Apartment Beautiful: Wall Decoration

A couple of months ago I realized that I’d never gotten around to putting anything on my walls. So I set to work: I went to the Rose Bowl flea market in search of wall art. Flea markets, by the way, can be a great place to find antique furniture, decorations, or more random things like scissors and tools. Check out http://www.fleamarketguide.com for a list of flea markets across the USA to find one in your area. I often get frustrated at flea markets because the quality of your finds is totally unpredictable, but if you’re patient and willing to dig, you can usually find some really unusual pieces for your new apartment.

I digress. At the flea market, I hit cheap decorator’s gold. I found a booth that sold pages from old magazines- primarily advertisements, but also covers and some pages from articles themselves. The pages were cool, visually appealing, and clever in that pomo, self-aware consumer kind of way. I picked out a number of sheets with the intention of matting them or framing them to add a little something something to my bare white walls.

Unfortunately, getting things framed takes a little more investment, both financially and organizationally, than I was willing to devote to my walls once I got home from the flea market. The ads sat around for a while, waiting for me to drop them off at the framer’s, until one day we were about to have a party, and the BF said, “Hey, Kate, you should put something on your walls. They look like crap.”

In a fit of indignation, I grabbed my trusty Scotch tape and taped up the best of the ads. Let me tell you something: it did not make my walls look better. The ads, however, remain, and aren’t going anywhere for a while still. With the commencement of the era of the BF in the house, though, new blood has been added to my wall decorations. He brought with him, among other goodies, a framed print of a lovely black and white photograph. Framed! I can taste the luxury.

I grabbed my trusty hammer, cracked open my virgin picture hanging kit, and busted some nails into my wall. If you’ve never hung a picture before, you’re in for a treat. I felt like a true handy person, and even more satisfying, the framed pic looks really good.

In conclusion, don’t ever hire me as an interior decorator. But feel free to give me stuff to decorate my own walls. What have you done, dear reader, to beautify your new place?