Beautifully Storied: My Favorite Ways To Find & Install Art

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Beautiful art is entirely in the eye of the beholder. One might be drawn to contemporary non-representational pieces while another loves a totally realistic portrait or impressionistic scene. Regardless of artistic taste, finding the right pieces for your home will bring character and dimension to the spaces that can give insight to your soul. I once went into a client’s home who had spent their lives traveling and collecting art throughout the years. To hear the stories of the art they had found, what drew them to purchase each piece, what interactions they had with the artist and the memories they had throughout the experience was simply stunning. Even if I had walked through their home entirely alone, I believe I would have left knowing more about them, their interests and their story. See, the beauty of art, regardless of style, is that it can provide a collected and storied appearance to your home that gives dimension, layers and eclectic tastes that are distinct to a space made by you. Creating beauty, order, and storied dimension takes time and intentionality, as our world naturally falls back into a state of disarray, but in our efforts to create beautiful spaces and celebrate the creativity and beauty brought out by artists, we actually are invoking our true purpose by emulating the One that is the Creator. Starting an art collection or even investing in a single piece can be done at any price point and I hope that these next ways to find and install art will inspire you to adorn your home with beautiful stories.

How To Find Affordable Art Pieces?

Now, you might be first thinking that of course, someone with a huge budget can be a patron of the arts, but I believe that attractive art that is meaningful to you can come at any price point. Obviously, sometimes this perspective might entail buying a print instead of an original or maybe even attempting your own works, but finding affordable art pieces certainly is achievable.

These are a few of my favorite ways to source affordable art pieces (including some of my favorite artists!):

Etsy
- Acting as a worldwide craft fair / market, why not check out the offerings of artisans of every background, every style and every price point
Artfully Walls
- Want a one stop shop? Look no further than Artfully Walls. Here, you can search by style, artist, gallery type, subject and get both prints and originals alike. You can even easily add on a customized mat or frame to give you a final look. I have seen several pieces available at Artfully Walls that also were available at Anthropologie but with even more affordable pricing and more customization possible.
Heirloom Art Co
- Want more vintage / historic looking pieces? Check out Heirloom Art Co. for a mix of products even beyond art, but also including many prints and originals.
Pictures To Prints
- Easy and very affordable, I love turning favorite pictures to watercolor like prints that provide a unique twist to artwork. Check out my post HERE for more details on that process!
Individual Artists
- Find an artist at a local art fair or through Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest that you love? Research them and their pieces! Often, they produce an array of products and prints with a variety of price points that are worthy investments or they even might offer giveaways that can be fun to enter. If you don’t win, no real loss, but if you do, what an awesome way to come by a great piece! Some great individual artists to check out are:

Think Outside The Box

Adding art to your walls does not only have to include paintings and prints, but instead can be expanded to much more.

Have a beautiful set of dishes or china that feel too pretty to use? Hang them! Did you inherit a handmade quilt from grandma, barter for goods in a market abroad or find a unique flag at an antique store? Frame them! Have a calendar that has long since past its date, but you absolutely love the images? Create a gallery wall!

Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box and use pieces as art that once might have had a different purpose. One of my favorite collections in my house is the set of four framed embroidered placemats that are hanging in my dining room. On a mission trip in high school, my mom bartered in a local Mexican market for the placemats and years later gave them to me. As they were too pretty to use, I decided to frame them and they add such a pop of interest that also is meaningful to me and my family. Similarly, my sister in law has the most adorable collection of Rifle Paper Co. travel prints above her guest bed that used to be a calendar. Once the calendar was through the year, she separated the pages, cut out the dates and voila, she had a gallery wall! By transforming what might have begun as something else can help to provide the layered and storied look that gives a distinct uniqueness to your home.

Revitalize Old Pieces

In a similar vein as thinking outside the box, don’t shy away from the opportunity to revitalize old pieces of art. Have you inherited an art piece from a family member or found a cool work at an antique store but the frame, mat and general style are really out of date? If you enjoy the piece but want it to have a different presence, change out the mat or switch up the frame to something more in keeping with your personal style. This subtle change can allow you to use a piece that you might already have on hand without feeling the need to toss it just because it doesn’t entirely suit your style at that moment. A fresh mat and new frame can do wonders for reviving artwork.

Hanging Your Art

Lastly, but certainly not least, you want to be sure you hang your art pieces just right. If they come with hanging hooks or hardware that is great, but if not, adding the appropriate hardware can be super helpful for future use. Obviously if nails are not an option for where you live, then command hooks are a great investment, but otherwise I would not say that this is an optimal method for hanging artwork.

When Charlie and I first bought our home and started getting settled, we used a picture hanging kit (check it out HERE!) which was immensely helpful! Not only does this kit come with the right hardware for attaching the art to the wall based on the weight of the artwork, but it also comes with hardware to attach to the frame if the art does not have existing hangers. For large heavy pieces, I recommend attaching eye hooks on either side of the back of the frame and then looping through the metal art wire included in the kit to allow for easy centering and leveling. On the other hand, if it is a small frame or light canvas, you can hammer on the hanger hardware which provides the proper bracket for mounting.

Regardless if your art came with hardware attached or you are attaching it yourself, I cannot recommend enough the helpfulness of a picture hanging kit.

Final Thoughts

Whether you are repurposing an old piece or adding a new print to your collection, I hope that the art of your home will be comforting, encouraging and full of memories that help tell the story of you. Regardless of the price point, I love creating spaces that are distinct and purposeful. Do you want to create a storied home but need a little help getting started? I would love to help you make your space one you love, so feel free to check out my edesign packages and design services or reach out to me for more details!

Happy collecting!