Decorating Question Again but More Specific-a Little

Probably the only "rule" for art in the dining room is to choose something that won't ruin appetites, for family or guests. Seasonal pictures work all year if you enjoy them. It can be pleasant to contemplate another season when you've been suffering from summer heat or winter cold for awhile.

Another idea is to hang nature on your walls. Hang a dried wreath or even a fascinating piece of driftwood on your walls, place 3 or 4 smaller shadow-box frames side by side with lovely objects like leaves, grasses, feathers, seashells…. Nature never goes out of style.

Kids art can be adorable. There are frames with fronts that open so you can switch out drawings easily. These frames also work for framing your own selection of images that please you, from photos to magazine covers. I've occasionally framed swatches of gorgeous fabric or designer gift wrap with an inspiring quote or small photo mounted on it. The effect can be both stunning and highly personal.

What pleases you (and your family) is the most important factor when choosing art. Don't worry about trying to impress guests. You could end up with something "safe" but boring. You'll be looking at what you hang every day. Don't be afraid to experiment with low-cost approaches. You'll eventually discover what speaks to you the most.

We just recently began decorating with artwork throughout the house. Our dining room is painted a dark red. Two years ago for my husbands birthday, I bought a rather large canvas and about 4 different color paints. The kids and I gathered pine cones, matchbox cars and paint brushes. They also used their fingers. They each got their own color and basically made an abstract painting for my husbands birthday. When they were done painting I lightly 'splattered' the painting with one last color to add a bit more depth and there are also little pieces from the pine cones and tire tracks from the cars throughout. It hangs on one wall. We also have very nice bible verses that are framed and go well with our dining room. The different versus talk about faith and love. My mother asked if our homemade painting was Picasso...lol. It's always a conversation piece that we love to see everytime we eat and we notice something new all the time.

That's just one thought in the direction you can go.

Good luck!

I love thrift store shopping for artwork - that includes yard sales and flea markets. I have found quite a few attractive originals this way for next to nothing and sometimes for...nothing. I personally love rooms decorated with an eclectic mix of colorful artwork. Landscapes and seascapes are among my favorites because they can transport you to another time and place. The two things that I look for when selecting art are: colors that are attractive to me and a scene/object that is pleasing to the eye - regardless of the current season.

Regarding the photo of your children - the look you are desiring can be captured by a photographer who does "photographic journalism". This is the type of photography that we used for our wedding and it came out very artsy and realistic.

I have a large photograph of my kids, but the finish makes it look like a painting. Everyone thinks it is a painting and they are very surprised when I say it is a photograph. The photographers have so many different finishes that they can use tday. Choosing a unique finish is a great way to get a creative, more artistic type of photo of your kid.

When choosing pictures for my walls, I choose pictures that have a color scheme that coordinates with the colors in the room that I am putting it in. I am more concerned with it coordinating than whether it is flowers or another scene. Also, I think that it always looks more creative to hang things that are different textures, sizes and shapes and to include some wall hangings that are not actual pictures but more unusual things such as an old Gate or unique sconces, pretty collection of large tiles, unusual mirrors, etc...

Do you have a friend or family member whose home decor you admire? Why not ask if this person would come along with you to pick out artwork and other items to decorate your home. After all, they know you and would be more likely to know your taste, and because they have the knack for decorating they will know just what look for.

One suggestion I have, is if you'd like an artistic approach to a portrait of your children, have your favorite photo(s) recreated as a painting. Or, get them reprinted in black and white, or sepia, with color highlights. I think that a grouping of family photographs, in varying sizes and tones, is very charming.

You can check out Craigslist too. Every once in awhile, the perfect thing just pops up!

For that special kids photo I would look for a photographer that specializes in photo journalism. I used www.chrisgooden.com for my wedding photos and he also photographs kids. His perspective is truly amazing. I know there are a lot of people that do photo journalism around pittsburgh. Another idea is to take your kids to a park. Mingo creak park with the covered bridges in the Mon valley area is beautiful. You can take photos of them playing on the bridges in the shallow creaks or in the park itself when the leaves are changing. You may just end up with the photo you are looking for at not cost to you! As for the photo in your dining room I do not feel you need to change for the seasons. You pick art because it coordinates with your room and has meaning to you. Its for like other decoations like werathes on the door that you are expected to change with the season. most importantly have fun!!

Any artwork that pleases you and your family is what you should put up.

That said, I have a lovely still life of a fruit bowl in my "dining room", which I love to look at every day.

One other thing, if you are having things framed, or doing it yourself, frame to the artwork, not the colors of the room. Art is always best displayed when the frame draws your eye into the work, which is what a good frame job should do. (My mom is a professional framer).

I love pictures (that's why I'm a photographer). I like more artistic photos also - ones that you could keep up forever, like a view of the kids backs all sitting together or beautiful black and white shots that just show their personalities or capture a moment. Black and whites look great clustered together on a wall. I took a photo a while back of the bottom of 4 siblings feet all kinda lumped together with a black blanket surrounding them. It turned out amazing with all the different-sized feet. The parents fell in love with it and got a large portrait of it in black and white. I've really been wanting to do a similar shot with a whole family's feet together.
Mirrors are also nice in dining rooms, even intermingled with a cluster/collage of photos on the wall.
I've seen people put framed tiles up with their child's handprint on them.
Hope it turns out beautifully and that you're happy with what you see every time you walk into each room!

There is no rule, on what kind of painting/art work has to be in a dining room.
It can be anything. But should, reflect your own taste. That is what makes a home.

Next, just explain to the photographer, what kind of portrait you want taken. A good photographer will understand.

I have a background in interior design... architectural.

all the best,
Susan

Hi!
You may want to check out Ross, Marshalls, or TJ Max for wall art. They have some really unique and different things that are pretty reasonably priced... Also, Ikea has some cool stuff too. I usually start out with something I like and then find things that coordinate.. (either they are in the same color family... or center around a theme......etc...)

Also- above my bed I have a nice vignette of 4 different sized square and rectangle pictures... 2 are generic store-bought scenes. And the other two are combinations of personal photos (in black and white). The frames are not matching, but are in the same color family (black, silver, burnished silver, etc...)

For a photographer, you probably want a more natural photographer that does candid shots. My neighbor uses this amazing photographer in our area (South Jersey). Check out her blog-
www.thismagicmomentphoto.blogspot.com
I can't wait to get my son's pictures taken with her on the 25th for his first birthday. If you like what you see PM me and I'll give you her contact info, or she has an e-mail address through the blog.

Good luck!

Floral scapes and landscapes are ok for the dining room but the big look right now is tuscan type settings (something european looking) or nice fruit type pictures especially contemporary with some candlelighting (sconces) to accent it.

Another great site to find art for your walls:
http://www.20x200.com/

That site has artists who make prints, all different styles, for great prices.

I think it sounds like art has never really been an interest for you, so maybe ask your kids what they like?

For me art is very personal. Pictures need to tell a story otherwise they won't find their way onto my walls. If you want a landscape why not try finding a picture depicting your childhood town, or a place you visited and really liked, etc, just something that makes you smile every time you look at it.

Last year my husband bought three pictures for me as a birthday gift. They are modern art, basically just shapes in very vivid color and one is fairly large and two are medium size. We hung them up all three together on the same wall. Everyone who enters the room comments right away on how those pictures look great, they are a great eye catcher. I think what makes them so great is that they really pop because of the color, secondly, because they are in the same style they look like a set and also, they are real oil paintings which gives them a depth that prints just don't have.
The paintings are originals, but because we bought them at a local gallery from a not very well known local artist, they weren't all that expensive. It took us a while though, to find the perfect style for our house at the right price, but it was worth the wait. Since we bought the pictures we moved to a different state, but these paintings will always remind me of our short time in Indiana.

When you want to rotate pictures for the season, maybe you could find a place that loans pictures. I lived in a place for a while where you could borrow paintings from the local library.

Also, I heard that you can buy some great original stuff from art school students. They usually have exhibitions where they sell their work.