I'm really excited to bring you the 3rd part of our bedroom makeover series today. In part 1, I showed you how to paint an accent wall and the dramatic effect it can have on the feel of your room. In part 2, I showed you how to make that beautiful rustic headboard for only $86(!?). Today, I'm providing free downloads for ALL FOUR art prints I created for my bedroom wall.
Just download them, print them, and frame them. Blam-o. You've got yourself a room. Having the right combination of wall decorations is paramount to creating a room with character. The things on your wall aren't simply a collection of pictures you like in frames. It's an important opportunity to introduce colors, textures, and different design styles to complement your other interior design choices like your duvet cover, wall color, furniture, rugs, and decorations. If the wall color is your suit color, the headboard and duvet cover your shirt and tie, then your art pieces are the extra but essential details like a pocket square and tie bar that set your look over the edge.
Part of the reason I'm so excited to share these with you today is because I had such a fun time designing them.
Abstract Geometric Printables, 20″x30″
These two designs make use of hard angles and white space that have a distinctive 1960s feel to them. The bright colors of these prints are an integral part to the overall look of the room. The intentional gray and brown color palette of the wall, duvet cover, headboard, chair, and dresser would be flat and monotone without the vibrant solid shapes the art prints provide.
Frame: Ikea Ribba frame, gray, 19 3/4″ x 27 1/2″ without matte, $14.99
The use of cyan and this orangish red is also a notable symbol of mid-20th century modern art. Blue and red are “complementary colors,” meaning they're opposite to each other on the color wheel. These colors produce the highest contrast when paired together, which is why they're commonly referred to as “opposite colors”. This stark colorful contrast is usually avoided in most common design styles because of its ability to cause visual vibration, an optical illusion created by combining two bright colors where the shapes or forms appear to be moving.
“Memento Vivere” in Splattered Gold Leaf, 16″x20″ Printable
Frame: Ikea Ribba, white, 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 – without matte, $10
In Latin, “Memento Vivere” means “Remember to Live”. I liked this as a subtle reminder in my room, both for motivation in the morning for a great day ahead, and for those tired evenings when I'm considering blowing off plans with friends because I'm an old man. Work hard. Stay focused. But, remember it's important to live a little too.
Here, the splattered gold script lettering is a juxtaposition of old and new – latin and contemporary styling – and provides modernity against the grays and browns of the room, the 1960s air of the geometric prints, and the rustic, weathered character of the wing.
Wing of a White-tailed Eagle, 19 3/4″ x 27 1/2″
(24″ x 36″ with bleed)
Frame: Ikea Ribba, gray, 24″ x 34 3/4″ – with matte, $18
This picture of a white-tailed eagle wing on a worn paper background combines some of the grays from the room as well as the brown from the headboard. It also plays into the rustic woods in the headboard and side table. I wanted a larger piece above the bed and I liked idea of the wing, it's both a specific form but abstract in this context.
Take a look at the the photo of the whole room at the top. Without the more modern and colorful prints on either side, this wing photo could be a little too…countryside. Creating a thought-out and modern (but not flashy) room is all about striking a balance between design styles. Too much in any one direction and the room becomes themed.
This print is larger than its intended display size to give you some wiggle room to get the wing at the angle you want it. This extra printing beyond the edge is known as a design bleed. So just know, the edge of your frame or matte should just cover the left edge of the wing. This gives the feeling that it's still attached to the bird, and not just a random avian appendage floating in space.
See how to design your own below
Frame: Ikea Ribba frame, gray, 19 3/4″ x 27 1/2″ without matte, $14.99
The first print is inspired by the woodcuts of Donald Judd. Judd was an American artist who helped herald in the minimalism art movement, although he shunned the label personally. A woodcut is a relief printing technique where gouges are cut into wood leaving the raised levels to apply ink or paint to, which is then pressed onto the medium's surface. Similar to how a stamp works. Judd did a series of 26 parallelograms in 1963.
I first fell in love with Judd's work in a GQ article from several years ago:
Creating something similar digitally is quite simple. Here is a quick tut of me doing the process for making your own in a vector program like Illustrator:
Hope you like them! If you end up using them, I'd love to see a photo! Share it with us in the comments below!
Need art for the rest of your place too? Check out the whole Free Art Download series, and our collection post, with over 40 free printable wall art downloads.