prints of original art are for sale starting at just $20. that's for the smaller sizes, but even the larger stuff is still very affordable -- and it's all by real artists who are profiting from their artwork. the selection changes weekly and you can buy it already framed or ready to frame.

and speaking of framing, custom framing is expensive as others have mentioned. If you have an unusual size piece, you can use matte board to get it to a standard size. (Wish I'd known this when I spent a small fortune just out of college to get my European poster from the Musee D'Orsay framed -- it was a standard size in Europe but here it wasn't and I should have just used matte board to make it so).

There's also a site called www.myDaVinci.com where you can take your photos and have them turned into pop art a la Andy Warhol or other "treatments" -- they have inhouse graphic designers who modify your submission and then you approve it before they print. Prices there looked reasonable too. I love the idea for a kid's playroom or other fun space.

And if you're looking for ideas, you can also check out some of the home and architecture magazines at the local library (or browse at a bookstore and buy the issues with spreads you want to copy). Better Homes & Garden has easy decorating projects at the beginning of issues (or did the last time I subscriber) and I'm sure other mags do too.

Have fun personalizing your space! (and take some before and after pics to share )

[lindrusso]

Same bare wall problem here. I painted our bedroom 2 winters ago and still have nothing on the walls. I keep looking and just can't find anything and don't want to just "settle".

Originally Posted by jjsooner73

Thank you! I think that looks like something I could actually do AND afford.

Ditto - thank you for posting that LadyWild. I love the fabric you used too - I love geometric patterns like that. I've wanted to get a chair in that kind of fabric but was afraid I might tire of it but an inexpensive wall hanging or a pillow - that would safe enough.

Jewel - thanks for the rec on AllPosters too - good to know you've been so happy with them. I'll have to check it out.

[stefania4]

I just ordered 2 pieces from etsy.com. You can go to the Art section and search for "peacock" or "coffee" or "landscape" or whatever, specify a price range, etc.

Similar to the stretched fabric idea, I'm in the process of making wallpaper panels. Affix wallpaper to stretched canvas and hang!

[Blissful_in_TX]

I'm late on this and can't wait until I have more time to see everyone else's examples (someone mentioned enlarged maps that you cut out and frame in smaller segments....I've seen that in magazines and it looks very cool - I have examples I've scanned if you're interested)

I've also seen good reviews about this software (though albeit a little pricey.....something similar can be accomplished in Photoshop if you're good like that):
http://www.alienskin.com/snapart/index.aspx

Background: Earlier this year I was at an art exhibit and a certain piece of work really caught my eye.....it was a Monet like painting of wildflowers. Someone who worked there came up to me and said it was actually a photograph. I can't wait to try something like that myself, and I see Snapfish has canvas prints on sale 20 or 25% off now.

Another place to consider is Overstock. We have a huge wall that needed something - looked everywhere and finally found a silk screen type thing for next to nothing.

[Meganator]

Originally Posted by SusanMac

We are also considering blowing up some photos from a few recent trips and matting/framing those. We kind of like the unique/personal approach to wall art. Has anyone ever done this w/their own photos? I assume Kinko's could print these out for us?

We have a lot of our own photos on our walls. If you have a Costco membership, they do really inexpensive enlargements. We haven't gotten anything bigger than about 11x17, but they look great at that size.


One of the things on my (long) to-do list is to frame some dress pattern envelopes from the 60s that I found at my mom's house. I have 3 or 4 that I thought I would group together. The ones I saved are of really classic early 60s styles.

[cakebaker]

If you're into posters, one of the most extensive and diverse collections of posters and fine art/reproductions I've ever seen is at http://www.bruceteleky.com and prices are reasonable.