Cheap Home Decorating Idea: Framed Art on a Budget

Cheap Home Decorating Idea: Framed Art On A Budget - If you can frame a photo you can create framed art for your home. I did this project for under twenty dollars and one shopping trip to my local Dollar Tree Store. This project was a cheap way to decorate two rooms while being fun and easy. Being a family of four living on a single income we have to be creative and budget. But a budget does not mean we have to give up simple pleasures, like enjoying our home. We have two rooms which needed finishing touches. Our family room is nice if not a little boring. The second room is our daughter's orange and purple bedroom. For these two rooms I decided to frame items which would function as art.

Our family room is a relaxing room where we hang out, play games, watch TV. We decided on a light green color for the walls which has worked well. For this room I went with a green, brown, and tan theme in black frames. I found placemats which measured 13"x19" in coordinating colors. The stripe placemats came in two colors, the tan/brown and greens. These have a neat texture adding another dimension to the material. The third placemat is a large botanical with greens and browns. I went with the large botanical so I could separate and use the individual flowers in my frames. This is the actual inspiration for this project. I liked some of the print, but not all together.

Next I chose the frames. I decided on all black in varying styles. I also bought framed mirrors in black. I then chose what pieces of the fabric I wanted framed and cut to size. The art is displayed as a set, spread out on one large wall. The framed fabric lends a classy feel while the mismatched frames are more shabby chic. Sticking with one color for the frames tie it all together. Placemats are a cheap swatch of fabric for designing small projects. Coordinating framed pieces of the placemats while using whole or halved placemats on furniture adds an even more finished feeling. Just be sure to iron the fabric before placing in frame. To complete this project you will need the following:

Placemats 3 Wrapping paper
Frames 6 Note cards
Mirrors 2
Scissors, tape and glass cleaner
Clothes iron

Once you have your supplies press your fabric. Then measure and cut fabric to size of frame. Be sure to double check what will be framed before cutting. I used the paper insert from the frame to measure and then attached fabric to insert using tape. You could use fabric glue or something similar like No Sew. Place in the clean frame and set aside. When you have all frames complete lay them all out on a large table or floor to find what arrangement you like best. Your arrangement choices will depend on if you framed all prints vertical, horizontal, or a combination. To do this measure how large a space you are filling, lay it out on the floor, mark the wall and hang the pieces.

In the bedroom I wanted to add more color, shapes, and whimsy. Orange and purple are on the walls and I needed a fun way to incorporate even more color. I used this same framing technique with white frames, mirrors, printed paper and fabric. The theme in this room are bright colors and geometric shapes. At the store I found a 16"x 25" kitchen towel covered in colored squares. Then note cards with circles and flowers in complimentary colors. Last I found gift wrap with flowers, squares, circles all in bright kid friendly colors.

The wrapping paper and dish towel were simply cut to size as above. The note card ended up being a bit more cutting and taping, but still not hard. This note card had elements on the front and back which I wanted to show. I cut to separate the two halves, front from back. I then cut the back in half again. Once I had the top half trimmed and set in the frame I placed the back halves under to create a background. This way I have the colors and shapes which tie into my theme. I then scattered these along with the mirrors around the room for interest. Some on walls or set on a dresser. This is a long narrow room and this was a great way to liven things up. The mirrors in this room are double duty; cheap decoration and entertainment for our two year old.

This home decorating idea has turned out really well for me. It is easy and cheap. If you change your mind, you will be able to change the art for even less since you will already have your frames. And they did cost so little I may be tempted to change my cheap decorations a few more times.