cheap art.

Published on by Quandie

Last year I picked up several original oil paintings while out garage saling.

You may remember my faux Matisse.

I also found a lovely mid-mod painting of the what one of my readers identified as the Moulin Rouge in Paris.

And then most recently, I bought home this landscape from an estate sale.

Originally I was picking these up to resell, but then I decided I rather liked the idea of creating a gallery wall in the q branch using these paintings, and a few other things … like those crusty old paint brushes that I love.

So after I got my Globe Artichoke paint on the walls, I started laying out my gallery wall (FYI, turns out this is another good use for a baby grand piano).

I decided to also use a pair of small bamboo frames that I shared with you guys back in February 2021.  I had originally made up a couple of collages using old family letters and photos to fill them, and I painted them black.  But later I gave the frames a metallic look using Dixie Belle’s Bronze Gilding Wax.

But for my collage wall I wanted to turn them into small landscapes.  So I went on Etsy and purchased some downloadable painted landscape images.  It was simple to print them out, mount them on scrapbook paper and pop them into the frames.

I’m quite happy with how they turned out.

Last, but certainly not least, I had this old oil painting that my grandfather painted.

One of these days I may attempt to clean that painting.  Grandpa was a smoker, hence the yellow tinge to that sky.

It was unframed, but in a miraculous sort of way, I had an old frame on hand that fit it perfectly.

Aside from most of these things being original oil paintings, there wasn’t a whole lot else to unify them.  I’ve got a portrait, a city scape, and a handful of landscapes.  The frames ranged from a bit ornate, to simple barnwood.  I felt like I needed to find a way to tie them all together, so I repeated my use of the Bronze Gilding Wax on the frames.

You can use a brush to apply the wax, but I like to put on a latex glove and just use my finger.

For the barnwood frame, I just used the wax on the thin black wood trim that was around the outer edge of the frame.

It was a small change, but it toned down that black and helped this frame fit in with the others despite that rustic barnwood.

I know some people will cut out paper templates of their items and then tape them to the wall to get the placement right for a gallery wall, but I just winged it.  I started in the middle with the two small bamboo frames and then I worked up and out from there.  I will admit that I had to move a couple of nails after their initial placement to get it just right.  But I’m not someone who gets squeamish about nail holes in the wall.  I just fill them and touch up the paint, easy peasy.

If any of you also have plaster walls, I’ll share my favorite Martha Stewart tip for putting nails into plaster.  Place a small piece of scotch tape where the nail is going to go and then pound in your nail.

This helps keep your plaster from crumbling.  I have my own secondary tip, which is to fold over one edge of the tape onto itself for easy removal later should you ever decide to repaint your walls.

Another tip for anyone with less than smooth walls is to always use flat paint.  If your paint has a sheen it will highlight all of those imperfections.  Flat paint tends to be less washable than eggshell or satin though.

I absolutely love how my gallery wall turned out.

And I created it for under $50 total.  Pretty much every item came from a garage sale (except Grandpa’s painting, and the downloaded prints).

Next up for this room is finding a rug.  It’s a little tricky because a square rug will work best and there aren’t a ton of square options out there.  I’ve found one at Wayfair that I think will work, but I’m really nervous about ordering a rug online.  So often items ordered online look nothing like their photo on a computer screen.  Have any of you ever ordered rugs from Wayfair?  Or do you have another recommendation for finding a square rug?  If so, leave me a comment and let me know.

34 thoughts on “cheap art.”

  3. Your gallery wall looks lovely and inspirational! I’ve ordered many rugs over the years from Wayfair and Overstock and have yet to be disappointed. Just read the reviews. They are usually spot on. For the price, I wouldn’t be afraid of an “oops” rug. Enjoy your new space!

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  4. Targets website actually has a large selection of area rugs, in all sizes. I’ve order a few, and returned a few, but that’s the beauty, to me, the ability to just return to the store if the color or design is not quite what I was looking for. I’m alway reluctant to order items from places like Wayfair, since I think returns are a hassle.

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    1. I hadn’t thought of Target! It would be easy to return there and that’s definitely a bonus. I did some checking on Wayfair’s return policy and it looked to me as though they will charge you for return shipping … and that could get pretty pricey for something like a rug.

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  6. Linda,
    Love the wall! I have a collection of old paint brushes yours look super. I have mine in an old wooden box. I’ll have to find a wall. ( my house that’s like pulling hen teeth 😉). The rug in my living room came from Overstock and it’s perfect. My sister got one from Wayfair the colors were too bright for her. I gave her my old rug and the new went to her daughter. All happy. But back to the question, I really like ordering rugs online. If you go to a store and you are not happy it’s still a hassle to take it back. At least the ordered ones are delivered so only one way to take back, if not happy.
    Smiles, alice

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    1. Normally I’d be OK with returning something ordered online, but in this case it looks like Wayfair will deduct shipping charges from a refund … so that could get expensive. I think I’m a little gun shy after ordering some Christmas bedding on Amazon that was absolutely nothing like it appeared in photos. Luckily it was free to return those!

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  8. Hello! With regard to cleaning oil paintings… I took an old family painting to be cleaned and restored to a framer. He said the best way to clean them is to use white bread! (Think Wonder Bread) He tore off pieces, balled them up and used them to dab or pounce them over the painting. When dirty throw away and make another ball. Worked great!

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  9. Ok this might be my next favorite thing you’ve ever done!! LOVE all the art-nicely done!!!!🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

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  10. I love this ! How lucky you are to have a painting of your grandfathers. Looks like you have talent in your DNA! If you find a rug on Amazon it has a quirky little thing where you can see it in your space. It’s very helpful. I always make sure there are free returns wherever I buy from. I’ve had good luck online. Loving this makeover of the Q branch!

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    1. I actually have a couple of watercolors from my grandpa as well. I’ve used them to stage furniture photos in the past, most recently in this post. I do treasure them! And I’m with you on the free returns, there’s nothing worse than being out a bunch of money for return shipping for nothing.

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  13. Love the wall color and especially the gallery wall! And to have a painting from your Grandfather is wonderful!! ♥️
    I have ordered two rugs online….mine came from amazon and, like Sheri says, just make sure it’s returnable. I did return one, without any issues. These days, it is almost the only way anymore, but the upside is selection.
    AMAZING transformation of the branch, already! Excited to see what rug you add 😁

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  14. Good job on your gallery! I think the paintbrushes would look good inside a frame, too.
    I have purchased several rugs lately for this new house we are in, and I have found that the best options are either Amazon or Home Depot (yes they sell rugs online) I always avoid Wayfair completely. They are consistently higher in price on everything I looked at including rugs and lamps, and they can’t compete with Amazon’s super easy returns. I got a small square rug from the Amazon warehouse for the play area and couldn’t be happier with it. My bedroom rug is a 9 x13 wool hooked rug that was under $400 on Amazon. It’s easy to search the sizes and materials, colors, etc. Good luck!

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    1. Great advice Jan! I’ll definitely check out Home Depot. And the paint brushes would be fun inside a frame, I’ll have to keep an eye out for one. I do plan to continue to add to my gallery wall, so you may just see that down the road.

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  17. Love your gallery wall! What a fun idea! I don’t know if you have a Lowe’s out your way, but my daugher-in-law has found some really nice rugs there.

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