The only framed and hanging art we have are things painted by people we know. We have some water colors in our LR and FM and over the night stands in our bedrooms. We have a couple of things our kids did that we had framed. And one piece that I made in grade six that my mom had framed.
ETA…oops. I forgot about a couple of counted cross stitch pieces in our kitchen/breakfast room.
We have a lot of wall space so really, we don’t have a lot. We do have a closet where we keep the overflow and we rotate things periodically.
First, this “in process” gallery wall - it started with one item, no plan. I just add to it and things seem to find their spot. It includes needlework by my DIL, a framed botanical seed packet as I’m an avid gardener, Canada maple leaf because it’s special to us, a grand French because we both have French backgrounds and a “vintage” national book festival poster (Laura Bush era) because I am a book person by profession and interest. I will still add to it!
Another “water” pic - and we live on the water so also appropriate. An Airbnb on a lake we stayed at featured prints from this artist - I adored them and promptly came home and ordered a print to have framed.
My BF in HS/early college worked at a local theater, and at some point I had some cool movie posters. I think there was a Star Wars one. BUT I lost them/they got ruined at some point. I think they were in an attic, and they didn’t do well up there.
H also worked at a theater for 10 years. Started at age 14 and got “student wages.” Continued through college and was a projectionist. He got all kinds of cool stuff, and for years we could go free since he still knew the manager.
Even now he occasionally will get some cool stuff by asking for it. He got some big predator display a few months ago.
Note - he is the collector. I am the minimalist! It’s a battle lol
Oh, thank you! That’s my grandmother in a characteristic pose outdoors on a Sunday afternoon in North Carolina. It’s based on a black-and-white snapshot taken around 1958.
These are pictures I have on the wall. I have a lot more pictures from my house that I have no space for. The large black painting I have a pair in the hallway.
I always try to find unique artwork that I won’t go in my neighbor’s house and see. I bought this years ago off of eBay - a woman selling her father’s original watercolors. I think I paid $10. He was in his 90’s at the time.
My sister rented a place and didn’t want to put holes in the walls so she went old school. She put a nail at the VERY top of the ceiling where you’d never notice it. Old days you’d see the wire (sometimes decorative) but she used transparent fishing line to hang her art from. Worked great.
I like it. What I like most about this thread is reading about how much the pieces mean to each person. Each piece has a story. That’s what’s important IMO.
Great thread! I love seeing what everyone has on their walls!
I am art-curious but have yet to pull the trigger on anything. I also have trouble marrying a piece that I like and having it fit in with my current aesthetic, which I know really isn’t the point to owning a piece of art but I struggle nonetheless. I wish I had some family pieces that had meaning - very envious of those who do. I love the vintage photo look in an antique frame!
I had a lot of stuff when I moved out of our last house and have gone more minimal this time. Currently I have a large gallery wall upstairs with framed family pictures and then a couple of large pictures on wrapped canvas from my daughter’s wedding in my dining room. I have an open concept home and a very large wall in my family room that can be seen from everywhere in the house. A large piece of art would look great there.
I don’t struggle; if it doesn’t fit my decor, it isn’t for my home.
Funny Story: My FIL is an artist and was chairman of a university art department. The first time he met my father was at our rehearsal dinner held at my dad’s house. When I introduced dad to my future in-laws and mentioned that FIL was an artist, my dad ushered them into the master bathroom to show them the nature scene he had painted in a three-session local art class years before. It was a Bob Ross style pic of pine trees, water, and birds done only in browns/tans/cream/beiges to match the bathroom decor. My in-laws (who take themselves pretty seriously) were horrified, and I was dying laughing (internally, of course).
Another Funny Story: The first time I met DH’s parents, we were at dinner, and my then college boyfriend horrified me by mentioning that I was taking an art history class. So, of course, his dad picked right up on that and asked if I’d seen the such-and-such madonna. I had no idea what he was referring to, so I confidently replied, “Well, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all.” He thought that was terribly witty and liked me on the spot. (MIL had a very different opinion.)
We have a ton of FIL’s pieces (in the closet), but only one that has “meaning,” and just because I like it. Though he has thousands of drawings and many (HUGE) paintings, he is known for resurrecting a certain lost wax bronze casting process. This is the only piece we have, and it is on display in DH’s office:
We have mostly impressionistic oils downstairs, though we have one small gallery wall of B/W family photos that are on a separate, less prominent wall. I also have two acrylics painted by a college classmate.
Not sure why the angle on this one is so off - I thought I’d squared it up when I took it. Anyway, this is a large piece in our primary bedroom painted by my college classmate. We had it and a sunset commissioned by her when we lived in Florida.
I found it easy on our travels to put pictures in our luggage. The majority are from our local artists in our travels. I try to get one per vacation. My favorite is two very large paintings ($5) I rolled to carry home from a street artist in Peru in 1990’s. My recent one is from an artist in Belgium that was hanging in a small shop. I found her instagram page and let her know it is loved and hanging proudly in our home. She loved that. That was the first time I reached out to the artist.
I’ve never understood the logic of giving decorative items as gifts. Every year, my SIL used to give me a pot of plastic flowers or a hand-made wreath of some sort to hang on my door. She’s the major reason we no longer exchange gifts at Xmas time.
because we both have French backgrounds and a “vintage” national book festival poster (Laura Bush era) because I am a book person by profession and interest. I will still add to it!
