I frequently find myself in an art quandry when I am styling a space or decorating a room in my home. I happen to like (actually love) big huge pieces of art so much more than I like several smaller pieces. For those of you who might have searched for affordable art options, you know how hard it is to find great original things in large sizes. There are meellions of gorgeous, nay amazing, works by fantastic artists out there for affordable prices, but my gawd every time I stumble upon one of these beauties it turns out to be no larger than a 5×7 or 8×10 print at the very most! Gah. What gives, I say?
So while I prep and finish wrapping up a meellion projects coming down the line (including a room makeover!) I thought I would share my styling secret for amazing art, in large sizes, at dirt cheap prices, and with super duper fast turn around time (crucial for the type of projects I typically work on!).
Ps. This is NOT a sponsored post. This is simply a real deal tip / trick I use when I am in need of something fabulous and fast for an art fix.
Here are the deets //
- // I find my images on sites like Shutterstock (there are many, this just happens to be the one I use). I essentially signed myself up for a revolving account there, that renews whenever I reach 5 downloads and I pay a slightly discounted rate of $49 for all 5 downloads combined. Each image ends up being around $9-$10 for the large size, which works perfectly for high quality prints in the size I generally need.
- // Once I download the image, I alter the size, crop things out, adjust color, or altogether make the image my own, in photoshop. I tend to work with a 20″ x 30″ size most often since this is the largest most economical size for me when it comes to both the frame and the printing.
- // I send my images over to Sam’s Club (again there are many other sites that offer this, I just happen to use this one) and upload them to their photo printing department and set to print in a 20″ x 30″ poster size for $8. This size works beautifully with the 24″x30″ IKEA Ribba frame which is in the neighborhood of $20-$25, I think. Many printing sites will print poster sizes for dirt cheap and at least at Sam’s Club (my only experience with this), the print quality is pretty amazing and printed on extra large photo paper (not thin poster paper). You can also print an Engineering Print in an even larger size for around three dollars, but these are generally best for black and white types of images that will benefit from a retro copier kind of look. They have my prints ready in an hour and that makes me ridiculously happy when I am working on a tight schedule (so always).
Prints in Order of Appearance //
- // This blue beachy beauty above – a tulum print – currently lives in my Dining Room, which I have yet to finish or share with you all. I also used this piece for styling one of the looks in my Target Room Essentials Nesting Tables done 3 Ways article.
- // This simple print of sand and the sea is a shining moment from my Master Bedroom Makeover.
- // A Macro Image of Agate and a print with beautiful blues, pinks, and peaches is flanking my sofa in my Master Bedroom as well.
- // The cool crisp Adriatic Sea print is seen in another of my style personalities for the Target Room Essentials Nesting Tables done 3 Ways.
There are soooo many amazing images and I have meellions saved to lightboxes for easy pulling when I need them. So basically I have Shutterstock and Sam’s Club on speed dial and I call them at least every other week, sometimes more! Eek.
