Tag Archives: making art

DIY, Home

The Gospel of Removable Wallpaper

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I don’t want to spend more energy than I really need to decorate my current apartment. I want a well-curated space, but at the moment I’m not entirely sure that I have the energy or cash to put that together. While the lease on my apartment does permit me to paint, I am loathe at this point to start a project that will require things like primers and sanding and taping and testing various colors at different times of the day. I want a maximal change with minimal effort. This brings me to removable wallpaper.

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Removable wallpaper is one of my favorite ways to change a space because it is so versatile and so low risk. You peel off a backing and then stick it to the wall. Press out all the air bubbles, maybe trim around the edges, and you’re all set. Change your mind? Peel it down. Done and done. Removable wallpaper can be used on walls, of course, but also all over your house. Cover a refrigerator or other appliances, line the backs of shelves, refinish a blah tabletop (such as IKEA’s LACK series), spice up the inside of a tray for serving guests, even create the appearance of a grand and stately headboard. All completely possible and so easy.

So far, I’ve redone the backsplash and refrigerator in my kitchen and one wall in my apartment, and were it not for my spouse saying he’s done with patterns, I’d be covering all the rest of the flat, smooth surfaces in our apartment with bright, cheerful colors and designs. The kitchen took all of forty five minutes to get done, and the trickiest part was matching the pattern repeat.

While, at first glance, removable wallpaper may look like the more expensive option, I’ve found that after you buy all the supplies to paint walls or hang art (tarps, brushes, pans, rollers, sandpaper, painters tape, primers, and multiple buckets of paint; or frames, mats, and custom fitting), the total cost is much lower. In total, I spent about $100—shipping included. Not to mention, you won’t ruin your favorite jeans when you think to yourself “Ah, but I’ll be so careful!” The only cost is the paper itself. It is also completely possible to make temporary wallpaper yourself with contact paper.

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Don’t know where to start?

Check out the whole host of resources available online about where to buy and what to do with temporary wallpaper:

Removable wall paper can be bought at:

Feeling crazy? Try starching fabric to the wall. (I haven’t tried this, so don’t blame me if it pulls all the paint off your walls…)

And I’m not the only one who is totally into removable wallpaper! Read more on Oh Happy Day and Apartment Therapy.

Enjoy!

Enjoy!

DIY, Home

Curating Your Art Collection Without Busting Your Budget

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Decorating on a budget is not easy.  Sure, you might do some great DIY projects, maybe find some decent furniture on Craigslist, but if you really want to make your place look great without spending a whole paycheck (or five), it takes a lot of work.  Fortunately, even if you have to live with a dingy 5-year old sofa that may have at one point belonged to the mother in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (too soon?), here are four simple and affordable ways to invest in your own personal style.

1. Use your own photos.  Why spend money on art when you have plenty of your own photographs just waiting to be framed on your wall?   I remind you that photographs were invented before the Facebook photo album, and a special photo will be a great conversation starter with your guests.  If you worry your pictures aren’t ‘artsy’ enough, get them printed in black and white!  Sugarfish is a great affordable service to get photos printed, and you can even order prints of your Instagram masterpieces on Shutterfly.

2. Maps, postcards, old records, anything flat you can put in a frame.  If you’re like me, you’re always finding a cool postcard you bought on vacation but never sent, or the ticket to that epic Dashboard Confessional show you went to in high school.  Rather than sticking it back in a drawer to be rediscovered in another five years, throw it up on the wall to break up all of your fabulous photographs.  Old maps are a particular favorite—both affordable and pretty!  Never been anywhere?  Fake it with the $3.95 map wrapping paper  from Paper-Source!

3. Affordable art prints and photos are easy to come by if you’re looking in the right places.  I like to shop around, but most of the sites below feature several different mediums (prints, photos, text graphics, even actual paintings) so if you don’t have the time or patience for scrolling through 40 pages of options, you would do well at just one of these.  The more affordable pieces from these sites do in fact still cost some money (many items in the $15-40 range, depending on the size), so I try to only purchase things I really love and would want to look at every day on my wall.  Minimalist and fan-made movie posters are a personal favorite that look nice and reflect my true passions.

  • 20×200 (www.youshouldbuyart.com):  Run by a gallery owner in New York, they have a great stockpile of photos and prints by up-and-coming artists.
  • Society 6:  Not only do they deal in art, but if you find a design you like, you can get it printed on t-shirts, mugs, pillowcases, phone cases, and more.
  • The Working Proof:  Art for a cause—15% of each sale goes to the charity of the artist’s choice.
  • Etsy:  A perennial favorite for all things, art included.  Perhaps pay tribute to the cinematic classic I mentioned earlier with this!

 

4. Don’t be afraid to create an original painting yourself!  I know the canvas–and-paint section at the art store can be intimidating, but delve in, and make your own masterpiece to hang on your wall. It’s easier to splurge on something when it’s half off, so double-check for coupons before you go in to your favorite craft store. Even if you don’t see yourself as “creative,” geometric patterns in a good color scheme look just as nice as a detailed landscape—and you still get kudos for having an actual painting on your wall!  Too shy to go it alone?  Try out Painting with a Twist (or any of the similar BYOB painting classes across the country) with a couple friends and a bottle of wine, and come home with a beautiful painting as well as some new memories (aww).

In all, I think the key to curating an art collection while not over-spending is to make every piece you own individual to you.  Whether it’s meaningful because you made it yourself or just because you love it, I guarantee that a piece of art with personal meaning that also looks great will justify any cost.  Now please, just promise me you won’t hang all of your beautiful acquisitions and discoveries with painter’s tape and thumbtacks. *

*Before you even try, I direct you to Michael’s (they almost always have a coupon for 50% off on their website) or Aaron Brothers (they have a buy one, get the second for 1 cent sale on frames and canvas in January and July every year).

Photo by Michelle White

Photo by Michelle White