A Blank Canvas / What Would You Do?

We painted the girls’ bedroom over spring break—how lucky were we to have temperatures in the 70s and 80s so we could have the windows open?—and now it’s time to put the finishing touches together. (By the way, the colors are much more vibrant than my photography skills are able to capture. We had a really helpful salesperson at Hirshfields who just knew colors.)

The wall that was formerly taken up by bunk beds is now a large, blank canvas. Except, of course, for the Hunger Games poster that found its way up on the wall within seconds of the paint drying! You can’t see it, but the wall to the left is taken up by bookcases and a desk. So the girls don’t really need more shelves—except maybe for one little shelf for special treasures above each of their beds. Which would still leave plenty of space for artwork.

So what should we do?

I like this idea that Evie posted from an Anthropologie store she helped prep for its grand opening in Oklahoma City:

In Evie’s words: “I got to work on one of the art displays, my own personal favorite attribute of Anthro. They had people from all over the country working to help get the store to standard. One of the gals painted this giant mural of an Oklahoma landscape and then we cut it up and put them inside these old canvas frames. It was so much fun being a part.” I think the art display looks amazing. Aren’t the colors beautiful? I wonder if the artist knew they were going to cut her mural up ahead of time, and if she minded! Hopefully not.

Maybe we could use some of the leftover paint from the walls, plus a few additional colors, and let the girls go all Jackson Pollock on a big canvas. And then cut it up, frame the pieces individually, and stagger them along the wall. Can you just use regular old wall paint for something like that? What kind of canvas would work best? So many questions….

Lexie had the idea of hanging wind chimes over the chair in the reading alcove. (It’s on the left side of the photo.) I think that’s a wonderful idea. Maybe we can find wind chimes made of seashells—they’d fit right in with the beach-y vibe happening in the room. Which will be fantastic in the summer months, and a nice retreat during our long winters.

I’d love to hear your ideas for what you’d do if you had a big space like this to work with! Would you go with one large piece or use lots of smaller pieces? Do you like the current trend of decals? Lexie loves to write; have you ever seen art you admire that somehow incorporates words?