Creating a welcoming space that feels unique to my family is always on my mind when decorating a room. Our current home is pretty large, so I had to get creative and find affordable ways to add unique artwork to our home! I absolutely love when our guests ask about a piece of artwork hung on the walls. It can really be the best conversation starter! Here are six affordable ways to add unique art to your home.
Table of Contents
- 6 Easy Ways to Add Unique Artwork at Home
- 1 | Display Vintage Art
- 2 | Frame Your Child’s Artwork
- 3 | Create a Gallery with Family Photos
- 4 | Purchase Digital Prints
- 5 | Use Images from Books or Magazines
- 6 | Find Original Artwork Thru Instagram
- 7 | Attach Wallpaper to a Photo Mat & Frame
- Bonus | More Unique Artwork Ideas
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6 Easy Ways to Add Unique Artwork at Home
When decorating a room, it can be tempting to run to a big box store like Target and purchase all of their beautiful artwork. While I still enjoy shopping at these big box stores I work really hard to limit my purchases per room. Mixing in vintage artwork and varying brands makes a home feel collected and special.
When I look for artwork and decor for our home, I always keep an eye out for items that represent the interests of our family. For example, my husband is from the New England area and loves the ocean, so I always keep an eye out for ocean artwork, maps, architectural drawings from NE, etc. With my brand called Building Bluebird, I am naturally drawn to artwork with birds and always keep an eye out for these items.
1 | Display Vintage Art
I have a slight obsession with estatesales.net. Estate sales are my favorite place to shop for vintage and unique artwork. I have found so many original paintings, architectural drawings, and even vintage prints at estate sales and second-hand shops.
I found these two vintage drawings of historic buildings in Williamsburg, VA. Although I have never been to Williamsburg, I love the architecture of the buildings and the fact that these are original pencil drawings by Charles Overly.
I have a closet filled with original art that I couldn’t leave behind at an estate sale. Eventually, I will find a place for it or I can sell/gift it later on. I actually shopped my closet filled with artwork to create this gallery above the piano.
2 | Frame Your Child’s Artwork
My son is quite the little artist and I love incorporating his masterpieces into a room design. This bunny is so sweet and looks perfect in the brass frame I found at a thrift store.
I added the bunny to an open shelf in our living room.
3 | Create a Gallery with Family Photos
The most unique artwork you can add to a design is personalized photos! We all take so many photos these days and I have to remind myself to print out physical copies to display around the house.
When I renovated our dining room, I couldn’t decide what artwork to hang on the back wall. I realized after much debate that one thing I would never get sick of was photos of my kids and our family.
When in doubt, hang a photo of happy memories with the ones you love, it will work every time!
Another way to share all of the images you capture throughout the year is by making an annual yearbook! Check out all of my tips for constructing your own family yearbook.
4 | Purchase Digital Prints
These days, there are lots of digital print shops to download every kind of art. Whether it is a famous piece of artwork or an original piece from an artist, you can find lots of unique artwork to give your home a one-of-a-kind look. Below I purchased a digital download of a seascape via Etsy.
Here are just a few places to find beautiful images to hang on your wall: Juniper Printshop, Jefferson Home Prints, Museum Quality Art, and Heritage Art prints. Oh, and don’t forget the endless options on Etsy!
I downloaded the prints below from Juniper Print Shop and hung them in our laundry room.
5 | Use Images from Books or Magazines
This is one of my favorite ways to add affordable art to our home. You can frame almost anything in a book and it looks beautiful! Whether it is a page from your favorite children’s book or even just a page of text, you can create custom art that tells a story.
The images below are from a vintage pamphlet from a Van Gogh exhibit at my local museum. Funny story, I actually found the pamphlet by searching through boxes of old books that were left on the side of the road for trash pickup. I framed multiple images from this pamphlet and love how they look in simple frames.
I used another Van Gogh image in our most recent guest bathroom makeover.
The framed artwork below is a page from an old book that we found while vacationing in Paris. It has images of animals that we thought would be perfect for our son’s bedroom.
6 | Find Original Artwork Thru Instagram
I have found so many incredible artists through Instagram! I am lumping into the affordable art category because the word “affordable” varies between each person. The large print of the woman and bluebird is by Juniper Briggs, who I found on Instagram. I believe this large print was $300 or so, which is great for the size of the piece.
A few other artists from Instagram that I would love to add to my collection at some point:
7 | Attach Wallpaper to a Photo Mat & Frame
This DIY cost less than $10 to make a unique and one-of-a-kind picture frame! All you need is a picture frame with matting, leftover wallpaper or a wallpaper sample, spray adhesive, and an Exacto Knife.
Bonus | More Unique Artwork Ideas
- Frame a piece of fabric, like a vintage scarf, and hang it on the wall
- Vintage maps from your favorite places or vacations
- Display beautiful plates on a wall
- Reuse images from a hanging calendar
- Frame dried flowers
