Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

| By | | 181 Comments

22 Free Holiday Art Ideas

I warned you that I was really excited to go all out for our first “real” Christmas in our new house, so it’s no surprise that I got giddy and decided to tackle an unexpected-ish space for holiday-ifaction. Was that enough hyphenated-not-real words for you? Anyway that space = the hallway. I actually switched out 22 frames (almost two dozen!) in our little hallway frame collection to make things a bit more festive. And it was free. Yeee-haw. Over the top? Maybe. But it makes us smile and was zero dollars. Holla. Let’s get on with the tour…

When you look at the hallway from a distance, the change isn’t overly obvious, which we like (one of our favorite things about the frame wall in general is that it draws people in, so you have to get closer to see what each item is really about). But if you get a little closer you start to pick up on some of the things that we switched out (you can see most of the original frame wall art here)…

Hallway 2

… like how the paint deck that used to hang on the pig hook was swapped with a little yarn owl ornament that I snagged on clearance after the holidays last year at Target (to the tune of 25 cents).

I also popped two old snowflake ornaments into those two shadow box frames on the left. And that clear tree in the frame on the right is a page from Martha Stewart magazine (framing pages from mags, catalogs, or calendars for your own personal enjoyment is totally fine – you just can’t profit off of those images, for example: trying to sell them as your own designs on etsy).

Hallway 3

If you scoot a little further to the right of the wall, you’ll see a few other frames that we tweaked with new holiday-ish stuff.

Hallway4.5

The frame with the glitter ornaments and green trees is actually a Martha Stewart ad for her glitter line (also torn out of her magazine). And the blue star made up of ornaments to the right of that is a page from a West Elm catalog.

Hallway 4

Beneath the glitter ad we have a page from Pottery Barn with some festive shakers and the frame right above our console table has some West Elm plates that say Cheers, Joy, and Peace (all good holiday reminders).

Hallway 5

Here’s a close up of the West Elm page full of ornamets in the shape of a star. It’s my favorite:

Hallway 6

I also framed a few more West Elm pages, like this collection of holiday mugs and ornaments (backed with a piece of green paper that we already had) and this page full of numbered and lettered plates…

Hallway 7

… including a plate that says “Cookies for Santa.” Oh and don’t mind that carbon monoxide detector above (I’ve been meaning to stick it somewhere a bit less noticeable).

Hallway 8

These are the frames with plexiglass and heavy duty velcro to keep them safe for Clara since they’re down at her level (more on that here). And since she loves Santa (more on that here) I figured she’d like the Santa cookies plate down where she could admire it. The verdict in her words: “I love you, Santa!” And when she walks by it, sometimes we hear her mumble “buh-bye Santa.” So sweet.

Here’s the rest of that wall from afar. See, not too obvious… until you get closer…

Hallway 9

… and notice things like two big jingle bells that I hung in a backwards canvas (I love the raw wood frame that’s usually hidden when it’s facing the “right” way). As for how I hung the canvas backwards (which I did back when we originally hung all of these frames), I just hammered one of these little metal tooth-hook things for hanging pictures (from Michael’s) into the front (now back) of the frame so I could hang it over a nail. There’s also a photo of stacked firewood with some holiday pillows piled on top from a Pottery Barn catalog.

Hallway 10

Now let’s move over to the other side of the wall. Here we have a bunch of holiday swaps going on.

Hallway12

Like the piece of cardstock that I printed with the words “Happy holidays, y’all!” with some red hearts above and below it, and a swatch of red wrapping paper that I stuck behind an already-framed peacock feather. I also slipped two small silver ornaments into a shadow box (which already had a calendar with our anniversary circled inside of it) and added another little 25 cent yarn ornament (this time it’s a bunny) above it.

Hallway13

In the bottom right of that arrangement I also worked in a page from West Elm full of graphic numbered ornaments with fun shapes that Clara likes on them (like a swan and a goose). She points and says “honk honk!” (every kid should have a reason to practice their goose impression, right?).

Hallway14

Here’s the other side of that wall with six more frame switches.

Hallway15

Like a Banana Republic ad (with a sweet pooch wearing a bow tie sitting under some mistletoe) and a funny Christmas sweater ornament that I taped into another backwards canvas. On the right we have a felt ornament from Target last year (which almost looks like an ornate paper cut-out when it’s framed).

Hallway16

I also made another little texty design that I printed out onto card stock (this one says “Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas”) and under that is an illustration of holiday cookies from Woman’s Day magazine  (donated by John’s mom after I spotted it and asked if I could have the mag after she was done).

Hallway17

And in the top left shadow box I stuck more silver ornaments with some leftover wrapping paper as the background.

Hallway18

So there you have 22 quick frame switches, all of which can easily be changed back to their pre-holiday look once January rolls around. I kept all of the original art behind the new additions in each frame, so I can just put it back in front of the holiday stuff (which’ll live behind it until next Christmas when it moves forward again). Oh and for anyone wondering where we got the frames, they’re all from Ikea, Target (on clearance), or thrift stores. We just saved them up over time and actually had many of them when we moved here (they used to hang randomly in nearly every room at our first house, so we thought it would be fun to hang them en masse in our hallway instead of spreading them out again here).

Man, there’s something so satisfying about some free holiday festive-ness, especially in an often overlooked space like a hallway. Did you guys decorate any unexpected areas like a bathroom or a laundry room or a sunroom? Heck, even little trees on bedroom windowsills can be really cute. Oh yeah and on the subject of better-late-than-never holiday stuff, I spent some time making a page full of all of our seasonal/holiday projects & ideas that can easily be perused by picture. So you’ll hopefully have fun sniffing around for some last minute ideas.

Holiday Page

You can click here to see it all and can also access it at any time by clicking the “Holiday Ideas” button on our sidebar.

Holiday Ideas Page

Ho ho hope it helps!

Psst- We picked a winner for this week’s giveaway. Click here to see if it’s you.

Update: You can check out all of our favorite holiday decor finds here – many of which are under $15! 

Comments

  1. Jamie says

    OMGee…I totally ripped out that same West Elm Merry & Bright page and stuck it on my bulletin board when I got it!So cheery…makes me happy everytime I look at it =) I stared lovingly at that BR pooch ad also ;) Too funny. We must be on the same catalog “jacking” wavelength. Tee hee. Happy Friday!

    Reply

  4. Karen @bellacarina.com says

    Very cute idea! I love how often you change out your art. Usually with me, once something’s in the frame, it stays there forever! I bought a ton of frames for a gallery wall (whenever I see cheap black frames I grab them), so when we move this spring the new house will definitely get one!

    Reply

  9. Rachael says

    I love the holiday tweaks! i notice you change what art is displayed in your frames pretty often. I buy most of my frames from Ikea, and whenever i try to change things up more than once or twice, those little metal things always break off. Do you have that problem? Any tips? Thanks guys!! xoxo

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, those do seem to break off every new and then. I just try to be gentle with them (pushing them in towards the wood as I bend them if that makes sense (since when you bend them and pull out they can pop out). So far we haven’t had enough break off to make a difference in things being secure in the frame, so I’m not sure what I’ll do if that happens. Hope that helps!

      xo,
      s

  10. LARY says

    Sherry! It’s so funny you used so many West Elm stuff for the frames. I was gonna send you an email… I met Emily Henderson last night at an West Elm grand opening here in L.A, and we were talking about you guys and Katie! And how awesome the Pinterest challenge was… she was super nice and funny! :)
    I saw the plates you framed in the pictures, they are super cute in person. Also saw that piggy speaker of yours, too cute! I’ll send you the link of the post I’ll write next week. Just wanted you to know how cool it was to meet Emily and share with her how cool guys are!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw that’s so much fun! Emily is awesome, so glad you got to meet her! And too funny that it was at a West Elm. My kinda place. Would love to see your post when it’s up too!

      xo,
      s

  12. Lisa in Seattle says

    $herdog, this is deceptively simple and freaking brilliant. I also loved the MS glitter ad. Of all the 1,732 things in your house that make me jealous, the gallery hallway is at the top. It’s so light-filled and airy and roomy! Our hallway is dark and narrow – your bahonkie would brush the opposite wall if you bent over to peer at something in the gloom. Your guests will be so delighted by all the fun new things to find!

    Reply

  13. Heidi P. says

    Simple and festive – awesome.
    I’m putting ornaments in the 1/2 bath and on my little Norfold Island Pine (a super soft, starts out small, indoor plant – one of my favorites).

    Reply

  14. Gina says

    This is so completely random but I thought about this for you guys today. Not sure if you guys have a freecycle community in your area but it is an online group you join to donate and receive unwanted items for free. People give everything from moving boxes to washer and dryers. The whole idea is to not send unwanted items to trash dumps but recycle them for free, hence the name freecycle. Anyhoo, you can check it out on freecycle.org and if you don’t have a group in your area you can start one!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes we have one and love it! We actually blogged about using it a few years ago to give our mattress a second chance after we got a new one! Felt so great to help out folks who were sleeping on the floor!

      xo,
      s

  19. Janine says

    Hello,
    Looks so colourful I love it. I am a long time follower of your blog but this is my first time to leave you a comment. How would I get a copy of the west elm star? I love it. I am in Australia. Merry Christmas to you all.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hmm, maybe check their site to see if you can request a catalog or write to them to see if they’ll send you one (we have heard amazing stories of folks getting things that aren’t usually available in their area by sweetly asking via email). You also could try eBay or amazon.com to see if anyone is selling WE catalogs for cheap overseas. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  20. Jen says

    I think the fact that you get so much free art from magazines is always so smart and I always seem to forget what a perfect option that is! Thank you for the reminder! I especially love the West Elm bulbs as well!!

    Happy holidays to you all!

    xoxo,
    Jen

    Reply

  26. Ikl says

    If my son slept throughthe night since he was practically a week old, I think I would have a diy marathon every night, too. Cute, but tedious…wonder how long theyll stay in the frames after xmas is over…

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, I’m aiming for Valentine’s Day as a must-remove deadline but I’ll keep you posted! I just wanted to do something special for our first real Christmas here, ya know? So tedious was ok. Especially with the TV on while I trimmed and framed the night away!

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Just save the whole sleeping thing for the weekends! You’d be amazed how much spare time that opens up. At least it seems to work for me! Just kidding (she says at 12:40am…). Oh and I also don’t do any holiday baking. So maybe that buys me more “decorating” time? Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • Megan says

      Don’t you guys just love how the last two comments were so backhanded? Like you have all this free time on your hands writing blog posts, authoring a book, writing magazine columns, renovating your kitchen BY YOURSELVES, doing other home related projects and raising a toddler. You work harder than anyone I know (and I don’t even really know you)! So I, for one, really appreciate that you stay up late doing fun (free!) things like this to inspire us.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      No worries Megan, I honestly think it’s natural to believe that full time blogging is an easy gig (haha, more on that here and here) or that everyone else somehow has more time! I pretty much assume all my friends have it more “together” than I do and wish I had time to fit X,Y, and Z in when I hear that they’ve done it. I can totally relate to wishing there were more hours in the day (more on that here).

      xo,
      s

    • Jennifer says

      Sorry, I never intended for my comment to be backhanded in anyway. It was just a dry expression of GENUINE jealousy of having had the time to do it!

      It was just meant in a playful/stirring kind of way.

      I’m sorry if it was misunderstood. I guess with it being written you can’t “hear” the tone I intended it in. All I have to convey that is smiley faces! :-)

      Cheers.

  28. Danielle says

    We did the same switch-a-roo at our house this year, too. I love that it’s not too flashy, and I can’t help but smile every time I walk through the hall.

    Reply

  29. Teresa says

    You guys weren’t kidding when you said you were going all out, huh? What a cute idea… and I love that it was all free. Makes me want to snatch up all the catalogs I get and pull out pics.

    And I also love the holidays link, perfect for the season!

    Reply

  30. Jessica G says

    I absolutely love your switch out!!! Everything looks so beautiful. Understated holiday is the best. I love doing those shadowbox frames; I have done some scrap boxes and they are super fun. So, I wanted to just ask, do you think your little “owl” ornament is a raccoon? My daughter (3yrs) is obsessed with raccoons so I am pretty in tune HAHAHA ;-) Either way, completely adorable score!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha- definitely a possibility! I just got up and stared at him and his tail is definitely a lot more racoon than owl – but those little triangle ears look so owly to me! I think he’s a perfect combination of both. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  31. Sue Erneta says

    I’m a devoted YHL reader (I love the DIYing but it’s your humor and honesty that makes you my favorite) and I’m also the Fashion Editor for Ladies’ Home Journal magazine. You mentioned a picture from “Women’s Home Journal” which I’m pretty sure doesn’t exist. Was it vintage LHJ? Or another womens mag and you just got confused? I must admit I’m a little sad that you don’t how awesome Ladies’ Home Journal has gotten! (I like to say we’re not your Grandma’s magazine anymore!) I’d love to send you a subscription so you can check it out. Please email me directly if I can arrange that. LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog. Thanks for writing it!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s so funny! What a small world! Hmm, it could definitely have been a vintage Ladies Home Journal – although it was the Christmas issue, so I just assumed it was current. And I really remember it being WHJ for some reason. Now it feels like a mystery and I need Sherlock Holmes. Haha. Or I need to call John’s mom and see if she remembers the name to confirm. Haha. And I agree it’s not your grandma’s mag – that’s why I was flipping thought it. Lots of good stuff! And thanks for the offer of a subscription (that’s very kind of you!) but we actually don’t accept free swag (just in the spirit of keeping it real). Now I’m off to call John’s mom to get to the bottom of this…

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Mystery solved! We think it was actually Woman’s Day magazine! Off to update the post. I blame holiday brain! Is that an excuse I can use since baby brain might be a tad expired?

      xo,
      s

  32. Allison says

    Did you mean Ladies Home Journal? http://www.lhj.com/ I also get Woman’s Day and every month they do 3 artsy divider pages that have quotes turned into art. I have some framed! See if you can get your hands on one. They always go with the seasons!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s hilarious! Scroll up a few comments where someone from WHJ said she didn’t recognize it as theirs and asked if it was from a vintage LHJ mag. I ended up calling John’s mom and she said she gets Woman’s Day and WHJ, so if it wasn’t WHJ it must be from Women’s Day!

      xo,
      s

  34. Joe Adelaide says

    being picky again,: Hello in spanish is Hola
    dont know what Holla is unless Im completely missing something! the place looks fabulous!!

    Reply

  35. Chyrstal says

    I love this idea so much. I have asked to make a frame wall either in the new year here in our apartment or when we buy our first house. I can’t wait… I’ve been collecting photos and images for a while.

    I love the star made up of ornaments too.

    Happy Holidays!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I love that you’re saving things up! They’re definitely going to come in handy and make it so much fun to fill those frames once they’re hanging up!

      xo,
      s

  36. Ali says

    Here’s a good one for you… I guess it was from reading this post and you saying that you were hosting people for Christmas this year… I had a dream last night that we were out of our house for Christmas (we are local, but I have no clue why we couldn’t be in our own house in the dream – lol) and we were walking and met you guys on the street. You told us we could stay with you for Christmas, but we all had to sleep in the living room (including you guys. You know, why use the bedrooms when you have a living room!). Clara slept with a baby doll that was about 2 times her size. haha In the dream, we had about a jillion kids instead of 3 and they were making noise all night and I kept apologizing for all the noise! That’s all I remember. SO bizarre!

    Reply

  39. Jen says

    you guys did an amazing job festive-ing up the frame wall! i have an empty hallway wall that i’m in desperate need to “personalizing” so i can’t wait to get to it! i’ve been on a diy kick lately and making lots of gifts and christmas-y things so it’s probably a good time as any to start on diy for our home! thanks for the inspiration!

    jen
    http://www.fauxtreschic.blogspot.com

    Reply

  40. Mary K says

    I love it! I’ve done this for a few years now, this year I have a few of my favorites of our kids when they were little; wish I could find one of their letters to Santa… Also, they have so many cute gift bags out, I just cut them and put them into frames. LOVE Christmas!!

    Reply

  41. Kristina says

    What is the very mod print with the words “welcome to our humble home” to the left of the jingle bells? I love the style! What does the rest of it say? Did you buy it or make it?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s from this shop: http://kalbarteski.bigcartel.com/ – and it says: “Welcome to this humble home, full of every days, full of mundane, chores, and the buzz of regular life, which is really a secret code for: here lives the most magical of creatures and superheroes, living the greatest love story of all time.” So cute, right?

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks for the request Jamie! I miss those too! I’ll have to think of a room to do one for, and see if any rugs/furnishings get me going! Maybe after the whole cabinet puttying/sanding/priming/painting thing early in Jan? Here’s hoping!

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, although I’m constantly nesting, I’m actually not allowed to get prego for a while (it’s doctor’s orders thanks to complications at Clara’s birth that I give my body at least two full years of not being pregnant before we can even think about expanding the family again).

      xo,
      s

  44. Anna says

    I love all that you’ve done to decorate for Christmas! Especially your outdoor decor. I bet all your neighbors are glad you moved in. :)

    Reply

  45. Laura says

    You guys need to cool it with this gallery wall. That hallway is gonna start to look like a TGIFriday’s. Too much stuff on the wall is a bad thing. Edit.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s definitely one of those to-each-his-own things! We love that wall just as it is, but completely respect that folks would frame less/frame different things if this were their home and not ours! We personally think the consistency of the white frames and the many white mats give us the freedom to mix color photos and black & white pics to keep things interesting and varied, but some people might just do all black and white or all sepia things (or fewer frames) and that’s cool too!

      xo,
      s

    • Corie says

      Super fun!! My mom used to change all of the pictures on the walls to holiday/winter prints when I was younger and Home Interiors parties were all the rage. ;) Your pictures are much more fun (and modern), and I love that you took the time to do this for your home.

      It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…!

    • Teresa says

      Oh Please DON”T cool it!!! Everytime you add/change something it inspires someone.. I know it does me. I may not do the same in my home, but it sure does give everyone great ideas on what I could do!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, no worries Teresa! It’s safe to say that everything on that wall will be evolving and changing for as long as we live here. It’s our big family gallery, so we love adding new prints, pins in the map for where we’ve been, updated photos, etc!

      xo,
      s

  47. Carole says

    Hi there,
    I love the art gallery in your hallway. How did you set it up? I’m trying to find the original post on how you organized every frame. Is there a rule like one inch in between every frame? Hopefully, I’ll be doing the same in my hallway during the holidays, when I find downtime. Thanks in advance.

    Reply

  48. meredith says

    i have a photo wall (much smaller than yours, though) that i did some picture swapping in a couple weeks ago. one of the pictures i used was one of Santa on the subway that i got on Etsy last year: http://www.etsy.com/transaction/37508543

    maybe you could still find it somewhere– might be fun with your NYC ties! (my husband’s parents live there which is why it was significant to us!)

    Reply

  49. Tara S says

    FYI…Everyone is guessing that you are The House of Smiths secret santa!! I think the HoHoHo sign and the red frame tipped people off. :-)

    What a fun event Brooklyn Limestone put together!!

    Reply

Stuff We Love

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *