Magazine pages for a picture wall let me pare down bookshelf clutter and dress up bare walls.
Shortly after the move from our city apartment to a house in the country, I began to focus on the years of home design magazines laying about on my home office shelves. Those often have wonderful photographs which can be easily framed to create a picture wall for any room. I’m trying not to think about it and use my xacto knife to cut out what I like. But so far they fall into a few categories that reflect my general interests: flowers and botanicals, architecture, artsy food, and art-I-can’t-afford.
Practically speaking, using magazine pages for a picture wall is a way to acquire terrific images for framing that might otherwise cost a lot, even at auction. I haven’t located an inexpensive source for frames yet but the pictures are the same size and I’m storing them in an envelope on a piece of stiff cardboard so the edges stay neat. Once I have a large collection, I’ll start putting them together. Since I’ve unloaded a lifetime collection of modern prints at auction, I have blank walls galore.
I have copies of a Spanish government published a tourism magazine that includes gorgeous color photographs. This one, of an edible flower and fruit salad in a glass bowl set out on an old-fashioned damask cloth, initially gave me the page-framing idea.
Nature is so amazing. Thick-skinned, black monastrell grapes from Spain’s Jumilla district take on an almost abstract quality when seen up close.
I make no secret of my love for tile. This photo of mosaics from Roman Spain and other artifacts in the palace of Lebrija in Seville, along with the amazing cream and brown colors of the stone and tile, is such an inspirational image I wish it could be a mural.
American art has always been a passion of mine. Yet I saved this Mary Cassatt portrait basically for the slightly abstract Aesthetic movement sofa fabric, which I find so contemporary.
Scottish Heather Houses are rustic Victorian-era huts built in the woods. The interior of this one is quite extraordinary with its walls and ceiling composed of white birch, hazel and larch trees plus moss and braided heather worked into intricate patterns. Anyone who loves Adirondack style cannot help be attracted to its distant relative. At some point, I’ll get to my newfound affection for moss.
(Source: gourmetour, WOI)
For more, see Magazine Page Picture Wall Progress
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Wow! I cannot stop staring at the 1st photo ~ I absolutely love it!!
Have a wonderful weekend ~
xoxo Laura
Have you ever made really big, messy spontaneous collage on a willing wall? It’s amazing how rich and evocative it can be – been a while since I did one…
Tricia, about the collage, I’ll paraphrase what I said to a vendor at the greenmarket who asked me if I grow vegetables. I told him I don’t grow anything but I’m happy to buy vegetables to support local agriculture. Much the same about the walls. I wouldn’t have any idea of how to do such a thing. What I could see doing is a mural-size photo affixed to the wall like wallpaper. Or decorative painting — though I can’t do that myself and it’s $$$$. I’m really best at designing the outcome putting in picture hooks!
Glad you like the image Laura. Irene is coming for the weekend so it should be interesting. Just hope I have a garage and a house by the time she leaves.
The grape photo is mesmerizing. I love it. A collection of pics like that would be awesome.