AFFORDABLE ART

I frame a lot of random stuff in my house, so I thought I'd share a few ideas for framed affordable art beyond the usual Etsy prints. I think when you don't have a big budget for art, it makes you think a lot harder about the things you do put on your walls, and ultimately makes your home feel more personal. What kind of things do you have in your home?

Beautifully made letterpress or premium print greeting cards usually have the quality finish of an art print for around £5. Obviously they're much smaller, but I like grouping them together or even framing one in a large frame with a small aperture in the centre, which gives an expensive illusion and creates a nice, clean focal point. Aren't these queen illustrations from Rifle Paper Co absolutely beautiful! Try Liberty and Anthropologie for unique cards.

I have a couple of tea towels that I'm planning to get framed - they're perfect for the kitchen and you can often find limited edition versions by artists, like this Russian doll one, at places like The Calm Gallery. I recently bought this yellow heart which I LOVE - it's by Rachel Castle, an Australian artist I completely adore. Her felt art always sells out instantly so I was stalking her site and found this tea towel; I paid rather a lot for it, but it is handprinted and hand-embroidered with its limited edition number so is a piece of art in itself. Also, this one is lol. 

I saw this framed paper bag in a Selby house tour 4 years ago (FOUR YEARS, people. Can we take a moment to appreciate the 40 minutes I spent trawling the archives to dig out this picture). I love the idea of just framing random shit - in fact after I saw this, I framed a gorgeous black and gold carrier bag I had in one of Habitat's floating frames. This would work so well with ticket stubs or book covers and instantly gives childrens' art a luxe gallery feel. 

Charlotte Trounce does the most fun illustrations, but doesn't sell many prints so I ordered this fun wrapping paper from Wrap. The graphic colours are really striking next to each other and I've been noticing lots of too pretty to use wrapping paper in places like Paperchase. 

A note on frames: my favourite places to buy standard-size frames is IKEA because they're just so darn cheap, but hardware stores like Homebase and B&Q have good solutions and you can easily pick up art at charity shops and repurpose the frame (though I definitely feel like throwing away art is bad karma). 

I've also been wanting to try making my own abstract art for years - I love this post by Oh Happy Day. In fact, I e-mailed her to ask if she'd be willing to sell them to me as I just don't think I have an abstract bone in my body. I didn't hear back. Boo.