DIY Wall Art: Personal Picture Displays

In my previous Rehab post, I gave you a sneak peek at some DIY wall art as displayed in Kiley’s kitchen.

This photo was taken by moi down at the Hoboken waterfront.  (This was even before I had my Canon Rebel and took my photo classes – this image is from a point and shoot, with the image turned black and white.)  Kiley stole used my image to order a print-to-canvas piece online. Print-to-canvas has gotten pretty popular so you can get them pretty cheap on Groupon or even order from stores like Walmart (just be conscious of the size).

But originally, this photo was taken for my apartment (obviously).  I wanted some art that reflected my town, and Hoboken art is harder to come by than the overused NYC skyline posters.  So I took this picture, converted it into black and white, added a border and some text, and created my own poster.

Vistaprint had the cheapest printing for a full-sized poster. The frame came from Target ($30) so I ended up with an affordable, custom, personalized wall art for my kitchen that I can tell visitors is truly my own art!

And because I have an obsession with photography, I also took some of my photos and displayed them in my living room.  I can’t tell you how many pictures I have of my travels that end up going nowhere other than the “My Pictures” folder on my computer.  (You would typically print and frame the picture of yourself in front of the Eiffel Tower … but what about those 20 pictures you took of JUST the Eiffel Tower?)

So rather than purchase other people’s overpriced art, I made my own, utilizing sentimental photos from my travels.  The best part – no Photoshop required! I found my favorite photos and used a simple iPhoto filter called “Antique” which fades the colors to look a little aged, but without removing all of the color like in sepia tone.

On the wall above my couch, I arranged all vertically aligned photos, like the above.  On the opposite wall, I lined up all of the horizontal pictures.  

Simple frames from Walmart and Ikea mounted the images.  Now I can look at them and remember my amazing vacations and study abroad trips.

And of course, the best part is to take the credit when people ask about them. 🙂