I’m always hunting for beautiful vintage art pieces to install in client projects and occasionally in my own home. When a space commands a large piece (and along with it a hefty price tag), we don’t always have the budget to drop hundreds/thousands on century’s old, framed oil paintings sourced from Europe. That said, if it’s in your budget, GO FOR IT, you won’t be disappointed.
I feel the design world can be very preachy about only buying “expensive, vintage, investment pieces” and while I often sympathize with the reasoning behind this, the average homeowner just doesn’t have the means to fill an entire house this way. So I like to strike a balance in between.
SHOP THE LOOK
the balance
Do I save for years to afford a higher quality sofa or handmade dining table I hope to keep for a lifetime? Yes. Do I scour antique sites to find good deals on smaller vintage pieces within my budget? All the time. Do I *keywords* consciously and sparingly sprinkle in budget items from big box stores that blend with a higher-end aesthetic? You bet.
I’m not suggesting that you fill a room from top to bottom with the entire Target Threshold line, but you do deserve to live in a beautiful space even if you can’t afford to buy everything on First Dibs.
When on my own hunt for a large vintage oil painting for our dining room refresh, I first searched through all my usual vintage vendors – nothing fit my criteria. The piece needed to be large (think 24×36 – 30×40), lower budget (hah!), come with a great antique frame in the perfect golden hue, and, of course, the painting subject and color palette needed to blend with the rest of our home. So I opted to create my own unique vintage-looking piece for less.
CURATED: FAVORITE VINTAGE PRINTS
how i did it
I was giddy when everything arrived – it looks even more authentic than I imagined! This large frame was a steal, nearly 30×40 outside dimensions, and available on Amazon no less. The frame width and subtle gold hue with antiqued edges far surpassed any other frame I found (sorted through so many skimpy, faux finished orange ones). Digital vintage prints are easy to come by these days. Here’s a very similar print (my exact painting is no longer available for purchase), but this shop and this shop have so many good ones to choose from. I’ve been printing art work for all of my client projects here for years – their giclee art prints with matte texture work perfectly for any painting, and they can accommodate very large print sizes. I ordered a 24×36 print here.
The secret to creating truly vintage looking framed art is removing the glass from the frame and exposing the matte print. I just popped the plexi into the backside of the frame for filler and safe keeping if I ever need it in the future.
Budget Breakdown
- $5.00 – Digital Print (similar)
- $78.00 – 24×36 Antiqued Frame
- $113.00 – 24×36 Giclee Print (15% discount code ‘WALLSAVER25’)
TOTAL COST: $196.00
What’s even better is if I want to switch up the art or change it seasonally in the future, I can simply print a new 24×36 for around $100 to achieve an entirely new look.
I hope this easy little project helps you get one step closer to creating a home you love – please reach out if you have any questions!
