Big Art = Big Style. The scale of a large print or painting hung boldly on the wall automatically gives viewers the impression that you have confidence and artistic sensibilities. Also, it's a lot faster and easier to hang one big frame than a series or gallery wall. Today I'm sharing my tips for incorporating a statement piece into your home without breaking your budget, because style does not have to be expensive. To make my point, I'm showing you a statement piece that I've carried with me for years.
Take a look and guess how much it cost. For context, it is 28" wide x 40" tall and hangs in my entryway. (Forgive the poor lighting. I'm a designer, not a photographer.)
Do you have an idea? Well, the truth is, it was FREE. This hand-drawn sketch was an assignment I completed during my final year of design school. And the frame? Ikea.
Of course, not everyone has design-school artwork laying around the house. If you want to tap into your creative side, consider painting a large canvas in one or two colors, splatter painting, or creating a cool collage out of found materials. If you prefer photography (and are better at it than I am), take a nice landscape or a cool abstract shot and have it printed on poster-size paper (or bigger!).
If creating artwork isn't your thing, there are so many accessible resources online. Etsy is a great place to find reasonably priced art from lesser-known artists. For a more curated selection, Minted makes it easy to sort options by size, color, subject, style, and medium. If you can afford to splurge, Minted also offers beautiful framing options. Although my white Ikea frame has served me well alongside my simple mid-century furnishings, other pieces and styles might benefit from more ornate frame styles or colorful, textural finishes. Enter exhibit B from my own collection:
One of my favorite methods for collecting art is to acquire it gradually while traveling. When you purchase art while traveling you are getting not just a piece of art, but an entire memory. Every time you look at that piece, you will be transported back to a place, experience, or a moment in time that brought you joy. I purchased this sepia-tone drawing on linen from a street vendor while vacationing in Venice. I then took it to a frame shop around the corner from my apartment on East 85th Street in Manhattan. I don't remember exactly what I paid, but I'd estimate that the custom matting and frame cost 5 times more than the art itself. For me, it was worth it. The frame elevated and enhanced the original art, and I now proudly display it on my mantel. (I had to move it to a random wall for the purpose of this blog post because my amateur photo shoot was resulting in too much glare.)
While the focus of this post is to help you incorporate impactful art into your home on a budget, it's worth noting that quality art is a worthwhile investment. Artists bring so much beauty and expression into our world and our lives, and just as we can appreciate clothing from Target and Chanel, we can invest in art from newer artists on Etsy and more established gallery artists at higher price points when the budget permits.
Art is very personal and subjective. The styles you choose and the prices you pay will vary over your lifetime. But just like a mix of new and vintage furniture can give your home a lovely, lived-in feel, art collected over time will show off your personality and your own personal history. So go big and get creative without breaking your budget.
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