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Our First Big Art Purchase

That’s what Clara said when she woke up and saw our freshly hung real art in the kitchen. It was cute. And we laughed. And then she squealed “She’s swimming! Look, fishies!” which are most definitely not in there, but the girl has quite an imagination. So hooray for imaginary fishies.

KitchArt Close Angle

I described this gal as “real art” because it’s actually our first big art purchase ever. It’s a large print of an original oil painting by an amazing Etsy artist that we just couldn’t get out of our mind. And at $195 it was definitely a splurge for folks like us who usually frame free art that we make ourselves or hunt thrift stores and garage sales for cheapo options, but we figure that we’ve done a lot of things to save a really significant amount of money on our kitchen (like reusing our cabinets/sink/faucet, getting pendant lights from an outlet and a range hood on craigslist, reselling things like our old granite and over-the-range microwave on craigslist, building our own fridge surround/hood cover/open shelving, getting on-sale tile and clearanced out cork and installing it ourselves, buying inexpensive lab stools from a school supply shop, etc).

KitchArt 2 Samantha French

So yeah, it took a bit of rationalizing with ourselves and saying “dude, you have saved money in so many other places, and you love this art and don’t have any real art in the entire house yet- just take the plunge already!” So we did. And it feels good. In the words of Katy Perry: No regrets. Just love.

Kitch Art Full Room

So yes, we’re calling it our V-day gift to each other (and our beloved kitchen). And it was icing on the cake when Clara got excited about it too. Burger has yet to react but we’ll keep you posted.

Doesn’t our lady swimming with imaginary fish look especially cheerful with two pink tulips leftover from book shoots (yup, those are still going on – they wrap this Friday and today we’re actually shooting cover stuff – ahhhhhh). As for framing our lady, I’m sure one day we’ll man up and pay to have her professionally framed (they always seem to have those 50% coupons at Michael’s) but sometimes it’s a better balance for us when we spend in one area and then work a bit harder to save in another. So for now we have framed it really inexpensively ourselves, just by getting a simple black frame for $21 at Target and a $4 sheet of archival-quality mat-board at Michael’s (they sell it in their framing department for anyone else who wants to try DIYing it).

KitchArt 1 Frame And Mat

This entire framing job was just $25 (for a 31″ x 25″ finished piece!) thanks to already having some white Rustoleum Universal spray paint (the kind with the built-in primer). Yup, I’m completely predictable. You know I spray painted the heck outta that frame (after removing the pane and the backing and laying it out on a piece of cardboard outside). Then I just cut down the archival mat-board to fit the frame and placed the print centered in front of it.

KitchArt Straight At Fridge

So unlike a pro framing job, this mat isn’t a cut-out window that you look through to view the print – the print just floats right in front of it in the middle, with an equal amount of mat around it to beef it up and fit the frame. The luckiest accident of the whole thing is that the mat-board has subtle gray undertones while the print and the frame are bright-bright-bright white. It actually makes for a nice balance since the soft gray-ish coloring in the mat relates to other softly-gray things in the room (the penny tile, the appliances, etc) and the bright white of the print and the freshly sprayed frame ties into the glossy white molding/trim, our counters, and the dishware on the open shelves.

KitchArt Angled

We love that our print (on archival paper with an archival mat, no less) can always be upgraded with a proper frame down the line, but for now it slips right into the room. And it’s refreshing. Like a big ol’ glass of lemonade. Or a dip in the pool. This is actually how we frame a ton of stuff (like all of the things in our hallway of frames, for example) so although it’s not the fancy way, it works for us. Art is definitely one of those highly personal things though, so this method might be heresy for some folks out there! Just do whatever works for you and your house and cover your walls with stuff that makes you smile.

KitchArt Radio Focused

We have to admit that real art is definitely addictive. Our little swimmer lady confirms that sometimes a wall splurge can make you pretty dang giddy. So we’re definitely hoping that the occurrence of saving up for art that we love isn’t just a one time thing! What have you guys been framing lately? Do you have a favorite framing method? Do your children see imaginary fish? Let’s talk.

Comments

  1. Tara Jane says

    You two DIYers should totally buy a mat cutter, it is rather simple to cut your own professional mats. Also, the conservator in me is saying that a print should not be touching the glass of the frame. (Ink will sometimes adhere to the glass). You could put little strips of board around the edges of your current mat behind the edge of the frame to hold the print and current mat back from the surface glass. Love the print, it is a beauty.

    Reply

  3. Melissa says

    Gorgeous! love the painting. I have found that local framing places give a better deal than Michael’s 99% of the time. You can price it at Michael’s and then go local and get a better deal. Also, the local places will usually negotiate with you.

    Reply

  4. Adam says

    Love the print! Works great in that space and with the room’s colors

    If you don’t mind dropping the $100ish for the tools mat cutting is actually not that difficult. My wife got me a set (comes w/ a bevel cutter & guide for it to slide on and to hold the matting) from Michaels and while the product may not look quite as polished as what they do it can be hard to tell, especially after you cut a mat or two (I cut one for a 20×30 print and it’s not too shabby). The only thing that doesn’t come with it that I find handy is an X-acto knife.

    Reply

  6. Erin says

    Hi guys, your kitchen looks amazing and I absolutely love that piece of art :). This is completely off topic but was wondering what program you used to do your 52 week picture project of Clara. My sister has been taking weekly pics of her 14 week old because she loved it so much! Thanks in advance!

    Reply

  10. Sue says

    I love your art work, but think it is important to put spacers in the frame to keep the glass off the print. Condensation could cause the print to stick to the glass. There is a lot of moisture in a kitchen.

    Reply

  12. Ashley says

    I am with Clara on this one… I thought the orange in the painting were little Nemo fishies at first;)!! Love the artwork!!

    Reply

  13. Elise says

    That looks great in your kitchen! I have the same print (in a white frame similar to yours) hanging in my navy blue powder room, so it was cool to see how you displayed yours! Don’t you love the work of Samantha French? The colors she uses are amazing. I bought one of her prints a couple years ago and haven’t been able to stop collecting more. Her paintings are just so happy!

    Reply

  14. operaglass says

    Oh wow, that really makes the room for me. What a great choice.

    May I ask where you purchased your chopping block? It’s gorg.

    Reply

  15. JennyB says

    Love, love, love the art! And the framing job looks pretty darn professional to me! It’s perfect.

    We went to Italy on our honeymoon and while hiking the towns in the Cinque Terre, we stopped in a small studio of a British artist who had set up shop in Vernazza. We fell in love with her paintings and bought 2 prints. Not REAL art but it was what we could afford..just going to Italy was a major stretch for us!! Even though they are not real paintings, I smile every time I walk past them. Art is what makes your heart sing. Our prints aren’t on her site but the last two on this page remind me of what we have.
    http://splashnflow.com/cinqueterre.html

    Reply

  16. Jill Matthews says

    Wow, love the new artwork…bright and fresh! The new kitchen in incredible, too, particularly since you are blogging, writing a book, remodeling the kitchen, caring for a baby and a doggie, all at once! :o).

    Reply

  17. Amy C says

    Beautiful. Looks like a photograph. She’s so talented.

    On our honeymoon, we bought two abstract canvasses off the street in Paris, rolled them up and carried them for the next two weeks. Total $50. Then we splurged on having them stretched and placed in floating frames at Michael’s. We def used those 60% coupons but it still costs SO much when you want modern frames… not the golden glitzy ones!
    Such a nice feeling to have unique one-of-a-kind art in your home. :)

    Reply

  19. Stacy says

    I too mostly do the art on top of a mat style of framing. Though for me it’s 90% laziness and 10% I lost my mat cutter. However, I just traditionally matted a piece I drew in college (that I still, 15 years later regard as one of the best pieces I’ve ever done) and WHOA NELLY just having that little dimensional edge REALLY made a huge difference. It makes things pop in a way I can’t even really explain and it very subtly makes the piece feel high end. I still went with the cheapo frame though. :)

    That being said, I really love the art you picked out. It’s lovely and bold.

    Reply

  20. Shauna says

    Looks so great! Such a perfect bright, cheerful piece for your happy kitchen!
    Have you guys thought about getting a mat cutter? I’ve been using the Logan Intermediate mat cutter for years & I love it. It’s under $200 & you’ll make that money back in just a few uses compared to what you would pay to have done at Michael’s or wherever. Not that there’s anything wrong with how you framed yours, I do that sometimes too. Just throwing the idea out there since you mentioned having it professionally framed one day.
    Again…love your art choice! :)

    Reply

  21. Emily says

    Love the art. I’m no expert, but I believe the benefit of matting is to protect the print if condensation develops on the inner surface of the glass. It’s probably not a big deal in the short-term, but I invested in a basic mat cutter and straightedge from the local art store (around $50 all together) and have been cutting my own pretty successfully. (I still buy cheap frames and spray paint them, though….)

    If you are ever in the market for more affordable “real art!”, 20×200.com and tinyshowcase.com are terrific sources for original limited-edition prints.

    Reply

  22. LAWallner says

    Love it. You just inspired me. I can’t afford fancy grown-up art at the moment– but this painting reminded me a bit of a cool photo I’ve got of my husband underwater. I’m going to try and photoshop it up today and make it look all artsy. The colors would look awesome on the wall. Thanks for giving me another idea to steal!

    Reply

  23. JW says

    Thanks for the post! You just inspired me to finally purchase a print I “favorited” on Etsy back around Thanksgiving. It’s my belated birthday present to myself and now I can’t wait for it to arrive!! :D

    Reply

  24. gk says

    love the print! will have to check out the artist on etsy. and i think clara’s on to something – the orange reflections in the water totally look like fishes.

    as for framing – like other people mentioned above, i’ve had good luck with local framing shops. if anybody’s in dc, frame of mine on barracks row is pretty good – they’ll even let you “diy” your frame – they cut the glass, mat(s), and the frame and will let you save some labor costs by putting it together yourself (don’t worry – they’ll show you how to do it!). online, i like americanframe.com for custom framing, esp if it’s not important to you to choose a special (pricey) frame. you can’t go wrong w/ their standard metal frames and the service is good.

    Reply

  25. Momcat says

    I see fish too, Clara.

    This reminds me of a photo print we have hanging in our son’s bathroom, of my husband & I snorkeling underwater in Mexico. We’re surrounded by fish & wearing those crazy snorkel masks! When we hung it up, he didn’t get (at first) that it was the two of us. Then one day he *saw* us for the first time, and his reaction was pretty close to Clara’s — “That’s YOU!”

    I just love your style. When you’re done with the book and Clara’s in elem school, lemme know. I want to hire you!!

    Reply

  28. stacia says

    Love the artwork. And being an artist and DIYer myself, I think your priorities are totally correct. “real” art brings a sense of pride to the space. My only small critique is the choice of frame color for it. Live with the white for awhile, But I think the artwork and that wall might benefit from a re-think. Maybe a middle grey or even light grey. It would compliment the piece a bit more. Right now the print is “swimming” in a sea of white, needs a little more anchor.

    Reply

  33. Sarah M says

    Hey guys – I LOVE that print – and I know I’ve seen it before and loved it then as well (It’s a series, yes?). It works beautifully with the kitchen and I just love what you guys are doing. We’re starting our own kitchen refurb in the spring and you are giving us SO many ideas!
    Love from Sunny Scotland.

    Sarah x

    Reply

  34. Brooke says

    I think it’s a really beautiful print and I think $195 is actually a great price! You should feel really good about your purchase. And you’re absolutley right, you’ve saved SO much money in other areas of your kitchen, it’s time to splurge and reward yourself for all of your hard work! I mean, I get tired just thinking about having redo the flooring in there! :) You guys must have a TON of energy and/or coffee!

    Reply

  35. miriam says

    I had a bunch of oddly-sized posters from rock concerts and art galleries, but not a lot of money for custom framing. So I bought a bunch of the cheapo 18×24 poster frames from Target (I think they were $10 each?), painted the cardboard backing a great moody teal, and framed the posters right on top of the painted cardboard. Now that I’m making a little more, though, I’m going to look into proper frames with custom-cut mats! Sounds like it’ll really take my posters from “fine” to fiiiine.

    Reply

  36. Traci says

    In my home, you will likely see a name brand table I got for $6 at a garage sale, with a piece of art sitting on top that cost more than my house payment.

    I will penny-pinch, DIY, and haggle ’til the cows come home on almost everything. I will shop ’til I drop to get something for a bargain for my home! But when it comes to original art, that’s where I will let go of the purse strings and splurge, and somehow, I never feel guilty about it the way I do when I spend too much on a piece of furniture. Being an artist, myself, I have on occasion duplicated something I liked with some success, but it never feels as good to me as having the original.

    Reply

  40. Christina says

    I love the art, the underwater view makes me want to relax into summer mode. I was wonder if you could impart some of your spray-painting wisdom my way …. I have a some small frames I want to spray paint white. I just need a warm day!! Do I need to use a primer on the frames?

    I’m learning so much about framing from the comments. Thanks for sharing all the knowledge!:)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I like to use the kind by Rustoleum with built-in primer! It does it all in one. Just go thin thin thin and even so you don’t get drips. Mist it really, and keep your hand moving the whole time!

      xo,
      s

  41. Sara says

    I love it! My mother has a Matisse print in her bedroom and my Claire runs in there every time we visit to say hi to the lady. So I could relate to this post!

    Reply

  42. Giulia says

    Ohhhh, I love Samantha French. I got a print for Christmas and absolutely love it…the colours are amazing! Now, maybe one day we can save for a real oil painting ;)

    Reply

  43. Bethany says

    I think Rustoleum owes you some royalties for as much as you use them! I am crazy about contrast so your kitchen remake has me ooohing and aaahing on an almost daily basis. May need to go home and search for some things around the house to spray paint tonight. :)

    Reply

  44. Valerie says

    Looks great! A few years ago I decided to buy a small mat-cutting kit, and it turned out to be a great investment! I’ve cut all kinds of mats for gift items, oddly-sized items, or to get a unique mat color. I have the Logan Graphics 525 Mat Cutting Kit, which is about $50 on Amazon, but it has definitely saved me more than that over time. It’s especially nice for smaller projects and comes with several pieces of different-color mats for practice or to use in small frames.

    I do love the tip about taking the mat board to the framing shop for cuts, though, and for a larger piece like yours, that’s probably the better option (no wrestling of large mat board).

    Reply

  46. Laura says

    That spot is perfect for it! Its an absolutely gorgeous pop colour (the orange hues on it really stand out against the wall colour), and great print! Now that you are decorating the walls more, have you found yourselves being more critical of the painted paneling? I could imagine the lines between the panels giving the illusion of things not being centered.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      For some strange reason we don’t mind the painted paneling at all! It gives nice vertical texture. I think it just feels cozy (maybe because our favorite room in our first house was the den which had painted paneling too?).

      xo,
      s

  47. Ann Simmons says

    I often visit a small coffee shop in Nisswa, MN and admire some of Samantha French’s paintings. I believe either mother or someone in her family owns the coffee shop but I love to see her paintings. You made a great art purchase!

    Reply

  48. Kay says

    Great Addition to a Beautiful Kitchen! Just wondering if you could elaborate on the info in the post “So unlike a pro framing job, this mat isn’t a cut-out window that you look through to view the print – the print just floats right in front of it in the middle, with an equal amount of mat around it to beef it up and fit the frame.” because I’m just not tracking you on this and I’d love to learn more.

    Reply

  49. James Olsen says

    My wife and I went on a Cruise for our Honeymoon this past fall, and ended up going to their art auctions…Holy heck did we learn a lot, and came back $600 lighter in the pocket but it was absolutely worth it for the memories

    Reply

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