Hi All
Im new here and just thought i would join to get some ideas and tips from people. I have just brought a house in the country and it is in the process of being renavated. So now im onto the fun, but hard bit trying to decorate. I heard canvas’s are the new thing but there are so many websites to choose from. I found a site called www.eyelevelartworks.com which have some brillant designs has anyone ever ordered from them and if so how did you find the finsidh product etc. If not can anyone recmmend any swebsites.
Thankyou x
Replies
I've never worked with canvas, wish I could help. Just wanted you to know your message hasn't gone unanswered.
I just saw this post. I haven't used this particular service, but wonder what distinguishes these canvases from other paintings? My DXH used to paint abstracts on canvas which we would then hang - same effect, very cheap, and you don't really have to be an artist to do something similar.
I'd suggest that if you really want to use canvas, browse a few art galleries and invest in some genuine artwork (assuming you don't want to produce your own). And don't restrict yourself to oil (or acrylic) on canvas - limited edition prints, museum-quality reproductions, good posters, pen and ink sketches, even your children's art, can all be gorgeous, interesting, and fun. (I recall once seeing a dining room, belonging to a multi-millionaire, in which a half-dozen Chagall originals were hung, interspersed with a similar number of "paintings" - crayon scrawls, stick figures, hand-prints, etc.- that the owner had saved over the years from his children's school art projects. It was very effective, and very charming - I think Chagall himself would have approved!)
I don't want to lecture, but whatever you end up doing, do it because you love the effect, and you want to live with it, not because it's something you've seen in a magazine somewhere. Magazines have to come up with "trends" and novel ideas every month, or else they go out of business. You home is not a magazine layout, and never will be. (Believe me, I DO know about these things, having worked in the home-decor mag biz for more than two decades. The homes that are photographed for mag publication are subject to a LOT of doctoring! )
[Sorry, this post somehow got addressed to the wrong person. My apologies, and I don't know how to readdress it!]
“We would like to live in the past, but history prevents usâ€.
John F. Kennedy
Edited 6/23/2004 5:06 pm ET by Sandra
The homes that are photographed for mag publication are subject to a LOT of doctoring!
Hi Sandra,
I hope you'll be happy to learn that at Inspired House we do not do a lot of doctoring to the homes that we photograph. Our goal is to show houses as people really live in them.
When we photograph a house, our editor and photographer work closely to make sure the pictures tell a story, rather than just show lovely interiors. We do make sure that the rooms are clean and presentable; we bring in flowers and fruit for additional color and visual interest. Sometimes we move existing furniture to frame a photo better and we go through the homeowner's cupboards looking for nice vases and bowls. But we do not show up at a house with a truckload of furniture and accessories.
We find that this makes the homes we cover more interesting and accessible to our readers.
Cheers!
- Anne
Hi Anne,
As a regular devotee of Fine Cooking, I am aware that Taunton does not go in for high-stylin' anything - a policy I for one generally appreciate (though with caveats!) I worked for about 20 years with other home decor mags (Canadian House & Home, etc.) and I can well recall many, many photo shoots where we would bring in a truckload (and in one case, a barge-load) of stuff - cushions, flowers, art work, occasionally a couch or two, bedding - you name it! to dress up a space. Even just repositioning furniture for a photo shoot can be somewhat misleading to a reader who assumes that the camera never lies - that what is depicted is the literal truth.
My comment came out of years of hearing about, and meeting, misguided souls with more $$$ than either sense or taste, who assume that if they see a thing (or a style - remember Santa Fe? When everything pink and green ruled the world?) often enough, they absolutely must have it in their own home, appropriateness, use, or aesthetics be damned. “We would like to live in the past, but history prevents usâ€.
John F. Kennedy