Whether you’re dealing with a big empty space like this, or just a small corner that could use a little something extra, a gallery wall is a great way to add personality to your space.

From selecting the artwork to hanging it, I’m going to give you the six steps that I use to put together gallery walls.

And the hardest part is just making the decision “I’m going to do it” and giving yourself a time frame. Because I find that buying art can be one of the hardest things to do in your room and it’s often the last thing that you do.

Step 1: Choose a Theme

If you already have all of the artwork that you want to put into your gallery, then just skip to the next step. But for most people, they don’t really know if the pieces go together, and they haven’t picked out all the pieces. So if you decide to go with a theme, it can be an easier way to come up with a collection that goes together.

And I’ll give you a couple of ideas for what I mean by theme:

• You can choose to hang all portraits
• You can choose to hang all landscapes
• You can choose to hang all things that are depicting a certain place
• You can choose all black and white
• You can choose all floral
• You can choose to have lots of different things, but all in the same frame
• You can choose all abstract

And just to give this gallery wall as an example, I didn’t own any of these pieces when I decided. I decided the theme I was gonna go for was “red and looks Parisian to me.”

So if you’re looking for inspiration for themes, you can look on Pinterest, and you can actually look on Etsy and get a lot of inspiration if you search for gallery walls.

Symmetrical vs. Asymmetrical

While you’re thinking about the theme, you should also consider whether you want your gallery to be symmetrical or asymmetrical. So a symmetrical gallery, all the pieces are the same size, and there’s typically like nine pieces or five pieces. And this one is an example of asymmetrical where all the pieces are different sizes.

And that can have a little bit more of an eclectic feel, whereas a symmetrical gallery has a little bit more of a traditional look to it.

Step 2: Measure Your Space

The second step is a quick one. You want to measure out the size that you’re trying to fill. Like, is it 9 feet by 5 feet? And you want to include all of the spaces between the artwork, just the total amount of space that you want to cover.

Step 3: Choose the Pieces

If you have no idea where to begin, start with one anchor piece because that can give you something to work around for the rest.

Just as an example, this is not expensive – this is like a poster – but it is a bicycle which I knew I wanted because we like biking and it looks like a bicycle sitting against a wall in Paris. So, I use that to set the theme of my gallery, and then I could work the pieces in around it.

Add Dimension with 3D Elements

One thing you can add to your gallery that gives it a little bit more interest is to put something sculptural in your gallery. And that means something that’s not art. It’s three dimensional. Like:

• A basket
• A clock
• A piece of fabric
• A mask
• A hat
• A musical instrument
• A sconce

So think about these alternative things when you’re putting together your pieces.

Use a Mood Board to Preview

When I’m selecting my pieces, if I don’t already have them, I like to try them out together on a mood board. I have a tutorial here on how to set up a mood board in Canva, but that is the perfect tool for seeing if artwork goes together. And a lot of the artwork that you’re going to find is scalable, so you can change the size to see how it looks.

Where to Shop for Art

Some of the places that I like to shop for art are:

Etsy: I’ve got several of these pieces from Etsy. This one is from Etsy, this one is from a painter in France that I got on Etsy, this one is from a painter in Ukraine, but they came from all over the place. And that’s what I love about Etsy is you can really get one of a kind pieces. And sometimes you can even tell them, “can you make it this size?” And I really like that.

Minted: This is a great place to go and they also will mat and frame the artwork for you. They have every different style. You can set it by color.

Artfully Walls: A great place to get a curated collection.

Downloadable Art: One thing you can also do on Etsy, they have sellers if you search for “Gallery Wall Art” that sell expired copyright downloadable artwork. And what that means is the artwork is free to anyone. They’ve just collected it in a place where you can easily download it. You can print any size or have it printed in any size. And often they show you arrangements of different pieces of art and it can help you come up with ideas for which pieces go well together. And you can get one download for $11 – the expensive part is printing it and getting it framed. But it can be a really great thing to do if you have no idea what you want to hang.

Step 4: Test Out the Arrangement

If you haven’t bought any of the pieces, test them out in a mood board. If you already have them, then you can test them out by grouping them together on the floor. That’s something that I like to do when I’m trying to pull a bunch of different pieces and I’ve never hung them together. I’ll just lay them out in the living room and try rearranging them in different ways because that helps me see what it’s going to look like up on the wall.

One of the tips for doing that is to start with the biggest piece first, if it’s an asymmetrical arrangement. Put the biggest piece down and then work your way out from there.

Step 5: Frame Your Art

The next step is, if your pieces are unframed, to have them framed or to buy the frames. And one of the places that I’ve used that is very budget friendly frames is called Frame It Easy. And they will also send you the mat. They’ve got lots of different styles.

No, they’re not sponsoring this – I’ve just used them a bunch before. But you basically have to assemble the frame yourself. And it’s an inexpensive way to frame art.

It allows you to frame it with where it’s floating, because there’s a mat behind it which can kind of make your artwork look a little bit more elevated if it’s floating.

One of the other places that I love to get frames if I’m on a really tight budget is IKEA.

Step 6: Hang Your Gallery Wall

And the last step is just to hang all the pieces once you have them all. There are lots of tutorials out there to show you how to hang them. I have one here where I talk about hanging a gallery wall of photographs. But what I like to do is to start with the centerpiece and hang it first.

There are also tutorials out there where you cut a piece of paper to the same size as all your artwork, and you put that up on the wall first. And if you are a really detailed person, that is a great way to do it. I am, that sounds way too complicated for me, I like to do something simpler and that is just to hang it. Even if I poke a few extra holes in the wall because I have to move a piece two or three times, those holes are easy to patch.

Even if you’re a renter, hang the big piece first and then work your way out around that. You want about three inches between the pieces, but you’ll be able to see as you’re hanging, as you’re setting it out on the floor, “Oh, these two pieces need to move up” or “these two pieces need to move down.” You’re going to be surprised at how easy you’ll be able to see the proportions.

And that’s it. Those are the six steps to create a gallery wall. And if you’re struggling with choosing art, I’ve got an article here where I talk about an easy way to kind of narrow down what kind of art you want to hang. And if you have questions about your artwork and how it goes together, you can send me an email or leave a comment and ask any questions you have!

The post Foolproof Gallery Wall Formula For A Curated Look appeared first on Design Morsels.

Let me explain why choosing art is sometimes overwhelming. We feel like the stuff hanging on our walls is a personal reflection of us, more so than a lot of the other things in the room. 

I agonized over what to hang above my bed for literally years. I put something up there as a placeholder, thinking I would replace it as soon as I found the perfect art piece. I’m here to tell you from experience, it is just not that complicated. I’m going to teach you the three-part formula that I use to find art.

3 Part Formula to Choose Art

1. Size

Let’s start with just one wall that you want to display art. The first step is going to be choosing the size of art. This isn’t about gallery walls. I’m talking about either just one piece of art, two pieces, or three pieces. I want you to take a look at your wall and visually see what is approximately going to fill up about 2/3 visually of the space. What size is that? 

If you’re choosing two pieces, it’s the sort of visual weight of the pieces together. First, figure out the size you want to display. If you want some specific recommendations about size art for over a bed or a couch, I’ve written specifically about those two places. You can find those tips here: size art for above sofa and size guide for art above bed.

2. Style

Part two of finding the right art for your space is looking at a bunch of pictures of art and thinking about what you’re drawn to. If you like it, or you may think, “I don’t see that in my space.” 

Get an idea of what you like, and look at these styles:

1. Photographs
2. Abstract Art
3. Landscapes
4. Portraits
5. Botanicals or Florals
6. Graphic Art
7. Travel
8. Black and white drawings 

Think about which one of these you like and could work in your space. I’m sure I am missing some details for those of you who are art history majors out there; this is not for you. This tip is for people who are maybe not as educated about art. I include myself in that category.

3. Color

Part three, here’s where you’re going to use the color palette. Let’s say your color palette has blue and terracotta in it.

I’m not saying your art has to be blue and terracotta. If you try searching for a “24 x 36, abstract, blue and terracotta” art, you’re going to find that the selection out there is drastically reduced. It’s not the world of art that you’re trying to choose from; it’s a much smaller sample. 

Go to some of the bigger sites that sell art. I’m going to use Minted as an example.  I do not have any relationship with Minted. But, I just bought some art from Minted and had a great experience. I found it easy to pick out things because they have a little search bar that lets you select art by these categories: size, orientation, color, and style. 

They also have this great option if you decide, let’s say, you want a diptych or a triptych and you want all the pieces to kind of go together. They have sets. You can filter by artwork that is part of a set. 

The best tool on Minted is AI. I’m sure every site is going to have it soon. You can click on a picture of art that you like, say blue floral, and choose the size you want. Then there’s an option that says “view this in my room.” Stand 8 feet away from your space with your camera and it will show you the proportion of this art in your room.

This a great tool. Even if you don’t buy the art from Minted, you can see, “Oh, an 18 by 24 is way too small for that space. Look how dinky this looks.” 

Another way I like test art in my space is Canva. I take a screenshot of anything that I’m thinking about buying and load it into Canva with a picture of my bedroom. You can try the art on your wall.

Where to Find Art

Let’s talk about where to shop for art. I’ve already mentioned Minted. But, I love finding art on Etsy. You can find art on Facebook, too, if you’re on a budget.

Just remember, it’s not that deep. You’re not a museum. It just has to be something you like. It doesn’t have to be the last piece of art that you ever buy for your space. 

The last thing I’m going to go over is about framing your art. Sometimes framing the art is as expensive as the art itself. You can get a lot of expired copyright art that you can download and print. I did a separate article about how to download and print art so that it looks like a real piece of art. 

I like to use a shop called Frame It Easy. You get your piece of art from Etsy in a tube. You can buy your frame separately as long as you know the size of the artwork. There are some easy frames to assemble and very reasonably priced. If you’ve got a better source of art, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

The post Insider Secrets To Picking Art appeared first on Design Morsels.

My searches have taken me to online fabric stores. The selection of fabrics seems endless and you can really find designs for any style of decor. One of my favorite places to shop for unique fabric is Spoonflower.

This got me to thinking, maybe I could use fabric to create art for my home. Fabric can be a really inexpensive way to add interest to a wall. A yard of fabric, which is 36×52 (the 52-inch part varies based on the type of fabric), can be as low as $20. You can’t find a piece of art that big for the same price. Graphic fabric prints have the most impact when it comes to framed fabric art.

In this blog post, we’ll explore two methods of framing fabric art: taping fabric inside a frame and stretching fabric over a frame like a canvas.

Method 1: Taping Fabric Inside a Frame

This method is perfect for beginners or those looking for a quick and easy project.

Materials Needed:

• Fabric of your choice (this is from Spoonflower)
• Picture frame. If you can find an ugly piece of art with a decent frame when you’re at a garage sale or out thrifting, the whole project can be done for less than $30.
• Scissors
• Fabric chalk or pen
• Tape
• Ruler or measuring tape
• Some sort of board to mount the fabric on. I used an old bulletin board.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Choose Your Fabric: Select a piece of fabric that speaks to your style. It could be anything from a vintage scarf to a piece of printed cotton. Graphic prints work the best for this project.
2. Choose a Frame: Pick a frame that complements your fabric in size and color. I chose to embellish an old frame with a black border to complement the fabric. It is important to carefully tape before painting so you get crisp lines.
3. Measure and Cut: Measure the backing of the frame or board you are using and cut your fabric about 2 inches larger than these dimensions. This extra fabric will help in securing it to the frame.
4. Secure the Fabric: Center the fabric on the backing or board & tape along the edges.
5. Assemble the Frame: Once your fabric is in place, reassemble the frame. Your fabric art is now ready to display!

Method 2: Stretching Fabric Over a Frame Like a Canvas

This method is slightly more involved but is perfect if you prefer the look of a stretched canvas without a frame.

Materials Needed:

• Fabric of your choice
• Wood slats or an old canvas
• Staple gun and staples
• Scissors
• Ruler or measuring tape

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Assemble Your Frame: If you’re using stretcher bars, assemble them into a frame. I just used scrap wood and added an old piece of paneling to make it a bit more sturdy. You can also use an old canvas and simply remove the existing artwork.
2. Cut Your Fabric: Lay your fabric face-down and place the frame over it. Cut the fabric, leaving enough around the edges to wrap around the frame (about 2-3 inches).
3. Stretch and Staple: Start by stapling the fabric to the frame at the center of one side. Pull the fabric taut and staple the opposite side. Continue this process on all sides, working towards the corners.
4. Finish the Corners: For a neat finish, fold the corners like you would wrap a present and staple in place.
5. Trim Excess Fabric: Trim any excess fabric from the back for a clean look.
6. Display Your Art: Your stretched fabric art is now ready to hang and enjoy!

Tips for Success:

• When choosing fabric, consider the room where you’ll display your art. Think about color schemes and themes.
• If using patterned fabric, pay attention to how the pattern will align in the frame.
• For stretching over a frame, make sure the fabric is even and taut to avoid sagging.

Framed fabric art is a wonderful way to bring a burst of color and pattern into your living space. Whether you choose the simplicity of taping fabric inside a frame or the polished look of stretching it over a frame, you’ll end up with a unique piece of art that reflects your personal style.

Get creative and start framing! If you liked this, you might enjoy how to paint a stencil art piece or DIY abstract art.

The post Framed Fabric Art – A Quick & Easy DIY Project appeared first on Design Morsels.

The blank wall behind a sofa can be a daunting space to fill.  For most living rooms, it’s a natural focal point.  You want to get something that is personal, but the choices can be overwhelming.  If you’re like me you might put up something “temporary” that winds up hanging in your living room for five years.  

I’m going to give you the best tips for how to choose the right size of wall art for this space.  I’ll show you examples of where to hang your art on the wall.  Lastly, you can see a great way to “try on” your art before you buy it.  I’ll show you how I used this technique over my own sofa.  

What Size Art Should You Get?

Once you know what size art you need, finding it becomes easier.  There’s a good rule of thumb that interior designers like to use.  The rule is that there should be a 70/30 ratio of negative space to positive space.   What is negative space?  It’s the blank spaces between things, furniture, art, plants, windows or anything else that takes up space in your visual field.

The rule is that 30% of a room should be blank space (negative space) and  70% positive space.  This kind of ratio helps you to achieve a balanced look.  Still not sure what size to get?

• Cozy, cottage living room – To make your living space feel a cozy, use more pieces of art with different canvas sizes and even different heights.  
• Minimal Modern living room – To get this feel you can use a large piece of artwork instead of lots of smaller pieces.  You still don’t want the rooms to be empty. 
• Traditional living room – Look for symmetry.  Using two or three pieces that are the same size and frame can give your space a more traditional feeling.  

The first step is to measure the width of the sofa.  If the sofa is alone on the wall and it’s the main wall, you will want to fill up more space above the couch.  For example, if your sofa is 84 inches, your artwork can and should fill up 70% of the space above the couch.   Here are a few examples, since a picture speaks a thousand words.  

Once you know the percentage of space that you need to cover, you can decide if you want to fill that space up with smaller pieces or larger pieces.  

Where Art Should Hang Above the Sofa

This is one of the most asked questions I get.  Where should I hang my art?  How high?  The art should be 1.) hung where the center is at eye level and 2.) if it’s hung directly above a piece of furniture, it should be anchored to that furniture.  This means that it’s not hanging several feet above the furniture, even if you have high ceilings.  

Here’s an example of a dining room where the art is hung too high and NOT anchored to the buffet that it sits above.  The second photo is an example of a sofa that doesn’t have enough hanging above it.  This is a large space with too much empty wall or negative space.  

Center the art over the width of your sofa.  This is true whether you have lots of pieces or just one.  

How to Try on Art Before You Buy

This process helped me decide what to buy.  I was toying with the idea of hanging a gallery wall filled with travel photos, hanging one large painting or hanging three.  I couldn’t decide until I saw it in black and white.  Here’s how you can do it too.

Take a picture of your sofa from the farthest spot directly opposite it.  Make sure you get your picture with decent light and straight on, not at an angle.  

Next, if you have never used Canva or Picmonkey, choose one.  Both have completely free versions and work very similarly.  Upload your photo to the tool.  Next, take screenshots of the art you’re thinking of buying.  Drag those into the picture above your sofa.  You might need to shrink them or make them bigger.  

I have a video showing you how to do this this below.  I put a grey box over my current art, to block it out of the picture, which you can see, but it doesn’t matter.  

Here are the options I tried.  First, a black and white travel photos.  I used the same one over and over, to see if I liked the black and white with my color palette.  Once I saw it I knew that I didn’t like it.  

Next, I tried two abstract art pieces.  Then I tried three modern floral pieces, one large piece of art and finally, I tried three botanicals.  Once I could visualize the art in my room it made it so much easier for me to see the size and scale that I liked as well as the subject.  I discovered that I really didn’t like small pieces of art or a large single piece of art. 

If you’re having trouble with this approach, please comment below.  I can help.  Just ask your questions in the comments.

Can I Hang a Large Mirror Over My Sofa?

You CAN hang anything you want in your own home.  But should you? It’s not a great idea to use a mirror if the TV sits opposite from the sofa.  If you have a mirror, you will see a reflection on your TV.  

If you have a window be sure to consider how the light will reflect off the mirror.  Bottom line, this is not my favorite place to put a mirror in the living room.  Mirrors don’t add color in the same way that a fine art canvas print can.  

I hope this helped you to choose art for the wall above your couch.  Using a tool like Canva is a great option to try out the art before you buy.  If have a piece that will make a bold statement, it’s really worth a few minutes to do a test run.

If you liked this post, you might like How to Print Digital Art So It Looks Real and how to put together a gallery wall.

The post What Size art Should You Put Above Your Sofa? appeared first on Design Morsels.

This article will guide you through buying, downloading and printing your digital art professionally.   Trying to print artwork at home doesn’t deliver the same quality of art that you can buy unless you’ve got a really high end home printer.  The art itself is practically free and the cost to have it printed is worth the price, which isn’t that high.  

We’ll discuss these parts of the process (so you can click on the one that you need most)

• How to narrow down the options for digital art prints and where to look
• How to choose a professional printer 
• How to choose the best style of paper for your print
• What is a color profile and why does that matter
• How to frame your art so it looks like something you bought at an art show

This is for someone who has never really delved into the world of digital art. You can take your favorite pieces from digital downloads to fine art.

Some of you might be looking for FREE digital art, but there are so many great options out there for $10 or less.  

How to Narrow Down Your Digital Art Options

The world of digital artwork is so vast that it’s hard to decide what to buy.  Art is such a personal thing that it’s a good idea to think of a theme that you want.  Here are a few examples:

• Coastal art Prints
• Vintage art portraits
• French countryside (or fill in the blank for where you like to travel)
• Matisse style prints (or fill in your favorite artist)
• Floral paintings
• Neutral abstract art (or fill in your color palette)
• Watercolor paintings of flowers

You probably have some idea of the subject matter in mind, even if it’s from an example of a room on Pinterest.  It’s also a good idea to add primary a color to your search.  Color narrows the field of choices.  

My favorite place to find printable wall art is on ETSY.  Be sure the ETSY sellers you buy from have a fair amount of good reviews.  You will find as you start looking that many sellers are selling the exact same printable art because the artwork is in the public domain.  

There is a lot of art on Minted and Society 6, but these stores sell printed art, not art that YOU print.

High resolution is critical for a clear, crisp print. Resolution refers to the number of dots or pixels in a particular area of an image, usually measured in dots per inch (DPI) or pixels per inch (PPI). The higher the DPI or PPI, the sharper the image will appear when printed. For a quality print, you’ll generally want a resolution of at least 300 DPI. Anything less could result in a blurry or pixelated image.

Most digital art comes with the ability to print in a variety of different size sizes.  When you purchase the art you usually get multiple sizes and aspect ratio options, like a 3:2 configuration that can be printed in a bunch of sizes or a 4:3.  Here’s an example of the sizes and configurations for the print I purchased:

Don’t try buying a smaller size file for less and enlarging it.  The quality of the image isn’t as good and might be blurry or pixelated.  You can always buy the largest size and then reduce it if you want to print something smaller. 

When purchasing digital images, most artwork says that it is for personal use (not commercial use).  This means you have the right to print and display it, but not sell it.  

How to choose a professional printer

You might be thinking that you can print the art at home.  Most people don’t have the color printer necessary to get a really high image quality result.  Even if you have a color printer the quality of the print is not going to be as high and you won’t be able to print larger size images.  You can always test your own printer in a standard size or 8.5×11 paper size and see if you like the result.  

Etsy recommends these two printing companies:  finerworks.com  and mpix.com. You can go to a local print shop or even somewhere like Wallgreens/Duane Reade (see print options below) or CVS if you are printing a small size and you want limited size and paper options (more on that later). These options are NOT necessarily cheaper.

I sent a print to Finerworks and had a really great experience.  To give you an idea of the price, here is the cost for a 12×18 print from Finerworks and MPIX.  The paper choice you make impacts the price.  Both Finerworks and MPIX offer discounts to new customers, these prices are without discounts.  

Finerworks Order

Walgreens order

MPIX offers fewer paper choices listed below. The price range for a 12×18 is from $22 to $26.  They offer mats and framing if that’s something you want get your art ready to hang.  The pricing at Finerworks ranges from $21 to $30 depending on the type of paper.  They also offer mats and framing. Getting an oversized print from Walgreens (not available in 12×18) but 16×20 is $20 and it’s only available printed on glossy photo paper.  

Finerworks offers the option to print the art onto gatorboard, which gives you the option to frame it without glass.  Gatorboard is like printing art onto a piece of foam board, much thinner than a canvas.  

You might be wondering what in the world does giclee mean (as I was)? Giclee is “technology for fine art or photograph reproduction using a high-quality inkjet printer”.

Which Paper Should You Choose?

The paper you select for your digital prints drastically impacts how your artwork looks and whether it looks like something you printed or something more high-end.   

When you are choosing the paper for your print there are a dizzying number of options available.  There are different weights, textures, finishes and the color of the paper itself.  The weight and texture of the paper you choose will depend on how you want to display your art.  Will you mount it with a mat and frame it behind glass or do you want to display it without glass?

1. Weight:  Heavier papers are typically more durable and give your print a high-quality feel.  Standard paper weights suitable for art prints range from 90 to 300 gsm (grams per square meter).
2. Texture: Paper texture can range from smooth to rough. Smooth papers are excellent for showcasing fine details, making them a great choice for art with intricate designs or typography. Rougher, more textured papers can give your prints a tactile, organic feel, which can complement certain styles of art, such as watercolor effects, illustrations, or vintage-style designs.
3. Finish: The finish of a paper refers to its sheen which is typically matte, semi-gloss, or gloss. Matte papers have no shine and can reduce glare, making them suitable for highly detailed or dark artwork. Semi-gloss or gloss finishes, on the other hand, have a shine that can make colors pop and appear more vibrant, but they may be more reflective if they are under direct lights.
4. Color: While most people default to white paper. Papers actually come in a variety of shades, from bright white to natural or cream. The color of the paper can subtly influence the overall tone of the image. Bright white papers can make colors appear brighter and more vivid, while natural or cream papers can give a warmer, vintage feel.

MPIX has fewer choices glossy photographic, deep matte photographic, semi-gloss photgraphic and textured matte finish.

Finerworks has so many paper options that I listed just a few here.  You can see the complete list of options here, but here is a sample.

• Archival Matte Paper 230 grams perfect for both photography & fine art reproductions
• Archival Canvas Paper – 230 grams is the same as Archival Matte Paper embossed with a canvas texture
• Archival Linen Paper – 230 grams based on Archival Matte Paper but embossed with a linen texture, has a lighter feel
• Watercolor Bright White – 300 grams, this is a cold-press texture (you know if you paint) adds depth to photographs and fine art

Color Profiles

While most people default to white paper. Papers actually come in a variety of shades, from bright white to natural or cream. The color of the paper can subtly influence the overall tone of the image. Bright white papers can make colors appear brighter and more vivid, while natural or cream papers can give a warmer, vintage feel.

If you go to a local printer you can get samples and offer guidance based on their experience.   Consider the nature of the art piece you’re printing. A vintage illustration might look best on heavier, textured paper with a natural shade, while a modern digital painting may shine on a smooth, bright white paper with a semi-gloss finish.

How to Frame Your Art

The simplest option is to choose your mat and frame directly from the print shop.  This one-stop shopping is a great way to get your art ready to hang fast.  They also show. you what the piece will look like inside the frame.  

Note that there are hundreds of frames to choose from.  Here’s an example of the print I ordered with a frame rustic ornate style frame and a 1″ mat.  Without a mat the price was $89 and with the mat the price is $111.  

If you want something more unique, there are lots of options.  You can find a lot of great vintage frames at bargain prices.  The best way to use a vintage frame is to get the frame BEFORE you decide on the print size, so you can make sure it will fit.  

You can also buy frames from Amazon, Walmart and Target if you want a basic black, white or brown/wood.

The world of digital art can be an intimidating and overwhelming place. But it’s worth the effort to get some really great artwork at a reasonable price.

If you’re in the market for one of a kind art, read how to find original artwork on a budget,  Or read this 8 steps to the perfect gallery wall and how to choose the right size art for above your sofa.

The post Digital art: How to print so it looks like the real thing appeared first on Design Morsels.

There’s a freedom in that.  You could choose something really off the wall or something really personal that you love.  Choosing art for the wall above your bed is often the prime spot.   There are some general guidelines for choosing art that goes above a piece of furniture.  You have to consider the scale of the furniture when you decide.  

Whether you have a king bed or a queen bed, interior designers use some rules when choosing art for above the bed.  Many things in interior design come down to proportions.  Things look and feel better when the proportions are right.  I’m going to share a bunch of options with photos to go with each.  This will help you to get the look you want if you’re looking to hang art above your bed.   

General Guidelines for Artwork Size Above a Bed

Before we start looking at the style of your wall decor, let’s talk about size.  

Width rule – A good rule of thumb for art above a bed is that it should be 2/3 to 3/4 the width of the bed.  This includes the width of your bed frame.  If your queen bed is 60 inches and the frame is the same width, your artwork should be between 40 inches and 45 inches.  This could be divided up into as many pieces as you like, but all the pieces together should be this wide.  A typical king bed is 76 inches wide, artwork should be 50 to 57 inches wide.  This could be one large piece or any number of smaller ones.  

Height rule – This rule isn’t about how TALL the art should be.  The height rule is about how high the artwork should be.  It’s important to keep artwork with the center at eye level, or close.  If the artwork is hung much higher than eye level, it looks strange.  You feel like the house was made for a giant.  If you hang a gallery or multiple pieces, you want the center of the grouping to be at eye level.  

Distance Above Headboard – The other measurement to consider is the distance from the top of the headboard.  As you can see in these examples, there is often not much space between the top of the bed and the art.  This depends on the headboard size.  If you have a really tall headboard, you’re going to have to keep the artwork close to it to make sure that the middle is at eye level.  

You can satisfy these size guidelines for a single piece of art or a collection of smaller pieces.  In fact, building a gallery wall of more mid-sized canvas prints can be less expensive than getting one large piece to fill the width above the bed.  The formula is for the total width of all the pieces including the open space between pieces.  

You might think that if you have high ceilings, the artwork should be hung higher.  That is not the case.  Artwork doesn’t get higher as the ceilings go up.  The art needs to be anchored to the furniture or it feels like it’s floating.  

​The reason the formula exists is that our eyes like to see things that look in proportion.  That doesn’t mean you won’t find examples of a king sized bed with a 24-inch piece of art.  But an undersized piece of art doesn’t give you the sense of proportion that feels good to your eyes.  

Now that we covered what size the artwork should be it is time to consider style.  

Style Guide for Artwork Above the Bed

The most important rule about style is that the art should really be something that you LOVE.  No two people have exactly the same style, but it’s a good idea to get a piece that everyone who sleeps in the room likes.  Art can be a really easy way to set a color palette for your room.  

If you don’t have any clue what kind of art you like, Pinterest can be a great way to begin. Search for the words that describe a style you like + bedroom.  For example, you might want a cottage bedroom or a boho bedroom.  Pin images where you see art that you like.  This gives you a starting point.  

For example, if I search French country bedroom, I see lots of still-life paintings and botanicals in the bedrooms.  If I search for modern bedroom I see more abstract art and photo prints.  

My favorite places to find the art, once I figure out the style that I want is to look at Etsy.  There is SOOO much artwork, but narrowing down your search using size, style and even a color scheme makes it easier to search.  The good news is that if you want help, I love shopping for artwork.  Send me a photo of your room and let me know what your style is.  I might be able to steer you to some choices that you like.  

If you enjoyed this post you might like these tips for how to furnish a bedroom or bedroom decorating mistakes.

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I recently took a watercolor painting class and I’m a complete novice. I thought this would be a good way to learn the basic techniques so that I could paint more on my own. I wanted to share the easy watercolor painting techniques I learned in case it encourages you to pick up a paint brush.

The watercolor supplies you’ll need to experiment with watercolor are:

• Masking tape – If you’re using sheets of paper it’s a good idea to tape all four sides down to a surface you can move, like a piece of cardboard.
• Watercolor brushes – I used two brushes, one a 24 and the other an 8, one big and one small
• Watercolor paper – We used 140-weight cold press sheets of paper. You can find paper at a reasonable price at Cheapjoes.com, the Kilimanjaro paper.
• 2 glasses of plain water, one for clean water (before you get paint) and one to rinse off your brush after you paint
• A spray bottle of water
• A sponge, which helps you to soak up water out of your brush if you need to (or you can use a paper towel)
• A 4h pencil – this pencil draws a light enough line that can be easily covered up by the paint. where the paint will cover the lines
• White eraser
• Paints (see more details below)

Should You Use Hot Press Paper or Cold Press Paper?

The paper you use can give you different results. Hot press paper is smooth. Hot press is good paper to use for painting fine details like you would find in a portrait . Hot press is used for mixed media, like a pen and ink drawing with paint on top.

Cold press paper has more interesting textures and is better for abstract paintings. The “tooth” of the paper holds onto more of the pigment. The lines are easier to smooth out.

Which paper you use depends on what you want to paint and on your personal preference. Each type of paper will give you different effects. Tape your paper down regardless of whether you use cold or hot press paper to keep your clean edges.

Beginner Watercolor Palette

The most expensive and highest quality paints are the Daniel Smith paints. You don’t need expensive paint when you are just starting. So if you hear a more experienced watercolor artist talk about these paints, just start with something less to decide if you like it first.

If you are looking for paint more suited to a beginner skill level look at American Journey paints on Cheap Joe’s. This is a beginner set of good quality paints and has enough basic colors to get you started. This is similar to the set we used in class.

It’s nice to get a set of paints that has a blank area where you can mix colors. Mixing paints is a big part of painting with watercolors. It’s easier and cheaper to mix them on the pallet vs buying them. Mixing is the first technique you will learn in any watercolor basics class.

Basic Color Mixing

There are three primary colors: red, blue and yellow. You can make any paint color you want to use with these three colors.

It’s faster and easier if you get a paint set that includes the secondary colors, orange, purple and green. Here is the paint pallet that we started with and it was easy, even for me, to combine these colors to make new colors.

How do you make black paint? Apparently, most painters mix their own black and don’t buy it. Buying black paint is tabu within watercolor painting circles. The reason is that the black paint that you purchase looks more flat than a black that you mix yourself.

To mix your own black you can mix ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson (red) and burnt umber (a brownish orange). I didn’t succeed in mixing my own black, but it was dark enough to work.

If you want to get a basic paint mixing tutorial, check out this video (although it is kind of frustrating to watch how quickly she can just paint a panda),

What Does It Mean to Activate Your Paints?

You “activate” your paint by spraying it with a small amount of water. This is the first thing we did in class because it is best way to get the paint primed for use.

Different Watercolor Washes

Watercolor painting is all about layers. You start with a lighter layer of color and progressively layer on more vivid, dark colors. The base of many watercolor paintings starts with a wash. There are three variations of washes you can use to cover large areas.

Flat Wash – Many paintings start with a Flat Wash. This means that you use a large brush to coat the paper first using a color moving in stripes down the page. Frequently people use blue because it’s a great way to start a landscape painting. This is called a wet technique.

Watch this video to see an example of how to paint a flat wash. As you can see in this video he uses a pretty wet brush. He is able to “erase” any errors by using a brush with no color to absorb the excess water.

Graded Wash – A graded wash is one where the color starts more vivid at the top and fades as it goes down the page. To do that you can use gravity to pull the paint down the sheet. You should use less pigment on your brush/more water as you progress down the page.

Variegated Wash – A variegated wash uses two colors to cover the paper. You might start with blue at the top and fade as you go down the page and then switch to green. The important thing is to blend the two colors as you go down the page.

How To Make Clouds In Watercolor

You can use the rough edges of a Kleenex against a flat wash. Dab the Kleenex against your wet paint and it picks up round sections of color.

This is a great technique because it is easy and no two clouds will look the same, just like in real life.

Can I Erase Mistakes?

The great thing about watercolor painting is you can erase mistakes. In watercolor paint, this is called “lifting” paint. Lifting paint is almost like erasing it from the page. If you have color on the page where you DON’T want it you go back with a wet brush followed by a paper towel or a dry brush and dab up the excess paint.

This technique lifts the color by washing it out. Then you use the tissue paper to pick up the water. If you do this while the paint is still damp it’s possible. It doesn’t work with dry paper or dry paint and it works better if you are using high quality paper vs. really thin paper.

Watch this video to see lifting in action, she illustrates three different techniques.

Great Video Tutorials For Watercolor Painting

After my class I wanted to learn more so I went to Youtube. There are so many watercolor artists sharing every technique you can think of. Here are a few of my favorite teachers.

Your Very First Watercolor Class

The best Basic Watercolor techniques to improve quickly

I feel like I learned a lot about painting in just a few hours. As with all things, if you spend a little bit of time painting you will make progress. Time will tell.

The post Watercolor Painting Basics: for people who don’t have a clue (like me) appeared first on Design Morsels.

I always find that pictures and art pieces are the last things that I get around to. But it turns out that’s not a bad thing according to the experts. Art and pictures should be the final step when you decorate a room. The best way to determine where to hang pieces of art is to have all the furniture, lighting, and window treatments in place first.

Let’s assume you are at the point where you have guests coming and you’re GOING to get something on the wall. I’ll take you through the best practices room by room.

What’s the Formula For Hanging Pictures?

The short answer is the eye-level rule, meaning pictures should be hung at eye level. BUT does that mean the middle is at eye level, the bottom, or the top? Whose eye level is that? What if you are only 5 feet tall? There is no such thing as an average eye height since not everyone has the same eye level.

The formula for how high to hang your pictures is that the center of the picture should be 60 inches from the ground. This is the rule for a single piece of art that is not hung above a piece of furniture. Sometimes we are tempted to hang a picture a little too high, so don’t stray too far from this height.

There are different rules if you’re hanging a group of pictures or a gallery on a wall and if your art is directly above a piece of furniture.

Should All Pictures Be Hung At The Same Height?

Let’s take it a step further and assume you have more than one picture to hang. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

1.) If you are hanging pictures that are the same size next to each other, hang them at the same height. Here’s an example. The distance between them should be 3-5 inches. The bigger the pictures are the more space you should leave between them.

2.) If you want to hang two pictures vertically, a good rule of thumb is to pretend the two pieces are one large piece. Use the same basic rule, the correct height is with the middle around 60 inches from the floor. If you are hanging large artwork use a lower mid-point. In this example below, the art would be bumping into the ceiling if the middle were at 60 inches because each picture is fairly large.

3.) Pictures hanging above a furniture piece are a bit different from the eye level rule. The ideal height is with the bottom of the frame 5-6″ above the top of the furniture. Here’s an example of art placed 5 inches above the back of the sofa.

Here’s an example of wall art hanging at the right height above a dresser. The piece of furniture anchors the single picture.

SIZE MATTERS. If the piece of art is very small, you will need to move it up OR group it with another piece. Here’s an example of pieces that look too small and they are hanging too far apart. If you are hanging multiple pictures together they should be closer to 3-5 inches apart.

Smaller pictures should be hung more closely together.

What is small you ask? You’ll know when you see it. Hang it up, holes are easy to patch and often you don’t even have to patch them if the picture covers up the hole.

In the example below you can see what you shouldn’t do with multiple small pictures. The art in this photo looks like it’s floating randomly, scattered throughout the room. The height of the largest picture feels right, but they would look better in a grouping or “gallery” arrangement. Read more about how to set up a gallery wall.

Should Pictures Hang Higher If I Have High Ceilings?

Ceilings are moving up from eight feet as standard height in older homes to ten feet and higher. The proper height to hang your pictures doesn’t move up relative to your ceiling height. If it feels low with the mid-point at 60 inches, try 62 but the center of the artwork shouldn’t be far from eye level.

If you have a room with very high ceilings, consider using LARGER or oversized artwork which takes up more visual wall space. If the picture feels too low, it might be that it’s really too small.

Don’t Be Afraid To Move Your Art

Your eye is better at seeing what feels right than you know. If you hang the art and it doesn’t feel right, move it. I’m not suggesting this for something heavy that requires drill-in sheetrock anchors, but things that hang on a simple picture hanger can be easily moved.  If you really don’t want to put holes in the wall or just can’t decide on the right placement it’s a great idea to make paper templates or use painter’s tape to map out the placement of your pictures before hanging them.

The post How High to Hang Pictures, Take Away All The Guess Work appeared first on Design Morsels.

I saw a clock on Thistlewood Farms (a blog and blogger that I love). I’ve always wanted to make something like it because my husband loves bikes. It is made from a bicycle wheel. I have lots of bicycle-art in my home because my husband blogs about cycling and he loves to ride.

Here’s my version of a bicycle wheel clock. I hope you like it.

Supplies needed

To make a bicycle clock you need these supplies.

• Bicycle Wheel without the tire – I took one off an old unused bike.
• Numbers – I wanted to use large wood Roman numerals and I found them on Etsy
• Velcro – I used velcro to attach the movement to the wheel so that I can easily change the battery later.
• Clock mechanism with hands – be sure to buy a high torque long shaft movement because a bicycle tire is large.
• Round piece – You need to attach something round in front of the clock mechanism to hide it. I used a coaster, but in the example I was trying to replicate she used a paint can lid. It can be anything round that isn’t too thick.
• Spray Paint – Optional if you want to change the color of the hands. I used red.

Steps to Make the Bicycle clock

Once I finally started to make the clock it only took about an hour (although there many weeks of procrastination).

Step 1 – Remove the rod from the middle of the wheel. This was maybe the hardest part. Bike wheels have a large bolt through the middle that gets in the way. I had to use a wrench on either side and lots of elbow grease to get the bolt loose.

Step 2 – Spray paint your clock hands if you want to change the color.

Step 3 – Drill a hole for the clock movement in your round part. I say “part” because you can use any round piece you want. You could use a paint can lid or a coaster (as I did). See 2021 update below.

Step 4 – Put a piece of velcro over the middle of your wheel and stick the other side to the back of your clock movement. You could use glue, but it will be difficult to change the battery if you do this.

Step 5 – Attach the clock hands according to the manufacturer’s instructions included in the movement set. A word of caution – when I first assembled my clock I found that the clock hands were sticking whenever they overlapped. You might need to gently bend the clock hands so that they don’t stick as they pass each other. Mine stopped at 4:20 (which made my husband laugh).

Step 6 – Hang your clock on the wall. Once it’s hung it’s easier to see where the numbers should go. Then attach your numbers to the wall. I didn’t want all the numbers just 12, 3, 6 and 9. I attached them with double sided foam tape.

Here’s my final clock and I really like the way it turned out. It’s hanging in my laundry area, which I recently wallpapered. You can read about that wallpaper project here.

2021 Update: If you’re actually making this clock you should know that I had to ditch the velcro because the bike wheel was too heavy. The clock was leaning in a way that didn’t look quite right.

On round two I used a metal bracket fastened with a screw to a different coaster as the clock center. You can see the details here.

The post DIY Bicycle Clock appeared first on Design Morsels.

This painting project is a result of my analysis paralysis. I’ve been wanting new art for my room but I can’t make a decision. Does anyone else have this problem?

I search and search but nothing is perfect. Art is so hard to choose. So what do I have? A blank wall for years. I finally decided that I would try to make something temporary to fill the space until that perfect thing crosses my path.

I was inspired by this modern botanical wall art piece that I saw on Etsy. I love it, but I wanted something in a different color. It seemed like making my own botanical art would be a simple project. I decided to try it using stencils (never having used a stencil before in my life). This is a great way to get the perfect image and the perfect size to fit your home decor and you can complete the whole process without spending a lot of time. So here is my step-by-step tutorial.

Supplies Needed for DIY Stencil

To make your own diy botanical art using a stencil you will need these supplies:

• Canvas – You could use a canvas, a piece of wood or, I used some bulletin boards that I have had in my closet for two years. I recommend buying twice what you think you will use so you have extras if you make mistakes. My bulletin boards were about 18×24.
• Base color – I liked the dark background with a white botanical. You could use any color that provides a lot of contrast. I used Blue Behr paint ( sample 8 oz size is a great option).
• Stencil paint color – I used white primer that I had leftover.
• Stencils – I bought my stencils on Etsy. I wanted some large leaves. I bought this Monstera leaf stencil and this fern stencil. Be sure to size up so you get a stencil that’s large enough for your canvas. For the fern I purchased an 18×12 size.
• Foam roller (2) – You need two rollers, one for the base and one for the stencil.
• Paper plate – or anything to hold the paint.
• Adhesive spray
• Touch up brush

I use affiliate links so I can afford to keep doing this. Hope it saves you time. See my disclosure policy.

Steps to make stencil painting

Step 1 – Paint Your Base Canvas

It doesn’t matter if you are starting with a piece of wood, cutting board, canvas or bulletin board. The first thing to do is paint your base color. I used a paint sample from Home Depot so I didn’t have to buy a lot of the color. I recommend choosing a dark or vivid color as your base.

Let this dry thoroughly.

Step 2 – Set Your Stencil

To make the stencil stay in place I used adhesive spray. It comes up easily after you are finished. I also pressed around the edges of the stencil with my fingers to seal it down as much as possible.

Step 3 – Foam Roll Your Stencil

I read quite a bit about how to paint stencils to avoid “bleed” before I tried my first one. I tested two methods. I blotted on with a foam paint brush (method 1) and I rolled on with a foam roller (method 2).

The foam roller was 100% better. I used a tip I found which I think made the difference. Roll the paint on your roller and then roll the excess onto a paper towel. There isn’t as much paint on the roller at this point and then paint over your stencil.

As soon as you are finished painting your stencil remove it from the canvas and set aside.

Step 4 – Touch Up Any Mistakes

I rolled onto my canvas with the foam roller while I was painting the stencil so I touched up the white spots with a brush. I used a small paint brush to do that.

This is the finished product. I had to scrap the Monstera leaf. It didn’t turn out as I had hoped and I just didn’t like it. I made two ferns, one for each side of the bed.

Now all you have to do is hang your new piece of art. I chose not to frame these, but you could certainly frame your botanical artwork in picture frames I’m not sure this will be permanent, but what is. Maybe I’ll learn to paint something more challenging next. Do you like to paint? I’d love to hear how if you want to answer in the comments

I’m inspired to learn how to paint with oil paints by my friend Mary. If you liked this you might enjoy how to frame fabric for budget friendly art or learn how to choose the perfect size artwork for above the bed.

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