Frames and Art for Cheap

I have spent a lot of time searching for ideas and inspiration on how I can add some art to our house at a low cost. Professional framing and nice art can add up fast if you have a lot of wall area to cover. Here’s some of the ideas I’ve found and others I’ve come across but have yet to try.

1. Cheap frames. Cheap frames can be easy to find if you look in the right places. Hobby Lobby seems like they have frames 50% off every other week. I got a large 24×36 frame for only $20.

IKEA frames are also relatively cheap (their RIBBA series is a very similar to Pottery Barn’s gallery frames).

Michael’s has also recently added a new line of frames very similar to the RIBBA or PB frames for decent prices, especially if you always have a handful of their 40% off coupons with you (which are available from their website to print off or they will scan them directly from your smartphone in the store).

Also check out your nearest GoodWill or Salvation Army for cheap frames that you can throw a layer of spray paint on.

2. Cheap Art (prints). What’s better than cheap? Free! The New York Public Library hosts a giant collection of digital images. There are some gorgeous botanicals, if you don’t mind digging through 200+ pages of images.

If you’re not overly self critical like me, you could also frame some of your own photos. I would love to frame my blog header, but trying to figure out the perfect place to put it.

3. Cheap Art (DIY). There are a ton of great DIY ideas floating around Pinterest. Here are some of the ones I’ve come across that might be worth trying.

(BHG)

(Annabella Design Studio)

(it’s great to be home)

4. Cheap Art (Calendars). January and February are great times to pick up clearance calendars and frame the photos. You get a nice little collection of matching art for very cheap. Just don’t pick up a baby kitten calendar.

Here’s a very nice example (botanicals again, I guess they are popular) from a fellow blogger with a gorgeous home.

Making It Work.

Continuing work on the entryway, I ordered this chair from Target (on sale for $150 — Target furniture is almost always on sale if you’re in the market).

When it came in and put it together, it didn’t work for the space. It stuck out too far and disrupted our everyday path, which would be annoying. I didn’t want to return it, so I tried to ‘make it work’ (in the words of Tim Gunn) and use it somewhere else. I’ve always wanted to put 2 arm chairs and a small table in the bay window of our master bedroom, so I scooted it into place…

And I love it! Now I just need another one and a cute little table.

Something like this, perhaps?

Or something very pretty like this?

We will see what we can find, and also in the mean time still looking for something in the original chair spot.

Fence Plans

Ever since we moved in and knew we were getting a dog, we’ve wanted to put a fence up in the backyard. Our backyard is not large by any stretch of the imagination (it is not very deep, but long), and is going to take some work to make it into a usable space but first and foremost we would like a fence to be able to let the dog out without wrestling with the leash every time.

Like most neighborhoods around here, we have an HOA. The HOA had to approve our fence plan before we could start the fence installation process. Having way too much time on my hands over the holidays, I drew this up in Adobe Illustrator:

Luckily the plan was approved with very minor changes. We do have a few obstacles to work around (drains right at/near our “property line” and a few trees), but luckily a large section is already fenced.

Our HOA requires us to use only metal or aluminum gates, so there’s are the styles we are looking at (the existing wood gate is part of a different neighborhood our neighborhood backs up to).

Unfortunately these types of fence don’t offer a whole lot of privacy, but maybe I can get a nice vine to grow along it.

Considering I only typically water the plants around the house when they are on the verge of death, this probably won’t happen. But I can dream, right?

In the mean time we’ll be letting the little guy run around at the dog park.

Entryway In Progress

I’ve made some progress on the entryway, but it still has a ways to go.

I went with this writing desk from Target (filled up a little more space than a typical console table) and these cube ottomans from Overstock (I wasn’t a fan of the ‘feet’ they included so I just left ‘em off).

I am not in love with it, but it’s a work in progress. I just threw some stuff on top temporarily, but I’ll be adding this lamp from World Market:

I’m also looking for a typewriter to place next to the lamp. I found this one at an antique store near me, but it was $80. Luckily there are a lot of antique stores near me so I’m holding out for something a little cheaper.

The last thing I’ve had my eye out for is a round basket (to offset all of the blocky-ness going on now from the desk and ottomans) like this one from Pottery Barn. But I am not paying $100 for it. No ma’am.

(What do you put in these things? I have awkward feelings about open baskets that I need to overcome)

So that’s the latest on the entryway. I am already flip flopping over to the guest bedroom and started painting around the trim. The color was not exactly what I was expecting (why is so hard to find a warm gray, people?!) so I think I will have to pick some new bedding. The current bedding was on clearance for $30 so it’s not the end of the world, just another decision to make!

Gauss Update, 5 and a half months

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about our pup, so time for an udpate!

Age: 5 and a half months

Weight: 43 pounds (all muscle, he is a very strong dog)

He is as hyper as ever. Last weekend he was a little too hyper and I think he hyperextended a joint or pulled a muscle and moped around all day yelping randomly. We couldn’t figure out exactly where he was hurting so we took him to the e-vet just in case. $165 later (ouch) they sent us home without an answer and some anti-inflammatory “juice”. He is back to his normal self after a day of rest, thankfully. He must have had a little too much fun romping around and jumping up on our very high bed for the first time (ut oh).

Gauss starts his beginner training class at PetSmart next weekend, so that should be fun for him. He already knows a lot — sit, shake right paw, shake left paw, speak, lay down, go up there (stair landing), fetch, and leave it (occasionally…), but I think it will help to get some more obedience type commands down like stay and come. Hopefully the trainer can also help us with some leash training (he is a habitual leash biter).

We are also planning on getting him fixed soon, which hopefully will help with some of his hyper behavior. Our breeder suggested waiting until he was around a year old, but there’s no way that is happening. Boxers are naturally hyper so we don’t need hormones to help that.

Until then, lots of play time and bones!

What Next?

I’m at a crossroads as to where in the house I should focus on next. Right now I have a lot of ideas swirling around in my head, and some rooms are halfway there, but I want to check some more off into the ‘done’ column and add them to the house tour page. Here are my options.

The entryway has a substantial wall that needs a bit more than your typical console table. I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect table that isn’t going to break the budget, but haven’t fallen completely in love with anything except something way overpriced from Pottery Barn (typical).

The next space I’m considering is the upstairs guest bedroom.

I bought a few pieces of the Hemnes bedroom furniture from IKEA over Thanksgiving (was it really that long ago?) and haven’t done much with this room since then unless you count death by IKEA assembly. I even have a can of the paint ready to slap onto the walls, just need the motivation to actually paint again (do you see those tall ceilings?? ugh).

The last space I’m considering is the basement. Yes the ENTIRE basement. Kinda daunting, right? I have a whole laundry list of what I’d love to do for this space, but the first thing I would tackle is putting up some art on the walls (including in the stairway as I noted here).

The difficult part is finding the right sized frames that I like that don’t cost an arm and a leg.  I think I’ve gotten at least 3 different frames from 3 different stores lined up. (Here’s a sneak peek at the finished product from my last post, it just needs to get on the wall now!)

Decisions, decisions. Most likely I will probably just continue to stumble along trying to focus on everything at once! Ah the joys of home ownership.

Better than an Elvis Photo

The stairs leading down our basement are “L” shaped, meaning you go down half the stairs, reach a landing, and then go down the remaining stairs at a 90 degree angle. I’ve been wanting to put up some art  on the wall of the landing since it is one of the first things you see when you walk down the stairs. Strangely enough, the previous owners of our house had a large, 16×20 portrait of Elvis. I am not kidding you, and I really wish I had a photo to prove it! It was pretty hilarious.

Luckily we are not huge Elvis fans! I am not sure where I first found this print (Pinterest, probably, let’s be honest) but it fits in well with the kind of basement game room/bar theme we are going for.

The Very Many Varieties of Beer from Etsy seller Pop Chart Lab

I am a design nerd so I have an innate love for infographics and my husband loves beer = best of both worlds! I picked up a poster frame at Hobby Lobby (50% off, naturally) for about $20.

The frame has a kind of inset that makes it look like it is matted. I think I might play off that fact and spray paint the outer border in oil rubbed bronze to give it a little more contrast. I also need to get mounting hardware since it didn’t come with any. And then ladies and gentlemen, I will have successfully put the first piece of framed art on the walls of our house, after living here for a mere 9 months! It’s about time, eh? I’ve got a few other framing projects in the work that hopefully I will share soon. At least nothing is better than a giant Elvis photo.