Pride in your Picasso: Decorating with Kids’ Art

Think the only spot for your children’s artwork is on the fridge? So last decade. Besides, the stainless steel or wood panel isn’t making friends with your magnets anytime soon. So how do you incorporate your budding Picasso’s creations into your home without making your home look, well, like a Picasso? (And no, we are not talking about a trip to Home Depot for clothesline or wire). Check out these very cool looks—art created from art—that are meaningful, look great and work in any room of the house.

Add a little whimsy in sophisticated spaces. You can’t help but feel the happy! (And the same goes for the fabric on the drapes.) 
Gallery Glam: Love this family portrait series displayed in a Paris apartment. Makes me smile, you? And it was a genius decision to frame them as one, so think about that when your appraising your child’s work.  It suits the scale of the sofa, light fixture, and art and tone of the room.
Rotation Gallery:  Plan for change. Pictures hung on rings with clips can be changed out weekly, monthly...you decide...or, better yet, help in their development and let the kids decide.
Clustered Collection: Six same-size floating frames display artwork of various sizes as the bold paint color peeks through. No need to worry about mattes (and changing out artwork is a snap)! The series in blue offers a variety of shapes within standard frames and looks fantastic with warm yellow.
Cut-out Creations: Another cool idea…one of our favorites actually. If your little one doesn’t mind, get creative yourself. Consider this a green approach—reusing art to create art. Cut those drawings, scribbles, and finger paintings into new images. We’re digging the animals in this photo, but think of the possibilities…teacups for the kitchen, a little toilet for the bathroom…okay, getting ahead of ourselves.

And if you like the shapes above, Sarah has been extremely gracious, providing templates at the link above!

Below is another fantastic concept.  Take a look - sorry, its the best shot we've got - at the tiny images.  Yup, its a collection of thumbnails created from scans. This custom piece by Jan Eleni Interiors displays an assortment of your kid’s (or kids’, as the case may be) art. How cool is that? They work with each piece individually to incorporate it into an original masterpiece, and all original artwork is returned to you. Win, win! Love, love!
And one last thought to inspire you.  There is another great company that is converting kids art to "real art":  www.kidsartoncanvas.com. Its a fantastic idea for finding the perfect artwork for the bedroom, playroom or even your office!
Note:  Child labor laws don’t apply, so think about commissioning your little Picasso to create some custom art for you. Grab the Crayolas—crayons, markers, or (gasp) paint—and let him/her go for it. You can even cut paper to your desired sizes before h/she gets started. Kids love putting a mark (literally) on the home and you’ll love the confidence s/he’ll gain.

9 comments:

  1. These are all great ideas. My laundry room doubles as my son's art gallery. I'm getting ready to paint it and he wants his art work hung back up ! Might need to use some of these ideas.

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  2. I have all of our kid's artwork on the walls in our attic. Why the attic? It's because my workroom is up there. As I head "to work" each day I get a smile on my face looking at all of the pictures.

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  3. That's great Karen! I'm sure they bring smiles and many memories every time you look at them. I love that you surround yourself with your childrens' imaginative creations in your own creative environment.

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  4. The kids artwork look great framed and up for display. You can imagine what it does for a child's self-confidence too. But how does one choose?

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  5. Actually Maria, you can set up an area as a rotating gallery. This could be 1, 2, or 3 frames, however you choose. You then let your child decide. Allowing them the opportunity to judge their work on their own and select which they may want to change on their own builds their confidence too. It also will work for some children to improve their ability to "judge" and "critique" their own work. They may decide to leave one piece up b/c there is a quality about it that they like better than another.

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  6. I love using kids art for decor. I have a basket full of my 4 year old's artwork that I keep saying is going to get framed! Ugggh.. thanks for getting me back on track. :)

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  7. No problem! Glad to help and I'll be expecting a status update as to your new "gallery" in a couple weeks. ha, ha

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  8. I can't even see our refrigerator, there are so many beautiful painting and drawings that I will never get rid off! Another idea for displaying their art work is to hang them going up the stairway. It's very unique work and our guests love it too.

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Did I ever tell you how much I love your comments? I really do love hearing your thoughts after reading posts? Lets me know people are reading and helps us keep the conversation going!! ~ Thank you!

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