Goodbye gallery wall, the new trend is large art and I love it. When we first moved into our loft, we put up a gallery wall because it worked with the art we already had, it was a mash-up of my art and Andrew’s art on one wall. After 5 years I got pretty sick of it and we weren’t really in love with any of the pieces. I decided that large art is better because it looks less cluttered, creates a bold focal point in the room and overall it makes me happier and that’s the most important reason for this change.
Here’s what the gallery wall looked like.
I took down all the art you see in the photo above and left the wall white for a long time, I was going to paint a very large abstract, but I kept procrastinating plus I could never figure out exactly what I wanted until now.
I found a Canadian company that prints large art photos on canvas. BestCanvas.ca is a really affordable online shop for awesome large scale art printing (and small canvases too). I just uploaded my photos and they sent me the printed canvases a couple of weeks after.
The only hard part of this project was finding high-resolution photos that I loved. Narrowing down my selection was so hard! I didn’t purchase stock photography, because most stock photos are pretty cheesy. I also didn’t feel like printing my own photos, I’ve done that in the past and I get sick of looking at my own shots, so I went to Unsplash.com, it’s like a stock photo website, but the shots are more real and absolutely stunning, a lot of great nature shots. Best of all, the photos are 100% rights-free to use however you want, including editing them as much as you want. Thank you to all the generous photographers on there for sharing their work!
I downloaded this motel sign by Matthew Smith and did some photoshop editing to make it the pop art style I wanted. The original is on the left, it’s awesome, but I wanted it bolder and brighter.
I’m very happy with the minimalist yet bold style it adds to our living room.
The other canvas print is a drone photo of a forest by Geran de Klerk.
The inspiration behind this came from a long time love of green walls, but it’s just not in our budget to create one, so a photo was the next best thing!
This canvas print totally gives the feeling of a green wall, adding a touch of nature into our living space.
Best Canvas Prints Canada has a lot of sizes and frame options, I went with 40″ x 30″ folded edges. Since I’m a graphic designer I get pretty hung up on image quality and colours, their inks are solvent-free, won’t fade, smudge or crack, pretty impressive since their prices are also the lowest you’ll find online.
CONTEST CLOSED! THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT ENTERED! WINNER POSTED BELOW.
Giveaway! Enter to win $50 USD + free shipping for BestCanvas.ca
Enter through the widget below, you must fill out all the fields to be entered.
Open to Canadian and US residents only. Giveaway ends April 6th 2017. Winner will be notified via email.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Below I’ve gathered some inspiration of large scale artwork to help inspire you if you’re liking the idea of a big canvas print. Let me know in the comments what you’d print! A family photo? Nature scene? I’m curious to know!
Disclosure: BestCanvas.ca provided 2 free canvas prints to review for this post. All opinions are my own.
If I could get a drone shot of Cultus Lake that would be one for sure. Our family spent many carefree summer days and weekends there.
Ooooh that’s such a good idea! I wonder if you could google for it and maybe there’s a photographer that has one you could purchase? 🙂
Love what you did to the Motel photo! I was literally browsing un splash last night trying to pick something to print for large scale art! Excited to enter and be able to make it happen now!
So cool! It took me forever to make a final decision, there were too many beautiful nature shots! I wished there were more old sign photos, I wanted to do a series of them, but nothing else caught my eye. I hope you enter the giveaway, the quality from Best Canvas is awesome!
I have a photo of my spouse and I laughing in a messy kitchen, taken by my talented friend Brit ( http://www.brittanyesther.com ). I’d probably comb my own Lightroom archives before deciding, but that one would be high on the list.
That sounds like the perfect choice! Great to have printed memories, too many of us just keep photos on our phones and never do anything with them.
I’ve turned into a photo canvas junkie – I’ve done 6 of them so far! Two at a time and I’m itching for my next fix.
I’ve only managed to part with one as a birthday gift. Haha!
So far I have done floral and bird close ups, one greenery and one black and white. The next one would have to be a scenic one I think – maybe something iconic from our beautiful city of Vancouver.
So many options, so little wall space!
Oh wow that sounds beautiful, florals would be so nice on the wall this time of year in grey rainy Vancouver! Thanks for sharing Teresa!
I agree with you completely, sometimes a big stylish photo on your feature wall works better than many smaller ones. I think I would print out some macro shots of abalone shells I recently spotted on some beaches near my home. Nothing like an oversized nature shot to jazz up your work or living space.
Yes! The macro photos sound so beautiful, can’t go wrong with nature!
What a gorgeous post. You’re absolutely right about the impact of large art.
Thanks Heidi, yes especially when you’re looking at it from a distance. It has greater impact to the overall mood of the room.
I’d finally get that large horse print I’ve been dreaming of!
Haha yes, that would be amazing!
I’d give it to a friend with her wedding photo on it
Aww that’s such a thoughtful gift Kelly!
Would love to have a photo of the Aurora Borealis on canvas!
ooh yes that would be magical!
I think I would probably get a photo of my son’s for their room!
Such a fun idea Anne! And a wonderful keepsake!
I would probably get a shot of when we went to Greece to remember our trip by! I have the perfect empty spot on my wall for this!!!! Fingers crossed ?
A forest preserve
I have a picture I have been holding onto and keep meaning to get printed on canvas and just have never made it priority.
I would order a print of my all my daughters to give to their grandma for Mothers day!
I like the idea of printing a nature scene with mountains!
I have a great pic of a waterfall..but living in Oregon, I am crazy about all the pine trees..so maybe something like that.
I would probably use a photo of my 3 grandchildren all together
I have a favorite picture of my boys when they were younger. I would love to see this on canvas!!
I would love to get a picture of our cabin view up north for my parents.
I would love to get one of my family at the Coast!
I would want a grown up Disney style canvas for my living room without being cutesy.
I would get it of my horse
I’d print a beautiful pic I took of downtown C.C. TX. Thanks for the chance!
I have an amazing shot of the Mackinac bridge during a sunset that I would love to get. My favorite place on earth and I’d love to have a little piece of it in my house in canvas form!
I’d love to blow up one of my Opa’s photos from one of his hikes. He passed away last year and I inherited his photos and they mean a lot to me.
Probably one of my kids!
i love the green wall canvas or the hotel sign they just stand out
I have a photo of my three kids on a bench looking out on the water I love
Our trip to Hawaii and the scenery pictures I took, it would be amazing, Thank you!
Congrats Anne!