The first time I saw art in a kitchen, I literally gasped. It seemed so out of place, but yet so perfect, in tying the home together. I knew at that moment for our kitchen I wanted – no, needed – to incorporate art.

With the hutch being such a large focus piece, it needed to be balanced out. As well, I didn’t want a blank void space above the fridge. Plus I’m *hoping* that having some art there will prevent things being stacked on the fridge… right??

Frames:

Frames can be P-R-I-CEY. And the sweet lord knows I have expensive taste, so looking at new frames just wasn’t in the cards for me. I’d love to one day get some custom frames done up, but at this time I couldn’t go down that road. Thrifting also gives more of an organic curated feel to a space. All but one frame are thrifted. I bet you can’t guess which one wasn’t ;).

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Art:

Let’s not reinvent the wheel! The art I used was all open source/public domain. This means it is art that is free for personal use! Kadie at “A Home is Announced” has an amazing print tutorial I reference every time. Grace from Collected Eclectic has themed collections she has organized as well for free access.

Click HERE to see the art I have saved for the kitchen. I will constantly be adding to this list!

Printing:

For this style of prints, the best paper to print on will be something with a nice texture. Of course that ends up being more money or is usually at a local print shop and not a large one like staples. I used London Drugs as I’m ballin’ on a budget. Their print quality for the “upload and pick up in a few hours” type is the best. I just got standard matte!

Hanging:

I used to swear by 3M hooks and still have them for some pieces… but in my DIY journeys I’ve come to learn that patching the tiniest hole isn’t too bad! Since we’ll be cooking in the kitchen, there will also be steam and oils in the air that could potentially limit the life of a 3M hook. If you are renting though, these are still great options for you!

I have found that the Monkey Hooks by Ook are SO easy to use though, don’t need an anchor, and leave the tiniest holes. We have the regular ones in the hall, but for the kitchen I used the Flush Mount ones. Here is a link to a great mixed pack! You can also find them at most hardware stores.

For the frames that just wouldn’t stay square, I put a little bit of mounting putty on the lower corners. This is also helpful if you live in an area with trains, or in high-traffic parts of your home like a hallway.

I still have a couple things up my sleeves for art in the kitchen (hello vintage flour sac!) but seeing these all framed up gives me butterflies every day! Is art in the kitchen something you would do??