Master Bedroom Update: Art Direction

*The art for today’s post was graciously provided by Minted. Links in today’s post may be affiliate links, which generate income to help keep The Gathered Home running and never cost you anything extra!

You guys, I am such a tortoise when it comes to room designs. Slow and steady.

Oh so slow and steady.

I find that when I try to move too quickly, I end up making choices and compromises I’m not happy with in the long run. So instead, I take my time and try to really visualize each step before committing.

You might say I’m a bit of a commitment-phobe, but this approach has led to spaces that I really love in our home, so I guess I’ll be sticking with my tried and true snail’s pace!

All that is to say, two weeks ago I shared our newly upholstered faux-alligator wall in the bedroom, and now I’m sharing the next step I took in that little nook…

That’s right! I bit the bullet and drilled through my gorgeous new wall treatment so I could finally hang the beautiful Minted art pieces that helped create the color scheme for this room in the first place!

If you’ve been following along with this makeover from the beginning, you might remember that my original plan was to hang these pieces in thrifted burl frames above the nightstands on either side of our bed:

However, a few weeks ago, I found something at the Salvation Army that threw a total wrench in my plans in the best possible way:

This gorgeous pair of ornately carved, vintage burl night stands that I knew HAD to come home with me… especially at $42.99 each!

With these slated for each side of the bed, I knew I had to do one of two things – rethink my framing plan for the Minted art, or relocate the art to a different wall.

I considered a few other framing options, but I had deeply fallen in love with the idea of pairing the art with the chunky burl frames I found at the Habitat for Humanity Restore, so that made my choice simple!

I’m so very glad I decided to move these pieces to the alligator wall, because this color + pattern combo makes my heart sing!

The frames already came with one half of a French cleat system screwed to their backs, so I just had to make a quick hardware store trip to pick up the other bracket.

French cleats are an awesome way to hang heavier art pieces! Each bracket is angled so that they lock together securely and spread the weight of the piece horizontally across the wall. The kind I bought even comes with a teeny level insert to help you mount the bracket!

I also love this hanging system because if you make sure your brackets are level, your art will always be level too – you’ll never need to straighten it out after a door slams or you brush up against it!

I just couldn’t love these two pieces I chose any more, especially side by side like this!

The one on the left is “Me, In Stitches” by NYC artist J. Wink, and the one on the right is “Slopes” by the Alberta, Canada-based designer/artist Melanie Severin. Both are available on Minted.com in framed and unframed prints. Since I already had these fabulous thrifted burl frames, I went with 18×24″ un-framed prints.

I thought I would share with you my process of narrowing down my art choices, because I spent a few hours browsing Minted’s offerings and ended up with these 9 contenders!

 

1. “Slopes” by Melanie Severin

2. “Me, In Stiches” by J. Wink

3. “Drift” by Lorent and Leif

4. “Aurum Sand No. 3” by Julia Contacessi

5. “Mesmerize” by Melanie Severin

6. “Passage” by Kelly Ventura

7. “Stormy Sunrise” by Melanie Severin

8. “Splendor” by Jess Franks

9. “Soft Shimmer No. 2” by Julia Contacessi

I knew I was going with khaki/olive walls and wanted the room to feel warm and layered, so I narrowed down my search to soft, gentle paintings with warm colors, specifically looking for two distinct pieces that would work well with each other.

And as much as I love #1 and #2 together in the space (and #6 will be making a petite appearance soon!), really, any of these combinations would have been lovely!

I’m captivated by the idea of #6 and #7 together, but of course #4 and #9 would be a natural pairing! And together, don’t all these pieces make a beautiful gallery?

In the end, I went with the pieces that initially grabbed me the most! When you’re choosing art, I think you really have to go with your gut – it’s about so much more than just picking something that has the right colors. I loved the warm corals of the DNA-like spirals in “Me, In Stitches”, and the soft combination of khaki and pink in “Slopes” made my heart sing.

There’s a teeny version of “Passage” that will be making an appearance elsewhere in the room, because those pink semi-circles on the top left just wouldn’t let go of me!

So that nicely wraps up this little dresser alcove! I’m pretty thrilled with the way this segment of the room turned out and it makes me extra-excited to finish up the other portions!

Which piece of art I considered for this space was your favorite?