How to make your own large scale wall art with a modern frame to look like a $1,000 high-end piece for under $50.
We are soooo close to finishing this master bedroom makeover that I can barely stand it. It’s killer waiting around for two throw pillows to arrive in shipping but then the whole tamale is DONE!
I feel like I’ve been saying “we’re so close” for two months now, but ya know… Christmas and kids home on winter break and all that.
For real this time. Okay? Pinky promise. And this little art project for this space might be one of my favorites in the history of ever!
UPDATE: See our final Master Bedroom reveal here!
I looked everywhere for large scale art that we could put over our dresser, and kept coming up with either art that was within our budget but not my style at all or art that I absolutely loved but had a $1,200 price tag. Champagne taste on a beer budget… story of my life, I tell ya.
So Robert and I set out to make our own art… as always. Just how we roll.
I found a beautiful winter scene first by searching through old art archives until I stumbled upon this public domain image called “Harlem Valley Winter” by Ernest Lawson. Even though it’s technically “winter”, the colors are neutral enough that I plan to keep it up year-round.
I had it printed in the largest size on a blueprint at Staples like I usually do. Some people have reported that their local Staples won’t print images on blueprints for them (no idea why that varies for each store), so if you run into that, you can also try Office Depot or OvernightPrints.com as an alternative. More info about that below.
Here’s what we did to turn it into large wall art.
(Some affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here.)
DIY Large Wall Art
Supplies Used:
- Large blueprint of image (print instructions at the bottom of this post)
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Scissors
- 1/2 thick plywood
- 1/4″ lattice strip
- Circular or miter saw (We use this one)
- Nail gun
- Stain of your choice (We used Minwax in Weathered Oak)
- Stain/paint brush
- Elmer’s spray adhesive
- Old credit card
Steps:
1. I knew I wanted a large square piece of art, but since the image was horizontal, we had to cut it down to a square size with a good ol’ pencil and scissors to be 36″.
2. Once we knew the size of the blueprint, we could measure and mark the plywood. Subtract an inch from your blueprint’s dimensions to use as the cut dimensions of the plywood. (So we marked our plywood at 35″.)
3. Cut the plywood with a circular saw or miter saw.
4. Roll out your blueprint on top of the plywood piece to make sure it fits and has a half inch overhang of paper all around.
5. Start on one end of your plywood by carefully lifting the blueprint and spraying the top edge of the plywood with spray adhesive.
6. Press the top of the blueprint down to adhere it to the plywood.
7. Spray the rest of the plywood piece and carefully unroll the blueprint, smoothing it down to adhere it to the plywood as you unroll.
8. Use an old credit card to press out any air bubbles and let dry.
9. Cut two lattice strips to be length of your plywood (35″ in our case) and cut two more lattice strips to be the length of your plywood + 1/4″ (If you want, you can miter the corners of your lattice strips, but we kept it simple with straight cuts.)
10. Stain the lattice strips and let dry.
11. Lay your plywood art piece on top of a couple of lattice strips (pictured) to elevate it on your flat work surface
12. Fold the 1/2″ overhang on your paper against the edge of the plywood and attach two lattice strips to the top and bottom of your art using a nail gun.
13. Repeat step 12 on the sides.
14. Attach eye hooks and wire to the back to hang.
Done!
It really was so easy and makes a great beginner DIY, if you’re new to using power tools.
I’m so totally thrilled with how it turned out, and it only cost less than $50. Sure beats $1,200, huh?
And it pops perfectly against that luscious black paint. Mmmmmmm.
If you want more art and wall decor ideas, you can find a bunch more here.
I had to do some reformatting of it to make this winter landscape art the right resolution for large scale, so I turned it into a printable, if you want to copy our process (or just to print in a smaller size from your home printer to stick in a frame).
You can snag the downloadable print yourself by clicking here to subscribe or click this button:
If you’re already a blog subscriber, you should have already received the free downloadable printable set in your email (or just click the printable library link with the password that’s at the bottom of all of my emails).
Print Directions:
- Download the winter landscape print from the Bless’er House Printable Library (password in your email).
- Go to Staples.com
- Click “services & solutions” -> “printing services” -> “blueprints” -> “36″x48″″ -> “design now” -> “color blueprints”
- Click “add files” and upload the botanical print images
- Click “orientation” -> portrait
- Click “add to cart” -> “proceed to checkout”
*Some of y’all have reported your local Staples not printing these as engineer prints (it varies by location). If you need a great alternative, you can try Office Depot or overnightprints.com
Or you can choose to print it directly from your home computer as an 8×10 (or smaller) to stick in a frame.
You like?! Me lurv!
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You can also try local print shops for printing projects like this. I work for a small shop in SC and we could print a poster similar in size to this one for less than $20. Plus you are supporting small, local business.
Oh that’s great! If you don’t mind me asking, what is the shop? We’re on the NC/SC border.
Amazing!! Seriously!!
Thanks, Erin!!
what’s the difference as to why you adhered it to plywood vs. a canvas?? (your patio poster method). seems it would be a lot lighter and you could still add the frame. Does it look different on wood??
We were repurposing an existing canvas with a frame already attached for the patio poster method, but you certainly could do this similar method using a canvas along with lattice strips and a construction adhesive instead of nails, if you didn’t want to mess with power tools. It ends up costing about the same in the end. A canvas this large is just slightly more expensive than the plywood we used by about $5-10.
Absolutely beautiful! You and your husband are incredible. Thanks once again for the inspiration.
Thank you, Miche! This was a fun one!
This is definitely a top favorite of DIY wall art! I Love how it turned out.
It’s definitely my favorite too. 🙂 Thanks, Rae!
This is amazing and exactly what I was looking for. Could I ask for you to better explain the process of finding the artwork. Did you pay for a digital download and how do you figure out if it is large enough to make a large sized print? I have a piece of art work that I am drooling over at Minted called Mornings Away and would love to find a way to make something similar more budget friendly!
There are many archives you can search through online just by Googling “public domain art” or “public domain images”. I’ve even found some through the Library of Congress’s website. They’re all over the place; it just takes some browsing through the archives’ image galleries. Sometimes I don’t know that an image is large enough until I import it into photoshop, but the resolution of an image has to be a certain number of pixels to be printed at larger sizes. This conversion chart helps to determine how large you can make a print depending on the resolution: https://www.nationsphotolab.com/pixelchart.aspx If an image has a low resolution, unfortunately, it usually can’t be printed this large.
Great idea and lovely picture. I have some pictures I took in France. I’m going to convert them to watercolor and then use your framing method. Thanks!
Love that artwork. Great job! I saw a poster years ago that I’ve been looking for. It’d be easier if I knew the name! It was similar to cave paintings. I’ll try these places you suggest.
I am working on this same project right now. Waiting for my prints I ordered. I love your print. laura
Well you may have just provided a solution to my stairwell art dilemma! How have I been printing large scale for so many years and never thought to ask for blue print?! So much less expensive!
Oh my! I love this print. I just painted my dining room navy and have a big wall space to fill. I’ve been struggling all day to download the print. I finally did and ordered it from my local Staples. I was so excited but then received a call that they wouldn’t print it. I tried your link to overnight prints and don’t see blueprints on their site. I’m obsessed and determined! I wonder if I could order it from your Staples and have it shipped. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Lauren, that is absolutely beautiful. I have learned so much from you over the years. Anyone can have beautiful art for little money and then there are so many really inexpensive frames as well. Thanks for sharing your beautiful ideas. Blessings to you and yours…stay safe and healthy. 🙂
Hi Lauren! Where is the tutorial for this dresser paint technique?
Hi! Your creativity and style is so inspiring! I love your home. Thank you for sharing your ideas. I am new to your blog and I am obsessed with your lady head planter!! Can you share where you found it and also is that a real plant inside? If not, it’s the best fake ever 🙂 Thanks for any help in this!!
She’s from Walmart! Here’s the link: And yes, that was a real plant 🙂
I just sent my print out off. I first tried Office Depot, but they didn’t provide in store pickup for the 36×48 size in color. It was an extra $11 for delivery coming to $26 and some change. I then tried Staples and they provided the in store pickup for the same size in color. It came to $11.04. I thought I would share with others. I’m excited to get my print so I can start this project. Its going to be perfect over my fireplace.
Love this tutorial and I can’t wait to try it! I got the blueprint printed at staples online and picked it up at my local store but they printed a poster. Do you think this will still work?
ABSOLUTELY!! 🙂
Such a great idea!