Where to buy cool art* for your home
*that won't cost you an arm and a leg
Good morning my darlings,
Are you also wondering how it’s still January? I feel like this month has been a year long already. At the start of the year I promised myself to be more consistent with this newsletter, and to branch into subjects I haven’t really posted about on Substack before. I realised that I made up a rule in my head about this newsletter only being an outlet for me to share my writing, but I’ve since decided to just share whatever brings me joy, whatever that may be. A question I often receive on Instagram and TikTok is where I got the art on our walls, and how to curate a gallery wall. I’m by no means an interior designer or gallery wall specialist but our apartment was featured in The Design Files and in Sunday Life and like all Libras I believe that I have decent taste. This guide is Australia/ Melbourne centric since this is where I live, but I’d love to see your recommendations in the comment section. If this email cuts off due to length, view it in your web browser or the Substack app <3
Aurelia’s guide to affordable art
I’ll preface this by saying that I know that affordable means different things to different people. When I say affordable, I don’t mean cheap. I mean that these pieces don’t cost as much as the art you’d see at a fancy gallery but they probably cost more than the mass produced stuff at Kmart or Typo (no shade to Kmart or Typo). I don’t have a problem with mass produced art, but I’d avoid building a gallery wall full of stuff that looks like it was designed with a free Canva template or downloaded off Shutterstock. I’m never going to encourage you to bulk buy stuff everybody else on Pinterest has just to fill your walls with something. Having blank spaces on your walls while you’re looking for the right piece, or saving for something special is perfectly fine. Swapping out art you no longer like is allowed! Changing your decor is encouraged! In my opinion, there’s no shortcut to making your home and your walls feel lived in and curated and uniquely you. It’ll take time and a little effort but it’s worth it.
Framing
The key to an eye catching gallery wall is a mix of different sized pieces in mismatched picture frames. The frames don’t have to be expensive - I’ve got some IKEA frames, but I’ve also invested in nicer options from Frames Readymade in Brunswick and Frame of Mind in Northcote. Frame of Mind builds custom frames for your artwork so it’s a bit more costly, while Frames Readymade has a large selection of frames ready to go. Bring your artwork with you and the friendly team will help you frame it perfectly, including mat boards. Check out your local charity shops for unique frames, too. Simply replace whatever ugly art is in them with your own - or embrace the old time-y aesthetic, mixing and matching with what you already own. Different sizes and orientations are important, too. At one point in time I had a lot of A4 vertical prints and found them hard to style, my walls looked empty and sterile with too much white space in between each piece.
Framing your own photos professionally is another option I love. We’ve gotten our wedding photos printed and framed by Format Framing, they came out perfectly and would make a beautiful wedding / other occasion present. If you’re on a budget, print and frame yourself, using Officeworks or a home printer with photo paper. We chose black and white prints with a black frame for our wedding photos, which also brings me to an exception to the rule I just made up about mismatched frames.. Matching frames can be incredibly chic, especially in a simple configuration like the one below. It works best when the photographs also match in vibe, which is easily done by using black and white photos. If you opt for full colour, use the same colour & size mat board around the photo for cohesion.
Objects!
Plates, mirrors, clocks, tea towels, jewellery, calendars, records, neon signs, old road signs, polaroids - don’t limit yourself to only hanging paintings and art prints. If you’ve got a record collection you’d like to display in a renter friendly fashion, I recommend Vinyl Rax, a small business based in Victoria. I like to swap the records I’ve got on display out from time to time to satisfy the part of my brain that yearns for change.
Where to shop
I never skip visiting an art gallery gift shop, and I make an effort to visit a gallery whenever we travel. You’ll usually be able to find prints and postcards of works on display, and as a sentimentalist I love nothing more than being transported back to a holiday when glancing at my walls. If you’re not travelling anytime soon, here are some of my favourite online stores:
NGV Design Store posters starting at $19.95
Gallery Shop by Art Gallery of New South Wales posters starting at $19.95
QGoma Store posters starting at $10
MOMA online store, incredible selection but shipping to Australia is $$
I’ve mentioned it before, but don’t sleep on charity shops and Facebook Marketplace for art. If you prefer a more curated selection, the Amazing Mill Markets , Waverly Antique Bazaar and Chapel Street Bazaar are home to multiple stallholders offering a wide range of vintage art, fashion, homewares and furniture. The Big Design Market and Finders Keepers Market pop up in Australian capital cities throughout the year and are another great place to shop and support local. While Etsy isn’t what it once was, there are still gems to be found, especially if you’re on a budget. Many artists now offer digital downloads, so you can buy an artwork relatively cheaply and print it yourself, saving you $ on shipping costs. Some prints veer into mass produced and impersonal Canva template vibes, but if you browse long enough you can find something unique. Instagram is another resource for finding new artists. Wherever you are, search for # YourCityName+Artist on your discovery page. Drool Art, Redbubble and Society6 can be good for online shopping, too.
Where I got my art - specifics
Now that I’ve revealed some my favourite places to shop, I’ll share where I got specific pieces that have been requested frequently (some more than others).
Super Rich Kids print above the drink cart (in a $20 op shop frame!) by Michael Kreiser Art. MK Art has transformed dozens of album covers across different genres into comic prints. See the whole range here - ships from the US so a bit $$.
1 - Local Traffic Only traffic sign by pma__art - Melbourne based
2 - Solo by Hugh Holland, printed by Wax Posters - ships from the US
3 - Palm Springs by Sean McDonald - enquire for prints here
4 - Cowboy by Laurence Watts, enquire here
5 - Hiroshi Nagai canvas print from Facebook Marketplace
- I don’t know where the red Salud! print is from as it was a present.
The plate on the far left shelf is by James Lemon, a beautiful & funny Melbourne based artist. The plates are customisable, James will write anything you want on them in gold.
Left - tea towel my father in law sent us, right, Mia Umeko print, both in IKEA frames. I really wanted a dark wood finish but they were sold out :(
This My Neighbour Totoro print by Coffin Birth hangs in our small (& currently messy hence no photo) entryway.
Closing thoughts
There are hundreds of more detailed how to gallery wall guides on YouTube, TikTok, Insta etc. and if you’re new to decorating, they can be a helpful template. Don’t take anything I, or they tell you as gospel. No guide out there knows exactly what your specific home layout is, or what your design preferences are. If you’re renting and need to use command hooks to hang stuff, opt for hooks rated for a heavier weight than what you’re hanging since they’re prone to falling down in the middle of the night. Depending on which state you live in, you might even be entitled to put holes in your walls. You can always fill them with Spakfilla when you move out. Happy decorating!
Love you,
Aurelia x
This post soothes my libran soul.