No Bare Walls – Art Hound’s Guide to Affordable Art
Our guest blogger Kate is an art consultant and blogs as Art Hound .
Guide to Affordable Art
As an art consultant and blogger people often confess to me just how much they secretly hate their apartment’s empty walls. They want interesting art but think it’s totally out of their reach. In these conversations, I always start by saying that anyone, no matter how small a budget, can live with cool art. It’s simply a matter of knowing where to look and what appeals to you personally.
Here are my tips for new apartment dwellers:
1) Don’t live with bare walls! You could live in a luxury penthouse but if the walls are bare it will look dull and impersonal. Even if you can only put aside $50 for a few prints you will be so happy to have something appealing to look at, especially during the winter when many of us spend more time at home.
2) IKEA and Posters.com are not the only places to buy inexpensive prints. In fact, tons of artists sell prints of their work on online marketplaces like Etsy and online print shops (see list below). The selection is amazing and prices start at $10- $20.
3) Buy art that appeals to you on a gut level, not just because it’s cool or trendy. Art is personal and should be a reflection of you and your taste. After all, the point is for you to enjoy looking at it everyday!
4) If you’re on a shoestring budget your best option may be to hang prints with sticky tack or binder clips on a nail or wire. However, IKEA, Target, MUJI and craft stores sell cheap basic frames that look really sharp and preserve the life of the print (especially if you move frequently).
My Top 10 Sites for Affordable Art:
Original Art and Prints:
Enormous Tiny Art
Poppytalk Handmade
papernstitch
Prints Only:
little paper planes
Arrow to Arrow
artmuse
The Working Proof
Society6
Posters:
Poster Cabaret
L’Affiche Moderne
I will check out these recommended sites. I normally just put family pictures up on my walls. I can get them for low cost on Snapfish. It is time for some art on my walls!
Also check out Art We Love. They sell a wide variety of photos and prints, many in the $25-$50 range.
thanks for posting these links, you saved my life.
This is a great list! Thanks Kate for listing artmuse.com on your Top 10 List!! Bonnie :)