Hello, friends! Today’s the day! I get to put a checkmark on the back hall/mudroom update.
Done. Finito!
The rugs made me SOOOO excited about the back hall refresh….but there was one more thing I wanted for the entry: some type of “statement” artwork.
No problemo: I just hit speed dial and asked Bobbie Burgers to whip me up something pretty to match my colors.
That, Bobbie…such a friend….she sent me these:
Em….EM!!!! WAKE UP!!!!
Wha…??? No speed dial? No Bobbie Burgers? Just these two same old mirrors?
UGH…sigh… I guess we’ll have to work with the resources at hand.
My DIY soft furnishings are in these colors:
And the intention was to pair them with that Mackenzie-Childs black sisal rug (can you find it in the photo above?) that I ended up using on the other side of the door when I bought the one in this photo below:
I decided my hallway STILL needed an infusion of Mackenzie-Childs Courtly Check… Which is when I thought of these pictures:
They’re from the upstairs hallway of the Mackenzie-Childs farmhouse.
Although they weren’t particularly colorful, I thought they were fresh and modern, with that signature Mac-Chi whimsy.
Annnnnd NOT. FOR. SALE.
So I decided to make my own.
I’m writing a tutorial on how to do this in the next post…(including how you can access MILLIONS of free images)…but…short term…I found these prints on line:
Using my computer, I removed the background color of the book pages, muted the colors until the hues complemented the colors of the Roman Shades… then added the iconic Mac-Chi Courtly Check as the border, and….voila!
I paid $25.91 total, to print them in a 20″ x 30″ format…popped them into half-priced Michaels frames and slapped them on the wall.
Wow! What a difference from the mirrors from the top of the page! Speaking of which….Ta Da:
Look closer!
I gave one of the mirrors a makeover with a little black and white color-dragged paint over the rope design.
I resurrected these metal bird cutouts from basement storage and, surprise!
The colors of the birds worked really well with the Roman Shades and the silver picked up the mercury acorns,
and the silver border I left on the mirror! Yay!
I had a lot of fun moving things around for these pictures…. and my garden boots must’ve been happy to be cleaned up for inside use, because they photobombed a lot of the pictures below. 🤦🏻♀️
Thanks for being so patient with this post! Stay tuned for Artwork on the Cheap!
Everything looks absolutely perfect, Em! You are so creative!
https://colorandgrace.com/
Hello, Grace! Thanks for your nice words, and for letting me know you were here!
I am a fan of Buffalo plaid, so even though I don’t have any of that Mackenzie stuff, I like the room. Love the little yellow bird on the door.
Hi, Maureen Welcome and thanks for commenting!! I totally get that not everyone is a Mack-Chi fan… Some of it needs to be seen in the context of their farmhouse, plus its rarely in this budget! I can’t get over the size of some people’s collections. Cha-CHING!
That said, I am a fan of basic dots. checks, and stripes…and think these prints can hold their own with any of them…plus, Mr. likes the black 🙂
Glad you let me know you were here!
Oh, Em!! I absolutely love everything. You are so very clever. Can’t wait for your tutorial, although I think PC will slay me if I want to hang one more thing on the walls. But still anxious to find out how exactly you created this art. My daughter buys lots of cute prints for download through Etsy. Succulents and cacti prints. And has found affordable frames for them. I am contemplating a kitchen theme refresh…but only if PC stays employed. Not knowing about his job and not knowing if I should be applying at 7-11 and Walmart is very nerve racking. Might buy myself one little something to begin the kitchen refresh and then see what happens on the job front.
It is funny how moving and rearranging things, adding the paint to the mirror frame, hanging the metal cut out art with the birds, putting the boots closer to the checked pillow can make such a difference but it did. Everything is just picture perfect. Love this space. Could we sit in the window seats and have tea and crumpets or scones or something British sounding next time I am over?
Hello, Kind Leslie! Thank you for your nice words!
So sorry about the stress of PC’s uncertainty. I worked for a military R&D contractor for about 10 years…it was always so stressful because of budget uncertainties and project ownerships. Writers were always near the bottom of the food chain as well. We second guessed every expenditure for most of those years. Totally get where you are…
But moving, repurposing and rearranging are all great, low-cost ways to change things out on the cheap, as you know. Many years ago, a pillow we once received as a gift entirely changed how we use our kitchen. We visited the kind woman who gave it to us the other day, and she still has the picture from my thank you letter on her fridge. (A post for another day.)
Looks fabulous…love the prints and also your window treatments!!
Thanks, Patti! Appreciate your visit 👋🏁😊
Those boots—the photo bombers….talk about perfect accessorizing.
I just CANNOT believe you created those framed photos….those are incredible. And what you did to the mirror?? GIRL!! I need you to come help me decorate when/if we get our house in AZ.
I swear this room looks like it’s out of a magazine!!!
XOXO
Jodie
Jack goes with everything, haha.
Thanks, Jodie. Your new house is already so beautiful! It looks like a new build. Makes me really want a white kitchen.
I know it took a while to finish, but I had fun with this area since so many pieces happened to fit together. It was fun making the pictures and the price was definitely right! Certainly motivates me for the next room!
Hope you know how grateful I am that you always leave a comment. No pressure, but you make posting very rewarding! Thanks friend!