Remember that grid of eight Ribba frames above our sectional (that we got right the second time around)?
Well, we figured out some in-the-meantime “art” for them (so we don’t have to stare at those brown squares every night). You know, until we come up with something better. And it only cost us five bucks. Okay, $5.17 if you’re being picky. So worth it.
We’re still not 100% sure what we want there in the long run, but we’re leaning towards something graphic and colorful. And since the brown frame back is the opposite of that, we wanted to at least put something in there temporarily that wouldn’t cost much or take any time to toss together. Enter one of our favorite solutions: 12 x 12″ craft paper from Michael’s.
We picked out eight sheets that complement Sue (aka: our inspiration napkin). They were the perfect size to slip in our 12 x 12 Ribba frames and at about 60 cents a pop it was kind of a no-brainer.
We tried a few different arrangements on the floor before putting anything in frames. Since we had picked a couple of duplicate colors, we wanted to keep them far enough away from one another, so we ended up with this grouping:
The frames definitely helped them feel less like sixty-cent craft paper and more like something worthy of being displayed behind glass (seriously, what can’t you slap in a frame for a more polished look?). It definitely added that temporary injection of color we were looking for, and it was kind of reminiscent of the cool art that we saw – and loved – in this House Crashing adventure from back in the day (aka: a month ago).
It’s kind of like a simplified version of Sue the napkin now lives on our walls, eh?
We’ve been living with them for the last 24 hours and might be in danger of falling in love with them as a not-so-temporary solution. Uh oh.
They just look so much nicer than the brown frame backs they covered. Actually, what we’re thinking that we might do is try to build on the concept somehow, like adding some modern white doilies, stencils, or layering some other pattern in front of them so we still can enjoy the color scheme that “shows through” while creating something a little more graphic. Almost like a custom version of those Classical Symmetry prints from Crate & Barrel (this set of six retails for $369, btw).
Or we might still consider doing the personal photo thing by using the colorful paper as large mats around small square black & white pictures. Sherry even mentioned sticking tiny fortune cookie fortunes in the center of each colored sheet of paper. So you have to get really close to read them. ‘Til we decide on anything, we’re kinda loving the cost-of-a-Subway-footlong solution for these eight frames. And of course we’ll keep you posted when we finally get around to updating them for the long haul.
Do you guys have any colorful art that you’re loving? Or affordable sets of images that you’ve spotted? Oh and how cool is this solution to empty Ribba frames that Krissy posted on our Facebook page? As Sherry says (way too much) “um yeah, love it.”
Psst- We announced the winner of this week’s giveaway. Click here to see if it’s you.
Shannon Lambert says
I like to buy used books at thrift stores that have pictures. Especially classic children’s books or books with maps in them. Than I just cut out what I like and frame it up. I have some great drawings from an Alice in Wonderland book and black and white pictures of artists I enjoy.
Allison says
I love those frames of color just the way they are! So pretty!
Ashley says
So cool! Big fan of Sue the napkin :) I know you were thinking you wanted to add some family photos, have you thought about turning the photos into a duotone in photoshop using these colors?
I think it could be the best of both worlds!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s a total possibility!
xo,
s
Sara Vallerie says
You could add some white cutouts on top of the colored paper. Like a cutout of chiuaua or a hummingbird. I think it would play off of Sherry’s love of white ceramic objects.
Lindsay @ Aisle to Aloha says
Oh guys, I love them! Always a fan of colorful, modern art! I vote for them becoming a non-temporary solution!
While we’re discussing colorful wall art, thought I’d put in a little plug for my Etsy shop. I sell bright, colorful & modern canvas paintings. I love getting to be a part of making people’s homes a little more cheery! :)
Here’s my shop link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/aisletoalohastudio
YoungHouseLove says
So cute! Love them!
xo,
s
Alix Cooney says
I got some cool graphic vinyl squares at TJ maxx. They had some that were a bit worn looking like the crate and barrel art you showed and then crisp new looking ones that I bought. They were $12.99 for a pack of 8. I mixed two packs on my upstairs hallway so I could repeat a few colors. I am sure you could frame them.
Jenny says
Love it! So simple, yet it makes such a difference. That’s my favorite kind of DIY :D I’d totally leave it like that!
Wendy says
Love these pictures from C&B!
Lara says
It looks SO great, guys–like a cool modern quilt! I don’t really think you need to do anything else!
REALLY makes me want to try something like this!
Liane says
I love it!! I especially like the idea of adding a doily/stencil effect to the front of it. That actually inspired me for our baby girl’s nursery- I’ve been looking for an idea for the last wall in her room, and this is it!! I can’t wait to do it now (I’ll be using red and black, as her nursery is red, black, and white, with a subtle ladybug theme). Thanks for the inspiration!
the Perfect Palette says
Love this colorful artwork. Makes us think of Pantone Color Chips, which we adore!
Jan's camera says
Hi, I can’t get over how wonderful these look with just the color. Can’t wait to see what else you have in store.
Sarah says
maybe to combine your colors and the patterns you could cut the patterns out on black or white paper and layer them over the bright colors… like a silhouette pattern. They look great though!!!
Kayla says
Are those eight different colors? A few of them look the same (yellow, the lighter blues)? Just curious!
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, two of them are repeats (we just tried to frame them so they were far enough away from each other for it not to feel odd).
xo,
s
penny says
Wow, that looks so fun! Cant stop staring! I wish that rug was big enough, everything plays so well together. looooooooooove it! (thats me doing my Oprah yell) :D
YoungHouseLove says
I know. I have totally almost cried about having to move the rug. I wish I could stretch it in photoshop and print out a bigger version. Boo hoo. I even stalk ebay for a larger one but they all seem to be gone! Oh well, it’ll force us to find something else we love. Which should be fun…
xo,
s
Lisa says
Hello! I love love love your blog. The C&B Classic Symmetry prints remind me a little of stenciling and creating wallpapers by hand and such and I thought you might like some of the items on this blog, as well as the insane amount of stencils you can find in the Stencil Library (the blogger is one of the stencil creators). The stencils are from the UK and can be preeetttttty pricey but the library holds a lot of worthy bits of inspiration.
Love this particular post: http://designinspiration.typepad.com/design_inspiration_planet/2011/02/moths-around-a-light.html
http://www.stencil-library.com/
Cheers!
YoungHouseLove says
Love that link! The butterflies on the ceiling are amazing! We actually were debating a similar idea (not butterflies though) in Clara’s room somewhere (closet or ceiling or both). Should be interesting!
xo,
s
Kymberly says
I love the purplely colors…. I can’t wait til you find the eggplant lamps.
Katie says
LOVE IT! I don’t know if it’s just my monitor or what, but it seems like the colors totally clash with the yellow rug and pillows. I know you’re planning on moving the yellow rug… are the pillows leaving too?
YoungHouseLove says
Pillows are like nomads in our house so they move around all the time. Not sure if it’s your monitor or the pics, but the bright pillows and rug seem to work in person, but since we’re switching out the rug who knows if the pillows will get a little tweakage too. Haha.
xo,
s
Areader says
I would of made some of the paper yellow, instead of that purple. I see yellow in the napkin. It would have tied in the pillows and rug.
Clever quick cheap changeable idea. Congrats.
Lindsay says
I actually LOVE the purple!
Mary Ann says
Leave them alone! They look absolutely gorgeous.
Emily says
I think it looks great!
I do a similar thing with my frames, except I have a smaller set (only 3) and I use scrapbook paper with prints (as opposed to solids) that I change out seasonally.
SarahR says
Love it!! I’ve actually been thinking of doing the same think on a BB&B (big, blank & boring) wall that I have in my kitchen. I’m also going to put craft paper in the frames (but maybe one or two colors/patterns) and then insert the kids artwork in on top of it as well, but so that you can still see the craft paper behind it. I’m thinking that it would be a more organized take to artwork on the fridge.
Allison says
Thought these tessellations would be a great way to mimic the C&B prints.
http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/galleries/math/tessellations.php
YoungHouseLove says
Love them! Thanks for the link!
xo,
s
Libby says
Beautiful. Great idea for people who need to stage a home for sale without breaking the bank.
Jen says
All you need is a scrapbooking friend who could cut you a lace-like overlay on their Cricut die cutting machine. Easy Peasy & super cheap.
Caitlin @ Desert Domicile says
LOVE IT!!! That is all :)
Michele says
I never would have thought of solid paper–it looks great! I scored a pad of gorgeous Amy Butler patterned paper at TJ Maxx for $5 that I’m going to frame in my silver Ribbas.
And John, I totally would have thought that 6 frames would be enough. The Ribba seems so big when you’re holding it in your hands. I didn’t realize how expansive that room (and Karl) is until I saw the 8 frames together. A great solution for a large space that might otherwise be difficult to fill.
London lisbonite says
Looks wonderful, love the coloured tile effect. I’m not even sure you actually need ‘art’ now!
Renee says
love love love the new art! and i have to say, i’ve been eyeing those golden flower pillows at target for several months now. although they aren’t a great fit for my color scheme, they are perfect on your sectional!
-renee
http://bettycrockettrocknroll.blogspot.com/
seansmom says
It’s amazing isn’t it, that sometimes the simplest ideas are the best?
Theresa says
Always awesome to see how you guys make an “inexpensive” (didn’t want to say cheap ;-) item look like a million dollars. Nice work!
gollybe says
I found some old stamps when I was cleaning out an office at an old job… there were all sorts, but my favorites were miniature portraits by famous artists. I have 7 hung vertically in black (dollar store!) frames with white mats and backed with scrapbook paper. Everyone is enamored with them, including me! The first time I hung them, the backgrounds were bright and varied in an apt with white walls. Since moving into my house, I changed the backgrounds to coordinate with my color scheme. Gotta love cheap art!
Something to think about for yours – you can sometimes find laser cut scrap book paper, which you could layer over the great colors you chose. Or, if you know anyone with a cricut machine, they could probably cut some patterns for you. You folks are also handy with an exacto knife, I’m sure – why not print a pattern you like and cut it out of another sheet to layer over the color? Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Karla says
I just love seeing your rooms evolve! I look forward to checking in every morning!
Maggie @ Black & White {Side by Side} says
Another DIY success!
Have you tried Tagexdo (http://www.tagxedo.com/)? Its a free website that will generate your text into any shape and let you change the colors, layout, font, etc. with the click of a button. You can even put in your website address and it will pull key words from it! I made a little pear shaped print for our kitchen … http://sidebysideblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/fruit-of-spirit-is-love.html
Warning: It is addicting!
YoungHouseLove says
Off to check it out!
xo,
s
Colleen says
Thank you for sharing this Maggie. This site is so cute! I’m already addicted.
Amanda says
I think at Michael’s – well, at mine at least, they sell 12×12 pieces of die-cut papers similar to the other artwork that you showed. They are about $2 each but they come in many different shapes and colors. You could probably get a $.59 bottle of white acrylic paint and a foam brush and lightly paint them if they were the wrong color.
You could also get some cut vinyl – I’ve been eyeing this design from House of Smith’s…. http://wonderfullywordy.blogspot.com/search/label/Wall%20Designs
You could even do words or other shapes of vinyl – the possibilities are endless :)
Ashley says
Love it too! I have a stack of scrapbook paper from Michael’s waiting to be framed at my house too! Who knew it would be harder to find the right frames than the art?!?!
Candace says
This looks really great. I tried this in my home too after reading an article on making cheap art http://www.aliceindesignland.com/blog/3-ways-to-create-cheap-art.html. I think this is called the block art method.
YoungHouseLove says
Woah, I love that flamingo. Thanks for the link!
xo,
s
Claire says
The set compliments your room so well!
I did something similar recently with wrapping paper and leftover patterned scrapbooking paper to fill in spots in a collage of frames. I adore the pops of color in and amongst the landscape and nature photos of California that are in the other slots.
ronda says
Love it~!
Jessamy T. says
I’m a huge fan of this type of artwork- looks great you two! How about some very simple, graphic, greeting cards floating on the colored paper…
Gina @ Temporary Nest says
I love the color palette. Its so rich. To be honest, I’m kinda with ya’ on the whole “keep them blank” idea. I think its nice to appreciate just simply color on occasion and this really pegged that. One of my favorite things you’ve done! <3
Sheila says
You two are so ding dang smart!!! It works perfectly as a for now option!
Sharee A. says
Soooooo simple yet, so chic!
Jen says
I’m sure you’ve already thought about it, but since you already have colors that perfectly fit your whole house color scheme right on the wall, why don’t you just print something onto the paper itself? Or print out a design for each, cut it out and paint it on in a silver hue. This way you don’t have to replace it, especially when it was so cheap and fabulous!
Love your ideas by the way. We’ve just bought our first home for our family and you’ve been an inspiration when it comes to my homes design.
YoungHouseLove says
Sadly we can’t feel 12 x 12″ paper through our printer (it just takes 8 x 10″) – but others have recommended printing on clear transparency paper (in white) or even cutting out little white silhouettes for some added flavor. Who knows where we’ll end up!
xo,
s
BMMBT says
You two are just so so fun to follow! No fear = much creativity! Your family room is starting to look REALLY awesome!!
Erin says
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet or not, but some black or charcoal silhouettes would look great on that paper – Clara, or architectural things like a sofa, etc.
Love the paper, what a great interim idea!
Caitlin says
I just saw this today, and this post reminds me of it:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/before-after/before-and-after-using-childrens-books-as-art-140947
seems a bit like your style — not expensive (at all), fun and creative!
YoungHouseLove says
So cute and fun! Love it.
xo,
s
Chelsey Elliott says
Love it!!! I love the fortune idea too. It would look great with the colored paper but it could potentially be very chic with grey paper and the white fortune, if someone out there (like me) is afraid of color. GREAT IDEA!
Cheryl Miner says
Amazing how something so simple can have such an impact. L O V E!
Alanna says
i know ya’ll love maps. here’s some fun art we just got for our house… http://alanna-wendt-to-tennessee.blogspot.com/2011/03/art-thats-close-to-home.html
i’ve also done some fortune cookie art. my husband proposed with a giant fortune cookie, so i took the proposal fortune and a bunch of other fortunes i had been saving and mounted them onto some scrap book paper. it looks really beautiful framed. and i love having such a special piece of our family’s story on display like that!
YoungHouseLove says
What a cute proposal idea! Love it!
xo,
s
Laura says
Here’s an idea: O ntop of the colorful paper, what about layering small silhouettes – not of people, but of objects.
Either unusual ones or common household things.