ADDING BOOKPLATE ART

One of the easiest ways to add framed art to your decor is by using vintage book plates.   Book plates are illustrations that are added to vintage books during production.  Many times they are hand-colored botanical representations for reference.  The ones I used in my bathroom are prints of original book plates.

The three prints came with their own mats. I was able to find gold frames for the them.  Since the wall is sloped in that room, I staggered the placement rather than line them up in a row.

 The blue and white prints work with the navy, white and gold already in the room.     

Do you add art in your bathroom?

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STARTING MY COLLECTED/CURATED TV GALLERY WALL

Recently I wrote about some inspiration for my TV gallery wall.  I think I've decided the direction I want to take to create a gallery wall around the television in my family room.   Artwork and interesting collectibles will be part of the design.  Vintage bookplates will be the art and I'll mix in some favorite objects from my home to add interest and dimension.  I'll unify the gallery wall by using all black frames and by adding some green to break up the black and white. 

I always buy vintage bookplates whenever I see them.  FYI, these plates were originally artwork inside antique books.  Many are very detailed and often hand-colored.   I purchased several nature-themed ones.  Here are a few of them unframed and mounted inside a mat.

HAND-COLORED BOOKPLATES

They fit perfectly into standard size frames.  

MATTED AND FRAMED BOOKPLATE

  I wanted the framed bookplate art to be part of a collected/curated gallery wall around the TV.   I was hoping to distract from that huge black rectangle with some smaller black rectangles filled with art.   This is just the start of the gallery wall.  I began on the left side and selected two of the framed prints,  a green demijohn filled with branches from the yard, and this wonderful vintage mannequin.  I use a vintage MCM buffet for a TV stand.  It's one of my favorite purchases.  You  can get a hint of the size of the TV beast.

THE BEGINNINGS OF MY GALLERY WALL

You can see the demijohn better in this next image.  The vintage MCM chair is one of a pair.  When I purchased them they were covered in red vinyl.  I saw their good bones and had them re-covered in a nubby green fabric.  I love the curved back and the covered buttons.

DEMIJOHN WITH BRANCHES FROM MY YARD
VINTAGE MCM CHAIR AND BUFFET

What do you think about placing a larger print above a smaller one?  I really like this up-side-down look and like it even better when there's a graduated vertical row of art with the smallest on the bottom.

STACKED FRAMED BOOKPLATE PRINTS

A closer look at one of the framed bookplates.

A CLOSER LOOK AT ONE OF THE BOOKPLATES

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE OTHER PRINT

I love this vintage mannequin.  Of course I added a snakeskin scarf and some jewelry.

VINTAGE MANNEQUIN

You'll have to check back as I continue to fill in around the TV.  I'm not sure if I'm going to put the art above the TV as well as on either side.  I also need to find some more non-art to give the wall a collected/curated look.

How do you hide your TV?  Or, help it blend in.

If you missed my previous post with my TV gallery wall inspirations images, go here.

You Can Frame It

I'm always coming across antique hand-colored book plates,
architectural prints, and other vintage ephemera that is too lovely not to save and frame. 
 Framing can be pretty costly, but I've found a few ways to display the treasures in not so expensive ways.

One of the easier ways to frame your "art" is to simply use a picture frame.  I find that picture frames  have much more interesting designs and also find them to be much less expensive than custom frames.  I also like to use the frames because you have the option of hanging them on a wall, or displaying them on a flat surface like a mantel, table, or bookcase.  I always try to purchase them with both options.  Similar to this.

Recently I bought a pair of frames.  I loved them because they looked like patent leather.
  I decided to contrast the contemporary frames with old world architectural prints. 
I like to find a frame very close to the measurements of my artwork.  If you need to trim the artwork, I use the glass in the frame for a pattern.  You can see through it and know exactly where to cut.  I trim with a small exacto knife and use the edges of the glass as a straight edge.  I use a cutting board under the print I'm trimming.  It's always a perfect fit.

Old World Meets Modern

I also like to recycle unique vintage picture frames.  I found this wonderful print of a man's face.  It was the cover on an early French magazine.  I loved his face and the french words surrounding him.

It fit perfectly into this ornate vintage metal frame.  The only expense was the frame and the magazine.  No need to pay for a custom frame and mat.  And, the look is unique.

 Many possibilities for this framed print.

If you really like the look of a matted print, I have another solution.  Most of the framing cost is in the frame itself.  If you already have the frame, you can have a custom mat cut for your art for less than $20.  For example, I bought this beautiful antique gilded frame with metal ornamentation.

I wanted to frame an antique hand-colored book plate of a stork.

Stork Book Plate

I had the frame shop cut a mat to fit the frame and the art.  The mat only cost $16.
I usually pay a little more to have the frame shop install the mat and print.


Here's the final result.

Here it is on my bookshelf in my family room.

One last example.  I had an antique bird print and antique frame.  Again, I had a mat cut to fit the print and the frame and had it installed.

Here it is on the shelf of the other matching bookcase.

Please share your framing successes.

Kathy


To see a previous post about how I styled this pair of bookcases, go here.