When designing a space, I typically waited until the last step to hang art. Unfortunately, this has led to years of blank walls. We lived in our last home for 6 years and I never hung any art upstairs. I struggled to find affordable art and framing was so expensive I would put off hanging anything as long as possible.
I am doing a much better job incorporating art in each of the rooms of our current home. I was able to find some great resources for purchasing inexpensive prints, photographs and frames, and have made it a priority to make each room feel like our home.
I love including original art in my home. My sister is a painter and I have several friends who are artists. It is important to support artists when you can. For this post, I am focusing on all the ways I find and display affordable art in my home.
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Digital Art
One great resource is digital art you can download and print on your own. Once purchased (usually around $20), download and print whatever size you want. Search by topic, color and style to find the ideal print for your home.
Favorite websites to purchase digital art:
Pair digital prints with a matted frame and you have an expensive looking art piece for under $50! You can print the art at home, but for larger prints, I upload them to the Staples or Costco websites and then pick it up at the store. You can expect to pay about $30 for a larger 24 x 36 print from Staples.
Family Photos
A gallery wall with curated family photos can fill an empty space while creating connections and sharing memories. The photos can be updated over the years with new memories and travels. Incorporate landscape photos for a variety of interests.
Use a photo editor to change your photos to black and white for a uniform look. Edit your photos before uploading, or use the tools on the website. Vistaprint and Shutterfly are my preferred websites for uploading and ordering photo prints.
Framing Art
Framing art can be expensive, especially with larger prints. I paid hundreds of dollars to have one large print matted and framed, and this adds up if you are creating a gallery wall. For larger prints, consider leaving out the matting. You can save some money and frame it yourself with larger frames from IKEA or Target. For smaller prints, I have had success finding matted frames at:
To customize your framed piece, increase the size of the matting. The family photos in my gallery wall were these inexpensive frames from Walmart. They came with matting for an 8×10 photo, but I ordered this matting from Michael’s to create a space for a 5×7 photo. This store on Etsy also has a variety of custom matting options.
DIY Art Projects
I do not have much painting experience, but was able to create an original canvas by layering joint compound under a variety of paint colors. This technique gives the art piece more texture.
Once the compound dried, I layered and blended my colors until I got the look I wanted. My husband added a frame to the canvas, but you can also hang it without a frame. This was actually a really fun project and I plan on creating another one for our bedroom.
If you don’t want to create your own art, put your children or grandkids to work! I have many special pieces of artwork my kids created over the years and plan on framing them for another gallery wall. Even a simple line drawing can look professional in the right frame.
Hanging Your Art
I’m going to be honest, there are boundless techniques out there for hanging art and creating gallery walls, but I didn’t use any of them! I applied a more organic process, which included thumb tacks and multiple holes in my walls. Don’t do what I did and instead use one of the ideas below.
- Use painter’s tape to measure between hooks and create a template you can stick right on the wall.
- Cut out frame templates using brown craft paper and arrange on the wall until you have the spacing you want.
- When hanging a grid layout, measure the distance between the holes on the back and add in the distance between pictures, this will create an evenly spaced grid like my family photo wall.
- Use a laser level to line up the frames. This level has both vertical and horizontal cross lines, and this one has measurement notches.
- Install a picture ledge and lean your art, you can easily swap out pictures throughout the years with no holes!
- OK, I have to add the thumb tacks. Sometimes I want to hang something quickly to get an idea of placement. They create small holes and can easily be patched or hidden behind the art.
Thrift and Resource
My last bit of advice is to check your local thrift store where you may find some cool antique art pieces. Sometimes I buy something just for the frame which can be repurposed for another print. Other places to look for used art are garage sales, estate sales, and your parent’s or grandparent’s houses. I found my most favorite piece of art when my family was cleaning out my grandmother’s house after she passed. This landscape was painted by her old neighbor, Anne Kauff, and gives me a sense of peace every time I see it by my front door.
I hope this post was informative, please feel free to comment below with any additional art resources.
