This post is sponsored by art.com.
Do you love the art on your walls?
There’s not one thing on my walls that I don’t love for one reason or another, and I’m a huge advocate of filling our homes with the things that make us happy, move us spiritually, or make us think.
We have this dark, little hallway that was begging for something at the end of it. I had all sorts of ideas, but ultimately needed a place to store a collection of favorite family photos and small pieces of art. After pulling a sea of black frames together, I now have a happy collection that includes my smiling grandparents, mother-in-law as a 2-year-old, and my faraway niece and nephew mixed in with art that I love.
Art has this power to transport us to another time or place, make us smile, change a mood, or get us back on track.
I’ll give you some examples from my hallway gallery…
An artist gave me this piece because I loved it so much. Gave. It. To. Me. Artists are like that.
The wash line and tile roofs in this sweet watercolor garden scene remind me of where I grew up and of the first neighborhood my husband and I dug our heels into in Silver Lake (Los Angeles), which, by the way, was just named America’s Hippest Hipster Neighborhood in Forbes. It’s a cool spot of interestingness that I miss terribly. The Mission in SF and Williamsburg in Brooklyn came in next, in case you’re wondering.
I found this funny piece by Jose Pulido on Etsy, and immediately fell in love with these little devils in a battle between good and evil. The skeleton, or Calavera, imagery is everywhere here in California, and this piece makes me think of my mom whose home is filled with Mexican art.
It also reminds me of my roots in printmaking. It’s an original print. See the 11/100 on the left? That means that this was the 11th print he pulled in a series of 100. And after that, there will be no more prints. Some artists scratch the plate out once the last print has been pulled, but I have never been able to bring myself to do that.
I found this upcycled art book at a gallery in Crockett, CA, right around the corner from my sister’s college. The artist turned old library cards into small, nostalgic paintings. The way she artfully repurposed these antiquated cards remind me of my own desire to upcycle and repurpose whenever I can. This piece is not an original, but it really doesn’t matter because I love looking at it.
If you’re rounding out a developing collection of art or just starting out, consider visiting Art.com for its huge selection of images. I’m actually floored by all the thing you can find there.
One of my favorite ways to search art.com is by subject. I happen to adore maps and after a couple clicks I landed on 100’s of city maps. Not exactly what you’d expect from art.com, right? I’m eyeing that Los Angeles map up there (no big surprise, right?). In case you’re wondering where Silverlake is located, you can spot it just above the “S” in Los Angeles.
Working with Art.com to help them launch their new site has been such a joy for me. The quantity and diversity of the images on their site is mind-boggling, and having yet another excuse to share my art with you has been fun.
If you’d like to see more of the art in my home, visit these pages:
How we fill our home with art, Part 1 and Part 2
When I was a poor college student I used to browse and bookmark ( way before pinterest) paintings I loved on art.com . They have so many paintings that I fell in love with on my travels that are really hard to find. When it was time to decorate my first home I spent many late night very very pregnant browsing and buying poster prints for my son’s nursery and my house. All of this to say I love the site .
Hi Allie,
I love the personal connection! I’m so glad you chimed in, and I agree that Art.com has an amazing (and very addictive to browse) collection of well-known and hard-to-find prints. I’ve also spent a lot of time looking at their kid-friendly prints, and can see how you could decorate your son’s nursery with their help!
Cheers, Rachelle
I used to do the same thing at Art.com! You gotta love an inexpensive resource for getting some truly fabulous art to call your own 😉
Hi Steph,
Isn’t that true? And I’m sitting here looking at two of my Art.com pieces and they make me so happy!
Rachelle
It is so fun getting a peek into your art collection 🙂 I love that you can expose children to art at a reasonable cost. I had a Picasso print in my room when I was young (the hands holding a bouquet of flowers) that I still love to do this day!
Thanks Mariah! I know the print you’re talking about and can see why you still love it. You’re so right…having art in our homes is a great way to introduce our children to the works of great artists.
You have no idea how poor my art collection is at the moment. I’m ashamed! I keep putting it off. First because we were going to be moving from our apartment. Now, because of the kids. I need to really find my style and find some pieces that hit home for me. Thanks for the resource to Art.com, will definitely be browsing!
Finding your style is a great idea for a first step, and I can see why you’ve been putting it off. Choosing art for our walls can feel like a huge commitment and first you need to figure out what you love. I’ve really enjoyed browsing through art.com’s huge archive and I’ve found a lot of images that I never would have known about otherwise. You can save all your favorite images on art.com, which will help you step back and take a long view at what you gravitate to. Super fun! Above all, enjoy the process.
Oooh it is nice to spruce up dark corners with interesting art (I am rather partial to things in “downstairs loos” for people to look at!). Will have a nosey around art.com.
Thanks!
Hi Maggy,
I love it when people deck out their bathrooms with art — it’s always a fun surprise! Maybe that’ll be another post 🙂
Cheers,Rachellle
so beautiful!! My favorite art is bright colors, big and bold. And, anything my kids make. I love to frame their favorites. 🙂
Thanks for sharing you personal style, Melissa. Bright colors can be such a huge pick-me-up. And kids’ art…I’m a sucker for that too.
xo, Rachelle
I really like your collection of art mixed with photos. I have a corner of my homeschool room that needs *something* and I’m thinking of a collection like that. Thanks for the idea 🙂
Hi Alissa,
Yay — I’m happy to hear that this inspired you! I like mixing things up
Take care,
Rachelle