Family {Home 'Art'}

With the holidays approaching, I thought I would re-post this wonderful article, written by my friend Sam.  I hope it inspires you.  Thanks to her I'm ordering a big canvas with a picture from our wedding.  I'll post it once it arrives. 
 

Big walls used to scare me.  I felt I either had to spend a fortune to buy a big enough piece of art to fill the space or whatever smaller pieces I used would look too small on that huge wall.  Then I had children.  I no longer fear big walls.  My children are my artwork; they fill the walls in our home.  

Many people order family portraits in an 8X10 or 11X13 size and that is about as large as they want to go. For some reason, it is outside of many people’s comfort zone to hang very large portraits, not to mention that they can be pretty expensive.  The first large print I bought and hung was our wedding portrait.  I ordered an 18X24 canvas print, and I admit that when I pulled it out of the box, I thought, wow, that is an awfully big picture...of us.  I was a little nervous to hang it on the wall—hey, everybody, look at me and my new husband!  But it sure looked nice over the fireplace, and we still get so many compliments on that picture.  I love walking into the living room and seeing a reminder of that beautiful day.  And, it fills a big space!  

I would encourage you to branch out and use big prints of your family portraiture to decorate your home.  I LOVE walking up our steps and seeing the smiling faces of our sons hanging there.  Here are some ways to make using large prints easier on you (and your pocket book).

* Using 16X20 prints fills that big wall space!  It takes far more 8X10 prints to fill large walls.  I don’t know about you, but I didn’t have THAT many 8X10s to appropriately fill my walls.

* If using 16X20 prints or larger feels uncomfortable, use frames with mats.  It will really make your photos look polished AND it will take up more space on your walls.  

* Mix and match larger frames with shelves for knick-knacks and smaller frames. 
 
* Think simple! If you have two children, print a picture of each in a 16X20 and hang them in a hallway or stairway.  Done. ☺
 
* If you have book shelves, use a larger print of your family or children on the wall not covered by bookshelves.
 
* Make a collage wall using a variety of frames, but keep them all in the same color.  This works great in a hallway.
 
* I LOVE the ideas on I have seen on Pinterest where you order several larger canvas prints in either the same size or different sizes and make a collage wall.  It looks so sharp and polished and really fills the space in a living or family room.  Many times you can find an awesome deal on canvas prints on Groupon or Living Social.
 
* Another idea I have seen on Pinterest is utilizing old windows or barn wood with family photos. 
 
* Use coupons and take advantage of big sales on frames.  I especially like Michael’s and Kohl’s.  You can end up getting large frames at a reasonable price.
 
* Many photographers will sell you the digital images or a CD of your image. Buy the digital images and then order your own prints.  You will save a TON OF MONEY!  I use www.mpix.com for my family portraits.  I pay .99 for a 5X7 and $16.99 for a 16X20.  At those prices, I don’t mind buying the larger prints OR changing them out periodically. 
 
My family is my greatest treasure, so it would make sense that they would fill the spaces in our home.  Sure, I have other pieces of artwork hanging as well, but the art you will see predominately in our home, is our family.  So, in conclusion, I encourage you to print big and be bold!

Samantha Marquardt