Whether you are decorating a tiny room or a cavernous one, nothing pulls a space together like great art. Sadly, paintings and wall decor can be the most frustrating and expensive elements of decorating. You can spend hours running from store to store looking for just the right thing, but once you finally find it, it’s much too expensive. Never fear. There are plenty of places to find great art at bargain prices, and even more ways to create it yourself.
One Stop Shopping
Forget shopping all over town hoping to find something that fits your style and budget. Art.com is a one stop shop for art for every room in your home. With hundreds of thousands of options, including photography, landscapes, and fine art, you are sure to find something you love at a price you can live with. Plus, you can select to have whatever you choose printed on canvas or framed, so that it arrives ready to grace your wall.
Give Art A Second Chance
With a little patience, scouting thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales is a great way to pick up paintings on a tight budget. To make the most of your shopping trips, use the free Flea Market Finder app to locate a shop in an upscale area. You can often find expensive pieces at reasonable prices at thrift shops in rich neighborhoods.
When something catches your eye, inspect it carefully for condition and, if it has a signature, do a quick web search to learn a bit about the artist. Once in a while a valuable work of art will pop up at a thrift store or estate sale, but usually you’ll find run-of-the-mill paintings from unknown artists. If you love it, and it works in the room, it doesn’t really matter who created it. And, if you don’t love it, there are ways to improve it. According to Under The Sycamore, you can transform a mediocre thrift store painting into a one-of-a-kind showpiece by layering acrylic paint over sections of the original for a modern paint-by-number look. Or, take a tip from A Beautiful Mess and place letter stickers on the painting and then slather a solid color over the entire thing. Once the paint is dry, pull the stickers off and let the original art peek through the gaps for a trendy word art creation.
Paint & Pinot
If you are craving a hand painted work from one of the great masters, you’ll probably need to drain your 401K. But you could also repaint one yourself. Several local companies, such as Sips N Strokes and PaintAlong, host events that guide you through painting your own masterpiece based on pieces from famous artists such as Van Gough or Monet. At the end of the two to three hour class, you go home with a canvas ready to hang. At around $35 dollars, the classes are a bargain. But, even if your painting turns out to be a flop, the experience is bound to be memorable, as you sip your way through the BYOB class.
Be Your Own Picasso
If you still can’t find that perfect piece of art after shopping the online megastore, perusing the thrift stores, and trying your hand at imitating a master, it might be time to channel your own inner artist. Thanks to the endless ideas for DIY artwork that flood Pinterest, even the most uninspired can create something special. To create a colorful, abstract painting, head over to Refinery 29. You’ll start by filling a canvas with random swipes of color. Then, use painter’s tape to create rows of chevron patterns before painting over the entire thing with white. Once the top layer is dry, pull off the tape to reveal a stunning pattern.
Finding great art at an affordable price can be a challenge. But, if you know where to look, or if you feel a bit creative, you can fill your walls in no time.
What’s The State Of Your Walls?
If you have artwork you love, where did you find it? If you are living with empty walls, what’s holding you back? Share your tips for finding or creating beautiful wall decor in the comments below, or join us on our Facebook page. We can’t wait to hear about your art and answer your questions about making your walls the envy of the neighborhood!