Saturday, June 26, 2010

Affordable + Attractive Art

Seems I’m always looking for ways to create budget-friendly art in my home as well as clients.  I think art brings life and soul into a home and creating it yourself is more meaningful than going to a retailer and buying a mass produced print.

When I saw these beautiful DIY works of art in the August 2010 issue of Style at Home (digital issue), I had to share.  There really are no excuses for bare walls!

The first image is the main living space of a cottage in BC decorated by Colleen Sawatsky and styled by Heather Cameron.   Although the art over the sofa looks like a painting, it is actually fabric stretched over an artist’s frame.   The cushion covers made from vintage tablecloths add to the charm of the room.  Inexpensive, simple and beautiful – have to love that.

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Canadian online retailer Tonic Living sells fabrics at a very reasonable price.   These are just a few “retro florals” from their site which would look great as art in a main living space or bedroom.

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Hands up if you can guess the medium used for this trio of framed prettiness.  If you said dye (as in fabric dye), you would be correct.  Instructions are given in the magazine and although I haven’t tried it, I would say it seems fairly simple to do.   Frames are from Ikea, of course!

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What do you think?  Would you try either of these affordable art projects  in your home?

If you need decorating help, please contact me at vanessa@vanessafrancis.com

10 comments:

  1. I can't wait to get my copy in the mail! And yes, I would definitely try all of these! I am really loving the idea of fabric on canvas. So easy!

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  2. I love the idea of fabric to create pieces of art! I flipped through this months Style at Home last night, and I really enjoyed it. The images above really stood out to me, the vibrant turquoise shades are stunning! I think I would try this type of art in my own home!
    Nancy

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  3. Great post! I'm actually considering doing this myself! Maybe with sari fabric too!

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  4. I love fabric as art! And I love that aqua colour... so perfect for summer accents!

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  5. I agree, everyone should have at least one piece of art they made themselves, even if it's just a simple collage of magazine clippings. I love the fabric idea, wallpaper would work too, don't you think?

    Linda =)

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  6. Framed wallpaper could also work and sometimes the stuff kids do looks almost like abstract art!

    There's also some really great places to buy original art for reasonable prices. The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition coming up is a great place to buy stuff.

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  7. Lovely! I love to see art that is personal to the home, I have framed my grandmothers paintings that she painted years ago and my old art school stuff, none of it's perfect but is has personal resonance and that's all that matters!

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  8. Absolutely! I love the idea, have been meaning to do something similar myself - only I wanted to use it to hang my accessories :-)

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  9. Fabulous.. fab!! Loved this post.. You've got an awesome blog!

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