10 Steps: Art for Beginners

Ready to move on from the movie posters and pre-framed Ikea jobbies of your early 20's?  But, scared that "real art" doesn't fit in your budget?  Fear not.  Good-looking art doesn't have to eat into your Louboutin budget!

Here are 10 ideas for gussying up your walls in 2010:

1. Arts and Crafts:  For a quick and effortless solution, you can: 1) frame wrapping paper in solid simple frames, 2) stretch interesting fabric over a wooden frame or 3) buy cool stencils off the internet and paint art directly onto your walls.  For maximum impact, make 3 or 6 or 10 and hang together.

2. Flea Market Finds:  One man's trash is another man's art. Get up early, grab a coffee and head to your local flea market before the masses descend.  We guarantee you'll leave with some quality and quirky pieces for your walls.  If the thought of big crowds gives you hives, try ebay.  Here's one reader's fabulous flea market find:

3. DIY:  Not a budding Picasso?  All you need is canvas, paint and paint tape to make something nice for your walls. Depending on your style, you can go the clean geometric route or unleash your inner Jackson Pollock.

While this is an original piece of art, it wouldn't be hard to recreate this look on your own.

4. Your Photography: This is a tricky one if you're not a professional because there's a big margin for error.  Your cat peeking out from a staged still life of daisies doesn't qualify as art.  And we've seen enough "artistic" honeymoon shots of beaches framed on friends' walls to make us gag.  That being said, there are a lot of beautiful photographs out there that we'd die to hang on our walls.


5. Post-Art:  Framing posters and post cards is cheap and easy-peasy -- and therefore ranks as one of our fave ways to decorate your walls.  A few of our go-to poster spots are www.boldandnoble.com and www.etsy.com.

6. Wallpaper and Tapestries: You get a lot of bang for your buck if you cover an entire wall in a stunning wallpaper or tapestry.  Throw up a good chinoiserie up and let it be the star of the show.  Anything that requires less thinking can sometimes be a good thing in our book.

7. Think Outside the Frame:  Art doesn't have to be two-dimensional and framed.

8. Collections: Displaying your hobby can double as art.

9. One-of-a-Kind: Is there anything more coveted than a true "one of a kind"??  Some fun ideas for bonafide unique pieces on the cheap. 1) Have your fingerprint printed on canvas at www.dna11.com.

2) Frame personal letters (or homework assignments!)

3) While this one's a bit extreme and may only appeal to you NRA-ers, framing your shooting gallery bulls-eye -- with bullet holes you made of course! -- is a chic and cheeky addition to any space.

10. How's it Hangin':  Sometimes you can even take any/all of the above and hang it all together.  We love nothing better than a lovely mismatched melange on the wall.  They key is to ensure there's one unifying factor.  (In this case, black and white.)

10 Steps: Bedside Lighting

A stack of design mags.  A cup of tea.  Warm PJs. A cozy comforter and about 3 pillows.  There are few activities more indulgent than hanging out in bed, which is why stylish and effective bedside lighting is so important.

In lieu of matching table lamps (yawn), here are 10 ideas to light up your boudoir in 2010:

1. Pendant Lights: We love us some symmetry so these spaceship pendants hovering over the nightstands are right up our alley.  Plus, pendants save room for people who like a lot of stuff on their bedside table.

2. Sconces: Another space-saving idea we love.  Bendy sconces kick it up a notch because they provide excellent task lighting.  So no more awkward positions just to finish that last chapter in Twilight Eclipse while your partner sleeps.

3. Statement lamps:  For some reason the phrase "Dolly Parton's tits" comes to mind when we look at this over-the-top room.  (Did we just type that out loud?) We are crazy about statement lamps -- have some cool 50's inspired ones in our own bedroom.  However, they take up a lot of space. So, if you're someone who likes to have a book, alarm clock, moisturizer and picture of significant other on your nightstand -- statement lamps aren't for you.  Of course that doesn't mean you can't put some fierce ones in your guest bedroom...

4. Mismatched lighting: If you've read other posts here, you know we are big-time fans of eclecticism.  And while this room doesn't qualify as eclectic, the mismatched lights do.  A sconce and tiny nightstand + lamp are a perfect fit for the small space between the door and the wall.  Anything bigger wouldn't fit.

5. Solo lamp: Who says you have to have light on both sides?  If space doesn't allow it, consider using one light source for the bed.  If you're single and living in a studio, it's a no-brainer.

6. Floorlamps: Never in a million years would we have thought floorlamps flanking a bed would work.  And then we saw this picture and realized why that whole "never say never" phrase is so popular.  These work for two reasons: 1) the floorlamps themselves are skinny little things and 2) the rest of the bed and room is very streamlined. However, 20 bucks says you knock one over during your 3am pee break at least once a week!

7. Light as Art:  We're a bit torn on this one.  We love how this light works in scale and color with the rest of the room.  We also love the idea of light being the star of the show.  However, we can't get surgery and interrogation out of our head. That being said, there are a million and one ways to reinterpret this idea.

8. Centered pendant light: There's something regal about having a giant beautiful lampshade suspended over your bed. It's grown-up, glamorous and strangely makes us frisky.

9. Traditional chandelier:  A traditional chandelier, on the other hand, does not.  It does, however, add a fabulous shimmery element to any room.  We like how the one below is hung in an ultra-modern room. It takes the frou-frou-ness out of the equation.  We also love chandeliers in bathrooms, but that's a whole other post.

10. Sconces as art:   To be fair, these sconces are more art lighting than bed lighting -- check out how high they are hung, but the effect is spectacular -- so they garner the last spot in our 10 Steps list.