{shopping for a pair of prints}

This past weekend, we worked on getting all the art up on to our walls (including the indecision I was having over the Slim Aarons prints here).  Even though some of our art doesn't have a space and will go into storage for the next couple years, we also need to purchase a few new pieces.  The biggest space I'm shopping for right now is behind our sofa.  We will be using this sofa table again and directly behind it is an eyesore in the form of a metal grate that covers an air conditioning unit.  I decided to cover it with two large layered frames and now have begun to shop for two prints or photographs that would work well next to each other.  Here's some pairings that are currently inspiring me:

1. Abstract Anthropometrie Print & Stephanie Vovas piece

2. Floral plotter print from Debbie Carlos & Peony No. 3240

3. Abstract Test Case Print & California Beach Photo

Which pair do you prefer?  Do you have a great resource for inexpensive but large art prints or photos?  

{2nd anniversary art}

We will be celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary next week and in keeping with the tradition we started last year we started searching around for another piece of art to add to our collection.   We chose to go with a large photo print from our wedding day for our first anniversary which you can see see right here.  This year, I came across these amazing palm leaf watercolor prints from The Aestate and thought one of them could be perfect!  The more I tried to decide which of the four variations of the Beverly print series was the best the more it occurred to me that it could be amazing to grab up three of them to create a sort of large triptych piece.  I also briefly entertained the idea of having them print us one extra large one like this, but the custom framing cost behind something that large is atrocious (over $600!!!).  We picked up white frames for these from Ikea and depending where we move to we could always switch them out for the walnut finish frame or even paint them!

{paris flea market find}

Leaving the famous Marche Aux Puces french flea market empty-handed last month didn't discourage me from staying on the hunt for a fabulous flea market find to bring home with us.  A couple weekends ago, my girlfriend invited me to go check out the smaller street flea market in the south of Paris called Puces de Vanves.  This little outdoor flea is much smaller with temporary stalls set up early in the morning.  Most of the stalls here sell small house wares or artwork and the prices were much more in line with what I am used to from trips to the Rose Bowl or Long Beach flea markets back in California.  

I spotted the lighter of these two floral oil paintings sitting in the back of a stall and when I asked the owner if I could get a closer look he pulled out both the light and the more vibrant painting for me as they were to be sold as a pair.  I hesitantly asked for the price and was pleasantly surprised when he told me 42Euro for both!!  Some quick and friendly haggling had me walking away with both of these floral oil paintings for 30Euro total!  A total steal if you ask me since I would probably be willing to spend that much for just the gorgeous gold frames alone.  Each oil painting is about 16" by 20" contained in a thick wood frame and appears to be in great condition.  I cannot wait to get these home to find the perfect place for them to live in our home. 

   

{etsy faves}

After my unsuccessful trip the beautiful Paris flea markets, I consoled myself with a little trip down the black hole of Etsy shopping.  Since I found about 100 things I want to purchase immediately on Etsy, I thought it might be fun to round up some of my faves that are actually affordable (not to mention purchase-able from the US!).  I'll take one of each please...

1. Black & White woven hammock  $89

2. Pair of Brass Pineapple Urns $189

3. Brass pocket change tray $25

4. Pair of Swan Vases $68

5. Peony Print $50

6. 10 yards of navy Ikat fabric $86

7. Vintage highball caddy set $89

8. Black leather miniaudiere $90

9. 36" by 48" Floral Poster $50

10. Infinity Handle coffee mug $39

{affordable Slim Aarons artwork}

I have been obsessed with the fabulous images captured by Slim Aarons for what feels like forever. He captures another time and place in a way that makes like you are sitting right inside the image.  Adding a Slim Aarons print to our art collection has been on my wishlist forever, but for the size of print I would want the price is pretty steep.  Also on my wishlist for a while now are the Slim Aarons coffee table books which I had never actually seen in person.  Recently I found out the books are pretty massive (as in 11" by 14"!!) with a lot of full page photos in them that are void of text or captions.  I thought maybe if I could find a used version of the Poolside book for a good price, I would be willing to cut it up and use my favorite pages for a little Slim Aarons gallery shelf in my office.

I purchased a used version of the book for only $25 that had some dust jacket damage, but was otherwise in perfect condition!  After spending almost an entire evening enjoying the gorgeous book, I took note of some of my favorite shots and then picked up some corresponding frames.  All the frames (except for the one on the far right and very middle which are vintage) are from Target right here.  I would have preferred to have them all in white, but Target doesn't make the larger frame in white so I figured I could buy the black and paint it later on if it bothered me (for now I sort of like the contrast).  You can find all white frames in practically every size at Ikea right here- I was simply not willing to spend half a day going all the way to Ikea for 4 frames.

Besides the time I took selecting my favorite images, the most time consuming part of this little project is to use an exacto knife to "cut out" the photos from the book.  In order to use the full page photos in an 11" by 14" frame you will need to cut the pages as close as humanly possible to the binding.  Using an exacto knife, a ruler and a cutting mat makes this entire process relatively easy. Simply push back the book binding as much as you can, place the cutting mat under the page and then place the ruler close the binding.  Slide the exacto knife in between the ruler and the binding while using the ruler as a guide for the knife you can easily cut out the pages.

I am pretty obsessed with how this turned out and love that I have such beautiful images to get lost in while sitting at my desk!

 {slim aarons poolside book available used here}

 {exacto knife and cutting mat will make this project significantly easier}

 {it was so difficult to narrow it down to only five choices!}

 {frames from Target: smaller one here and larger one here}

 {displayed in the office on shelves from Ikea}

{target lamp from right here}

{new flamingo artwork}

I feel like I have been seeing flamingos everywhere lately right?!?!  Maybe it is because summer is right around the corner or something.  I happened across this vintage flamingo print by Roger Tory Peterson while antiquing with my mom and felt like it would be a perfect addition to our house.  I love the kitschy feel that flamingos always give, but in this particular print the colors are bit more on the muted side which gives the whole thing a great 70s vibe.

In the future I would love to pick up a sister print to this one and then use it with the current one flanking each side of a bed, but for now I'll be happy with these guys hanging out next to our bar in the living room!

If you would like to buy this print for yourself you can scoop up an 

unframed poster version right here or a very similar piece from West Elm right here! 

{new wall decor}

A couple weeks ago Chris' sister surprised us with an early wedding gift from our registry.  She gave us the white resin deer and moose from ZGallerie!!  (As a side story- Chris' parents actually thought it was a mistake when his sister told them what she bought for us because they were confused why we had registered for taxidermy.)  We have wanted these for a long time and always thought they would look wonderful on each side of our bed.  Since our walls are bright white, we picked up some pre-cut unfinished wood "shields" from Michaels Crafts and stained them with a dark Varathane wood stain.  

I apologize for the poor quality of these photos; the darkness in our room plus the white animals on white walls make these very difficult to photograph!