NumberNineteen

Artwork Update -- Prints on Linen

I've been feeling the urge to lighten up my living/kitchen area.  It's a pretty large space that flows along the back of the house.  The base of it is light -- creamy walls and white cabinets, but there is a lot of red including a red sofa, and dark counters.  I'm not able to replace the sofa at the moment and the counters are here to stay for the foreseeable future.  So, accents are the way that I'm going to change things up.  

I've had these old prints up since right after we moved in. I mounted them on fabric, which I really like for the extra interest and texture. However, the dark colors feel so heavy to me now. And, I'm done with that rooster.

I made a quick and easy change by re-mounting the prints on ivory linen and switching the rooster out for a bird print.

It's just a little thing, but I feel like it updates that space above the hall opening.  

I really like this sweet bird print.  

If you'd like to do a project like this, it only takes 1/4-1/3 yard of fabric and there are so many wonderful sources for prints online.  

Traditional Design on a Dime - Inexpensive Sources for Blue and White Porcelain

source: Splendid Sass

I've been in love with the look of blue and white porcelain forever.  Before Pinterest, I clipped pictures from magazines of rooms featuring ginger jars and now my boards are full of images of blue and white stacked shelves. For a long time, I thought that those blue and white beauties were out of my reach, price-wise.  However, I've found a few sources of really affordable porcelain that I want to share with you!

Of course, my favorite sources for blue and white pieces are fleas and thrift shops, but you can't count on finding what you are looking for.  Luckily, I stumbled upon my next favorite source a few years ago, One Kings Lane.  I'd know about the site for a long time, but I only recently realized that they have great blue and white pieces at a fraction of what you'd pay elsewhere, usually about half of other sources.

 From upper left, clockwise: Bowl $35, Jug, $49, Ginger Jar, $55, Jar, $39, Lidded Jar, $29

They have so much more than I show here.  For the past few years, I've asked for one jar a year for Christmas.

Another great source for smaller bowls (around 6-8" wide) is a Chinese import store in Manhattan called Pearl River Mart.  Their brick and mortar was closing down when I was there in February (sniff, sniff), but they still have a full selection online: Pearl River.

Clockwise from top left: Aijsai Bowl, $7.50, Blue on White Bowl, $7.50, Kyo Bowl, $7.50

Here are a few of the places that I have them scattered around my house:

If you love the look of blue and white as much as I do, I hope that these links help you satisfy your wants while not hurting your pocketbook!

 

 

 

 

Traditional Design on a Dime - Personal Art

When I'm someone's home for the first time, I'm always compelled to take a look around, fascinated to get a glimpse into what I think of as their true world.  The world that they created for themselves.  The items that I'm drawn to are always the highly personal ones -- pictures of themselves as children, an antique table that they inherited from their mother, their favorite books on the shelf.  This is why I love the idea of personal art on the walls.  Not paintings that you've done yourself (though if you are talented enough to do it, I'm jealous!), but art or mementos that have great meaning.  The bonus is that personal art is usually very inexpensive or free!

I personally love anything that displays a loved ones' handwriting, especially ancestors that are no longer with us.  In my kitchen, I matted and framed copies of handwritten recipes from both Glenn and my grandmother.

 

I found this enlarged framed letter at Southern Living. Isn't that a wonderful look?  Staples will blow up an image to poster size for around $15 and you can grab a standard sized poster frame with a 40% off coupon at Michaels.

I was once in a model home in which they framed the back of postcards and hung them in a bathroom.  I loved reading the messages and thought that it was such a clever idea, especially if you used old family postcards.  I found a similar look at Bellacor, pictured above.  To re-create this look, I would buy a set of standard sized frames (IKEA has simple frames that are perfect for this project for $3-$5 each) and mount the postcard on a piece of white cardstock inside of the frame. 

I love framed quotes...but what about framed songs?  Scout and Nimble shows how you can create art out of your wedding song. What a beautiful but unusual memory of your wedding...and, so inexpensive to make.

Finally, what is more sentimental and surprisingly stylish than your child's art?  In this photo fingerpaint takes on the sophistication of modern art when framed in simple white.

Hope's homage to Kandinsky holds a place of honor in her bathroom. 

I'm always looking for unusual ways to have our home tell our story. I love these ideas for being both personal and thrifty :)

 

Traditional Design on a Dime -- A Quick Copycat

Who doesn't love Cat Studio's geography pillows?  Their gorgeous hand embroidered designs are so fun and detailed.  Each one takes 40 hours to make!  I have a very stylish friend who has several on her sunporch in designs from she and her husband's home states as well as where they currently live.

I would love to have a Virginia pillow but at $168, it is not in my current budget.  However...Cat Studio makes geography tea towels with super cute cross stitch trim. 

The tea towels feature even more fun details than the pillows and are $20 (admittedly, a lot for a tea towel, but not for a pillow!).  You see where I'm going here....

Ta da!  I cut out the main design of the towel, added some red rick rack and stitched it to a piece of white linen.  I love it!

That is my kind of "look for less"!  I see that they make them in a Cape Cod design as well....

Traditional Decorating on a Dime -- Free Wall Art

I don't know about you, but when I moved into our current house, I was overwhelmed by how to fill all of our bare walls.  Not only was I at a loss for ideas, but there was the whole "we just bought a house & have no money" issue.  My first thought in these situations is always, how can I be creative and make this work?  Enter: FREE (my favorite word) art.

You may remember a few of my free art projects from both this house & the old house:

The wine themed kitchen corner with a corkscrew printable.

Our gray bathroom re-do with a speckled egg print.  I loved that re-do but we didn't live with it for long because we sold the house soon after....

Animal studies mounted on fabric in our current eat-in area.

(I cringe looking at these dark pictures, taken with my old camera!)

Very recently, my "You've Got Mail" inspired art in our master bathroom.

Of course, in some cases I needed to buy frames (hello, Michaels 40% off sales, here I come!) or mats (ditto on Michaels sales), but I often had frames sitting around from old projects.  Also, I've recently noticed that thrift shops have a lot of picture frames for just a few dollars each.

Sources For Free Art

There are so many sources for free printable art on the web (what did we do before the internet???) -- just type in "free printable art" on Pinterest & you'll come up with 100s.  I've gathered here a few of my favorites and a few that I've just discovered:

The Graphics Fairy

The Graphics Fairy is my favorite site for free art.  She has over 4,500 high quality vintage images available for download.  The site is very easy to search and she even has a category called "Instant Art".  How great is that ?? Here are a few that caught my eye:

 

 

New York Public Library Digital Collection

Another thing to love about New York -- they share their art!  This site has over 800,000 images available for download.  I've printed a few of their architectural drawings as art for our front hall when we first moved in (I'm not sure where I put the photos).  There is so much here -- maps, the previously mentioned architectural drawings, posters, postcards, antique magazine images and more.  The children's book illustrations make me want to decorate a nursery all over again. Here are just a few that I found in a quick browse:

Extremely intricate monograms.

Old Maps of Paris

I just found this site & love it.  It has...you guessed it...maps of Paris.  There aren't a huge number of images, but the images are very high quality.  My favorite is Paris 1575:

They have a sister site, Old Maps of New York, that has...wait for it...maps of New York.

Free Vintage Posters

I could spend hours browsing through Free Vintage Posters images.  They have everything from turn-of-the-last century Parisian wine posters to wartime propaganda to the circus to public service announcements ("Destroy Syphilis" anyone??). 

This last one is beyond a doubt my favorite.  I'm printing it out today will find a place in my home for it, post haste.

I mean, who isn't drawn to the Underground like a magnet?

 

I hope that you find some free art on these sites that is just right for your home.  Start clicking & printing! :)

Next Up in the Series: Wall Art -- Plates, Trays and Other Non-Traditional Traditional Decor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traditional Design on a Dime

In my years of blogging, we have been in varying financial situations (I was working, I wasn't, I was in grad school, We are paying off grad school debts), but I've always found a way to make our home pretty.  It's one of my main hobbies, so that helps (the motivation is there!) but really, it has come down to lots of creativity.  There is a lot out there in the blogosphere about decorating on a dime, but I thought that I'd add my own perspective and hints on how create the home of your dreams when on a budget. My style is traditional/cottage with a healthy dose of vintage goodness, so that is what I seek when decorating our house. 

Post in the Series Will Be:

Wall Art -- Free Art!

Wall Art -- Plates, Trays and Other Non-Traditional Traditional Decor

Wall Art -- Personal Art

Wall Art -- Thinking Outside of the Box

Thrift Store Finds -- Finding the Treasures

Craigslist, Yard Sales & Online Yardsales

The Look for Less

DIY -- Furniture

DIY -- Decorative Accents

Curtains/Window Coverings

Bedrooms

Knowing When to Invest

Antiques -- Truly a Bargain

There may be other posts but those are what comes to mind at the moment.  I've never done a series of posts, but I truly hope that you enjoy it and come away with a few ideas for your own homes. I'm going to start off by sharing some of my favorite inspirational photos....

 

James Farmer Mudroom - Atlanta Homes

Beachfront Family Room -- BHG

Mary Carol Garrity Lake House - Between Naps on the Porch

Cote de Texas Family Room

 Savvy Southern Style Sun Room

Little Black Door Kitchen

Rennovated VT Kitchen -- Hooked on Houses

The Polo House Kitchen

BHG Bathroom

Up next: Wall Art: Free Art!