art wall fix from three red apples

What a beautiful and inviting space. It looked very European to me when I came across it on flickr, so I wasn't surprised to find that Annabelle from Three Red Apples is French and currently lives in the UK. It's interesting, if you look through the shop and flickr stream, you can see a very similar look and feel between the artwork she creates and the look she curates for her home. Beautiful feminine colors, lots of crisp whites and vintage pretties. It's hard to get a good gander at the art wall but I'm sure I see a few of her embroidery hoop creations there, along with some prints and a vintage mirror. Lovely.

cuckoo clock installation from the land of wandawega

Okay, I'm still thinking about Camp Wandawega, remember my post from last Friday? I am in awe of Teresa Surratt's ability to put together collections using unexpected things.

This grouping of 5 cuckoo clocks was hunted, gathered, painted and installed by Teresa for her new baby daughter's nursery at the camp. I love that it's not all girly pink and yellow.

Darnit if they don't make me want to hit up ebay for some of my own, they look so charming.

I also included a few more shots of the nursery because it's that kind of room. Paint by numbers mural, vintage crib and light fixture, painted blue floors...check! Baby Charlie is going to love her trips to Wisconsin.

art wall fix from renee anne

Remember this sweet polaroid art wall from Renee Anne? Well, she's moved and has a new place to decorate! I recognize that geometric Michelle Armas print there on the right. I'm literally dreaming about those colors right now. Someone remind me that color trends are fleeting before I redecorate my whole house.

art wall fix from anne coyle interiors

I'm a big fan of Chicago-based designer and shop owner Anne Coyle. She likes using lavender as a neutral and this image is a good example of that principle in effect.

I Love those painted starfish as accents, too. In fact, I love all the black touches here. I'm over chocolate brown, black is the new black.

art wall fix from cathy cullis

What an interesting display from artist Cathy Cullis. Cathy is a mixed-media artist and poet living and working in Surrey, England. This image is of Cathy's living room, My favorite are the spools and especially the little black string hanging down. Strike that, my favorite part is the artwork, the spools are second. Much of the artwork pictured is Cathy's, including the bunny doll and the images beneath the spools and pitcher. To see all of the artists, visit the image on flickr. In addition to her Big Cartel shop, Cathy also authors a blog.

inspired design: hand-drawn frames

Putting permanent frames on your walls takes guts. Kristin of Eklektick did it in her craft room, which is a great place for such a fun decor risk. Kristin used black paint to make these very inexpensive frames to display her artwork. The art can be changed-up and switched-out but the frames are here to stay, for now.

Kristin also used the paint to accent architectural details and create faux moldings in the room. This door looks so cute, no?

art wall fix from supermarket sarah

I think this is such a swell concept for a website, I swear I thought of this first but no matter...actions speak louder than thoughts. Sarah, of Supermarket Sarah posts "walls" to her website, each curated with items ranging from artwork to plushies. When you hover over a specific piece, it is either highlighted or marked as "sold" and you can then click one it to purchase. Sarah also teams up with artisans and designers to offer "walls" exclusive to their work. This seems like a simple idea, however, I'm sure it takes Sarah hours upon hours to curate everything, photograph it, code each item and describe it. Those are no small feats. I love that you can also view items by categories on their own to get a bit better view. I've highlighted a few of my favorite walls below. Shop on.

art wall fix from moomah

I have bookmark folders on my computer titled: New York City, San Francisco and Chicago. It's the best way I can think of to catalog my to-do lists for my next visit to each city. My most recent bookmark for NYC is Moomah. Its tagline says it all: a place of sweet whimsy, wonder and warmth, Moomah is a creative playscape, a cozy cafe, a living classroom, a quiet hideaway, and art oasis, your neighborhood meeting spot, your favorite place to be together, and a place for your child to simply be.

Sadly for her, my child will probably not be accompanying me on my next Big Apple trip, but I'd love to make the trip to Moomah, regardless. Check out the art wall: the dancing bear, eggs, fish, bugs, calm white frames against the white wall--I love it all. This is my kind of spot, I hope the coffee is as good as the eye candy.

art wall fix from dottie angel

I know I've said this before, but this gal really needs a book deal. Tif of Dottie Angel has the most handmade home I have ever seen.

What I love about this arrangement:

-inexpensive pretty masking tape used in lieu of frames.

-vintage ephemera, including the one frame painted a fun, bright color.

-cohesive artwork and tif's signature girly, flirty "stamp."

If you like Tif's work as much as I do, you might be interested to hear that she'll be conducting a workshop in Seattle, Washington late this summer: September 24th-27th. Participation is limited to 10 people. More details can be found on the Dottie Angel Blog.

art wall fix from depuis

I saw this image bounce around blog world for a while when Mina Georgescu, the photographer behind Depuis put it out into the world. Can you tell why? The crisp color combination and fresh styling really make it stand out. I love that Mina used different mat and image sizes in the same frame size.

To see available works for purchase from Depuis click here. To see Mina's flickr photostream, click here. To peek at her Carnivale photograph in this month's Lucky Magazine, click here.

art wall fix from sweet jessie

There's really nothing I don't like about this themed display, I adore vintage paintings of sailboats, they are so charming and easy on the eyes. I have ...um, four? maybe five in my own home and didn't pay a dime over $20 for any of them. The ones pictured here are paint-by-numbers. Add the four newer pieces to the mix and you have a recipe for perfection. They make the wall more current and add a splash of unexpected color with the yellow and pink. The artists/sources are mapped out here.

This wall belongs to the uber-talented Jessie of the Sweet Jessie shop and blog. She is a Chicago-area graphic designer and gifted seamstress. Her shop stocks vintage and handmade items for the home and her blog is home to inspiration, clever ideas and lovely photography.

art wall fix from pilgrim lee of draw pilgrim

I don't know a ton about Pilgrim Lee of Draw Pilgrim, but what I do know fits perfectly in with the image above. Three words I'd use to describe her: retro, colorful and fun! Pilgrim is a graphic artist who hails from Melbourne, Australia. Her bedroom art wall is a mix of vintage and newer pieces, along with some fun objects. I just love those teal swallows. Nice work!

Image: Pilgrim Lee

art wall fix from Jan dicintio of daisy janie

Although I don't possess this quality myself, extreme attention to detail is a trait I find admirable in others. Take this project from Jan DiCintio of Daisy Janie, for example. When planning her arrangement, Jan made a "map" of sorts by converting all of her frame sizes into proportional pieces in Illustrator, then played with them until the group looked pleasing to her eye. She even color-coded the dark vs. light frames--genius. If you're not handy with design software, Jan suggests doing this by-hand using graph paper and scaled cut-outs.

Do check out Jan's full post for more tips on how she pulled off this lovely gallery wall.

(Images: Jan DiCintio)

art wall fix from meg blocker of queenie takes manhattan

Meg Blocker is Queenie of Queenie Takes Manhattan. Meg authors a blog about cooking and eating locally, traveling, and other design-y lifestyle-ish things. She's a regular Martha Steward, just toned down a couple dozen notches.

This image is so inviting, it makes want to befriend Meg and ask myself over for coffee and cookies (homemade of course). Meg used mostly West Elm frames in her art wall, with a few thrown in from A.I. Friedman. I spy a few great Etsy purchases there. The two pillows on the left are also from West Elm and furry one was brought back from New Zealand. Nice work, Meg. When can we schedule that get-together? I'll bring the magazines!

my art wall completed (part 2 of 2)

Okay, the title of this post is a little misleading. When I wrote part 1 of 2 I had planned on hanging an art wall in the dining room using pieces from my unhung collection but I couldn't ever get the perfect combination for the space. It just wasn't working, these things happen, you know? Instead, I chose to hang/arrange the leftover pieces more sparingly, with a sweet little cluster in the bedroom, and the piece from Leigh Wells in the kitchen. Everything else is going back to the basement to await my next need for change (burst of energy).

In the bedroom: Knot Love Gocco Print (mine), Vintage Brooches (Girl Hula), Sheep Photo (Sharon Montrose), I Know print (Michele Maule)

my art wall completed (part 1 of 2)

Hooray! Part 1 (the entryway) is done for the most part. I'm thinking I might need to tighten up the right hand side a bit and push the letter box and polaroid up. I also think I need to add one more skeleton key but it's a good start for now. It would be nice to be greeted by this little cluster each time I entered my home. Too bad I almost always come in through the basement/garage. Not much to look at there besides a pile of laundry. Maybe I should change that. Some day.

If you missed the source list, see this post from Monday. I also added in the mummy cloth my dad brought back from Egypt in 1979--it's right there next to the horseshoe.

an art wall in the making (real not virtual)

We had a little construction done in our home this winter which forced us to strip a few walls bare, patch holes and re-paint. I'm taking it as an opportunity to put up 2 new art walls--one in the entryway and one in the dining room. I have a mini-collection of things to disperse between the two areas. Now the fun part..planning and hanging.

Pieces are as follows:

1) Vintage painting from purchased somewhere in Chicago between 1998 and 2004.

2) Wedding pic of me and the hubs.

3) Vintage feather plate from Atomic Interiors in Madison, Wisconsin.

4) Michele Maule print I got as a bonus when I ordered #15 (in a thrifted frame).

5) Letter box from Architectural Artifacts in Chicago.

6) Gocco prints on an old letter by The Littlest Flower.

7) Leigh Wells Gocco print "where I sit" on page.

8) Nydam press's skeleton key lino block print.

9) Old horseshoe. Not sure from where.

10) Skeleton keys from Architectural Artifacts in Chicago.

11) Polaroid transfer I made from a slide of me and my sisters with my mom circa 1975.

12) Michele Maule original collage/painting.

13) Metal "S" from from Architectural Artifacts in Chicago.

14) Paintings, Jeremy Kirchgraber (sorry can't find a link for him).

15) Michele Maule Gocco/Screenprint titled "Seven Wishes"

16) Christoper Jagmin odd number plate set.

Geeze, can you tell I like Michele Maule? I guess I only purchased 2 of the 3 but still. Love her. Stay tuned for the results later this week.

art wall fix from nestled in

Today's art wall fix is from Katja of Nestled In who, together with her partner Minna, catalogs the transformations of their home in Oulu, Finland.

As you can imagine, the images from their home are simple, clean and modern. Surfaces such as counters and dresser tops are curated, not cluttered and there is evidence of thoughtfulness everywhere. The frames in their hallway art wall are a mix of different colors and styles, but the pieces themselves are similar in their current look and mood and everything works together wonderfully.

For a closer look at their lovely home, visit their blog, Nestled In, or their Flickr stream.

art wall fix from janick of neawear

Everything Janick of Neawear does turns to gold. She makes beautiful jewelry and textiles, takes amazing photos, and it looks like display is another talent she can add to the list. I've been coveting this little pink poppy piece forever. When is the next gift-giving holiday?

Thanks for the images, Janick.