How to do big pictures over the bed

September 20th, 2012 | Posted by ideaqueen in Decorating Tips - (Comments Off)

A room for two by Catlin Creer Interiors

 

girls bedroom with big pictures over the bed

Girls Room by Daffodil Design

I’m not sure I’d call it a hot design trend, exactly, but I’m seeing big photographs used to personalize kids bedrooms. Especially when there’s a shared space and the pictures can be used to designate individual spaces.

The girls’ bedroom in the picture above is a perfect example of this, where the sisters each have their own bed as shown by the large photographs hanging over each. The pictures are dramatic reminders of the time when they were still your little girls. Go with fabulous color shots like in the picture above or black and whites like in the picture to the right. (I loved the added touch of the chevron backgrounds behind their heads in the images.)

So how to get such great art? The biggest part is making sure you start with a great picture – not just the image, but the quality of the file you use. Any flaws will be magnified as it gets bigger and if you don’t start with a big enough image file, it will be rather pixelated when you print.

The next choice you need to make is what media you want. Do you want a simple paper poster? A photographic print? A canvas? Your choice will impact the final look, but if you put it in a frame, this is probably a decision that could be driven by cost alone. Less expensive options like paper mean you can invest in an even bigger image and frame, as well as change it out as your girl grows without feeling much guilt.

Here are a few places online where you can easily produce your large photograph. Or you could try taking it down to a local copy place to have them print it out for you. (Don’t count on that being the cheapest option, but it might be the most flexible for you.)

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission, probably enough to get a stick of gum. I generally only recommend products or services on this blog that I would use personally and believe you will find cool as well. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Inexpensive artwork from an old calendar

August 7th, 2012 | Posted by ideaqueen in DYI Bedroom Ideas - (Comments Off)

Cinderella Exclusive Barbie PrintFashion Shelby 50th Anniversary Barbie PrintLimited Edition Vintage Veronica Barbie Print

Barbie is so glamorous, isn’t she? Especially in these gorgeous fashion art prints.

And wouldn’t you know it? The price is pretty glamorous too!

These exclusive, limited edition prints come in two different framed options – silver at $150 and with a mat at $135 – or unframed for $99, all from PoshTots. And you can choose from Barbie in all sorts of couture from evening gown to daywear.

Barbie 2012 mini calendar cover - pink Cinderella dressBut for the price of just one of those, you could have an entire collection, easy peasy. That’s because the 2012 and 2013 versions of Barbie calendars are using this exact same artwork! Just rip up a calendar, frame in the images and you can have a similar look for way less. In fact, you can be pretty flexible in how use use them since you’ll only have invested a few dollars. Decoupage them on furniture, cut them into different shapes – it’s all up to you.

Barbie 2012 mini calendar - all imagesThe 2012 mini wall calendar pictured to the right includes the dresses in the images above, plus others (some in the image here to the left). They come in at 7″x7″; not a standard frame size, so expect to get creative on how you display them. The 2013 Barbie wall calendar is using the exact same images, so you can get them in a larger, almost 12″ square size now as well. Those would be more dramatic and possibly easier to find frames for.

Barbie 2012 mini calendar - January - black evening gown
You can see the mini calendar uses the Veronica print with Barbie in the elegant black evening gown for January. With nothing but the dress image as the top part of the month, it’s easy to use it as art. Best way to go about it would be to remove the staples from the entire calendar, then use a straight edge to cut the bottom edge of the image. This gives you the best possible piece of paper for framing.

I did find some interesting frames in sizes like 8″x8″ and 12″x12″. Both would call for at least a small mat. Floating glass frames are also a good option if you can find the right shape. I found a set of 12 glass and metal clip frames in the 8″ square size, so you could do the entire year.

(You can score the 2012 calendar over at Calendars.com for a great price while they last!)

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission, probably enough to get a stick of gum. I generally only recommend products or services on this blog that I would use personally and believe you will find cool as well. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Modern art with the ancient crocodile

April 5th, 2012 | Posted by ideaqueen in Kids Bedroom Ideas - (Comments Off)

Love this print!! It’s the Croco King and it’s part of a series of royal safari animals. Only this time, the croc, giraffe and others get to wear the crown. These prints are definitely modern and not too child-like, making them a great choice for a safari nursery because your child can grow with them over the years.

One of the cool things is how customizable this is. The croc print comes in aqua, emerald, sage (shown in picture) and turquoise and you can include any name up to 25 letters. Or a saying or whatever you like up to 25 characters.

The print is on recycled heavyweight linen textured paper with archival inks for durability and resistance and shown inside IKEA’s popular Ribba frame. The whole thing is just 15.75″ x 11.75″.

Croco King Print
$37.00 at Wayfair

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission, probably enough to get a stick of gum. I generally only recommend products or services on this blog that I would use personally and believe you will find cool as well. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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When I grow up – Art that works for several kids bedroom themes

October 5th, 2011 | Posted by ideaqueen in Kids Bedroom Ideas - (1 Comments)

I run across a lot of cool art as I poke around looking for kids bedroom ideas. I do include pieces at times, although the prices are probably more than most parents would want to spend on one thing for a child’s bedroom.

But I recently saw these great stretched canvas wall pieces by Rachel Taylor from Oopsy Daisy called When I Grow Up. There’s one for boys featuring a construction worker, surgeon, cowboy, fireman and astronaut. The pink polka dotted design for girls features a baker, ballerina, musician, archeologist and Olympic athlete.

They’re sized at 28 inches wide by 14 inches tall, and I found them for around $110 each at Amazon.
when i grow up boys wall art when i grow up girls wall art

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission, probably enough to get a stick of gum. I generally only recommend products or services on this blog that I would use personally and believe you will find cool as well. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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But I’m not artistic …

January 1st, 2011 | Posted by ideaqueen in Decorating Tips - (Comments Off)

I used to get this all the time back when I was running my painting business. People I knew were perfectly creative, capable and clever just started to freak out at the idea of drawing on the walls. (Hang over from childhood? Hmmm.)

No matter how artistic or creative or designer-y you feel, you can make great art happen in your child’s room. Here’s how:

1) Let others do the art. Professional designers did the graphics that cover the bedspread, adorn the rugs and make up the posters. They did all the work for you already! Keep the things you have to do yourself plain and let their artwork spice things up for you.

2) Let a professional do it. If you really, really, really, really want that mural of Pooh’s tree in The Hundred Acre Wood but are feeling really, really, really, really uncertain of your ability to make it happen, there are people for that. Like I used to be (and I did paint Pooh’s tree in a child’s room once). Start with your local paint store; they often have business cards for mural painters. For people who specialize in children’s rooms, look on boards at child-specific locations like gyms, resale shops and libraries.

3) Redefine artistic. A lot of the things I created were no more complicated than coloring in a coloring book. (In fact, there were times I would draw, then have other people – non-artists – paint.) The trick is to pick simple drawings, color them in, then draw the lines on afterward with a paint pen. Easy to stay in the lines if you draw them last!

A second way to redefine it is to let your child help. While they might quickly outgrown the kind of pictures they can draw, it will be fun for you together to create a picture for the wall. Make it temporary by painting canvases or paper that you can affix to the wall and take down later.

Artistic is all in the mind! You can do this!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission, probably enough to get a stick of gum. I generally only recommend products or services on this blog that I would use personally and believe you will find cool as well. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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