Art Wall DIY

when i first started thinking about what to do with my living room, i knew i wanted an art wall! i had seen it blowing up the pinterest walls and two of my favorite blogs had shared their art walls here & here. so i’ve been saving up my allowance, collecting frames at thrift stores, and gathering art for my wall.
it’s finally finished and i love having something on my big empty wall!

HOW TO PICK THE ART:
i feel silly writing this because it seems like it should be common sense – yet i was unsure where to start when i set my sights on an art wall.

1. pick a theme. this is important because i didn’t do it right away and ended up buying some prints that i did not use (i still love them so i will use them around the house in other places!). i started just buying things i liked and taking advantage of all those christmas promo codes! i was finding so many things i liked but when i put them together, they didn’t work. an art wall is all about the whole. it is each piece coming together.

my theme became Colorado. Bruce & i met at camp, got married in chacos, and now own our first house here at the foot of Pikes Peak. i also wanted to pull in pops of mint, blues, and pinks (just like our beloved red rocks & our purple mountains majesty)

2. start collecting your pieces. hit up etsy and search for your theme. look on pintrest and click on the links – see if you can buy some of those things you have pinned! search your house, one of the prints we put up was a card from my dear friend.

it is okay if it takes you awhile to find all the pieces. you want to love them & not just buy the first 10 things you see.

some tips:

– if you find something you love but it is out of your price range, ask the artist for a deal. they want your business and want you to keep coming back to them.

– find up and coming artists. they have unique art at cheaper prices because they are building cliental

– look at the posts from your favorite blogs to see where they bought their stuff OR buy the art from your favorite blogs and show your support for their work!

– check out society 6. it is a collection of art from many different artists and a treasure trove of artwork!

3. think of sizes. you want a range of prints in different sizes. if you only have one 5×7 and the rest 8x10s you will have trouble organizing them on your wall. this was also hard for me because i loved every print so much that i wanted to have it in the biggest size i could – but then my wall wouldn’t look as eclectic as i wanted it to. you can also play with matted frames to make small prints take up a larger frame!

HOW TO ORGANIZE THE WALL:
1. once you have all your art pieces in your frames, clear the floor in front of the wall you want to use and play with different ways to lay out the prints. i liked to be able to keep looking on the wall to make sure that my arrangement would fit on the wall between the two windows i have in my living room.

2. get out the nails and grab the hammer. start with the key frame (leaving all the others in the same place on the floor ) and work from the map you created. you still have time to change things up (i needed to do that) and just let things fall into place. the best part of creating an eclectic wall is that you do not need each space to be evenly apart – i have my frames all over the place!

3. if you would rather take a more scientific approach to mapping out the wall, i recommend these posts:

Two Rules of Thumb for Hanging Things on Your Walls by Smile & Wave

Get the Hang of It by Young House Love

     How to Hang Art in Groups (Like Kate Space) by Apartment Therapy
4. ENJOY!!!

ART:
floral rose: livy love designs
mountains: lucy driscoll
uncle morg: camp nevernice

bright green bike: heather future
colorado: the bee’s knees antiques & interiors

as the deer: mandipity
geometric modern feathers: yellow heart art

micah: katygirl designs

i am in love with the wall and so excited about everything in the living room coming together! need to fill the space on a big empty wall? i recommend creating your own art wall!