OGT Studio “Decor Tour” Courtesy Of Minted.com

Back in December I mentioned that I’ve been working with Minted.com to decorate our new OGT studio with some beautiful artwork. Well it’s finally time for the big reveal and I could not be more thrilled with how the whole project turned out. Every time I walk into the studio now, I have to pinch myself to make sure it isn’t a dream!

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A special thanks to Kaitlyn for all her hard work on this project. Although I don’t know how much actual “work” it was for her, because she will freely admit she LOVES doing this type of thing and it shows. :-)

A Bit About Minted

Before we get to the reveal I wanted to tell you a little bit about Minted. They sell products from independent artists and designers in 48 states and 43 countries. They offer consumers access to art and other products that they would not otherwise have access to through traditional retailers. Plus, they help independent artists learn, gain exposure, and build their businesses. As a small business owner myself, that is something I can get behind!

All of the art sold by Minted is chosen through crowdsourcing. They hold monthly design challenges where the “crowd” curates Minted’s products. Minted then produces and sells the winning designs, paying the designer a commission on every sale.

Click here to learn morn about the Minted philosophy.

Working with Minted has been an absolute joy! I love what they stand for and their products are impeccably made. I can’t get over the quality of the prints and frames that I ordered!

They also have an outstanding variety of artwork. No matter what your taste and style, you are sure to find something you’ll love. Many of their prints even come in multiple color choices! Everyone on the OGT team admitted that they could have spent (and possibly did spend) hours browsing Minted’s website.

I also love that you can order all of your artwork framed! Minted takes the hassle out of shopping for the perfect frames once you get your prints. One quick tip – if you order any square prints from Minted be sure to get them framed. It is nearly impossible to find square frames anywhere else!

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I was so impressed with how well packed everything was when it came in the mail! All of the artwork is perfectly protected. And each piece came with a really neat insert with the name and a bit about the artist. It felt so much more special than just picking a mass produced piece of art at a big box store.

The Big Reveal

Now it’s time to see the art! You’ll also get to see some of the fun changes we’ve made to the OGT studio.

Conference Room

Art Sources:

• Escape (Mountain Print)
• Glass Bottles Art Print
• Utah Map
• Sunshine (Yellow Quote Print)
• Blocked Printed Arches
  
  

Bathroom

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Art Sources:

• Life is Beautiful
• Wings at Work (Gold Butterfly Print)
• Front to Back

Stairway

Art Sources:

• Fireflies Celebration
• Sherbet Rose 3
• Landing (Black Birds Print)
• Leaf 
• Do What You Love
• Some Things Take Time
• Chopped
• Summit
• Golden Mums
• Beautiful Dream
• There’s Always Hope
• String of Lights 
• Kiawah (Pink, Green and Blue Landscape Print)
• Wavy Blue (Wave Print on the Left)
• Waving Blue (Wave Print on the Right)

Craft Room

Art Sources:

• Rhopalocera Two (Butterflies)
• Nice Work
• Ombre Sky
• Meander (Ranunculus Flower)
• Strawberry Crepes (Pink and White Abstract Print)
• Go Your Own Way (Paperclips)
• Be Bold 
• Soaring Bird
• Collection (Shells)
• Salinity Now (Wave)

Words of Wisdom

Choosing and installing all of this art was quite the process! I learned a lot along the way through much trial and error. I would love to save you a major headache when decorating  your own space so I’m sharing some of my best tips.

Choosing Art for Multiple Rooms

• If you’re choosing art for a new house, start by getting all of your furniture in place. Then do a walk through of each room and decide where you would like to place your art. Take measurements of each area to determine the ideal size of art you would like to place in that space. Be sure to note if you want one large piece of art or gallery walls in each area.
• Make a list of colors and/or themes you would like to look for when selecting art. For instance, in our craft room I knew that I mainly wanted to choose things in coral/pink, turquoise, and yellow. I also wanted to find things that would spark creativity or be inspirational.

• Head to the Minted website! I created an account and gave the login info to everyone on my team. This would work for a family as well! We all went through the fine art selection and added things that stuck out to us to our “Favorites.” That way I could keep everyone’s taste in mind when making my final selections.

• Utilize the Minted “Boards” function. I love this feature! It allows you to add art to different boards, very similar to a Pinterest board. I created boards for each space that I needed art for so that I could see my favorites for that particular space all together. For instance I had a board for “Conference Room – Wall by Front Door” and “Conference Room – Wall Above Chair.” Then I could easily make my final selection for each space. Once I did that, I made boards for whole rooms to make sure everything worked together to create a cohesive space.

• If you’re having trouble choosing between a few different pieces take screen shots of those pieces (including your frame choice) and print them out. Stick them up on the wall with some double sided tape to get an idea of how each piece will actually look in the space. I had a hard time deciding on the largest piece in our conference room. The one on the far right was initially the front runner, but when I saw it on the wall I just didn’t love it! I was sure glad I saw it in on the wall before ordering and being stuck with something I didn’t love.

• If you’re having trouble deciding on what size art to order, cut out the various sizes you have in mind from some wrapping paper. This was especially helpful in our bathroom! Once I got the wrapping paper on the wall I realized I wanted something bigger for that space. Be sure to write the art size on the wrapping paper so you’ll know what to get when you actually order your art.

Styling Gallery Walls 

Gallery walls are a beast all their own! As you saw in the reveal we did two gallery walls in our studio. I cannot even tell you how many hours of work went into to putting those together. I feel like the gallery wall expert at this point!

• Just like with all the other art in your home, pick a color pallet or theme to stick with. For instance, with our stairwell gallery wall I wanted lots of inspirational art with a few pops of coral, yellow and turquoise.

• Choose one (or 2-3 for a large wall) dominate piece. This gives you something to plan around and makes it easier to choose the rest of your art. For our craft room, I fell in love with a water color of ranunculus. It had all the colors I wanted and I knew that I could style the whole rest of the wall around that piece.
• Choose a few more pieces that you definitely want to include in your wall. Be sure to look for a mix of paintings, photography, graphic design etc. to create a feeling of texture.
• Like I mentioned above, use Minted’s “Boards” function to save all your favorites in one place. This is key for gallery walls to make sure everything coordinates.
• Print out screen shots of your favorite prints, including your frame choice. While the Minted boards help you to find prints that coordinate, they don’t allow for much rearraging to figure out the way you’ll want to put them on the wall.

• Lay out the screen shots on a big table or on the floor and find an arrangement you’re happy with.
• Cut out the sizes of prints you think you’d like to use from wrapping paper. You might change your mind once you get things on the wall but this step will give you a good starting point. Make sure you tape the coordinating screen shot to the wrapping paper so that you remember what goes where. Also, be sure to write the size of each template on the front of the wrapping paper. That is an invaluable step when you go to order your art!

• Put the wrapping paper on the wall and play with the configuration until you find something you love. I found that using double sided tape on the wrapping paper was the best option for easily moving things around. When I did this in our craft room I found that I had a few spaces that that needed to be filled in. So I cut out a few more wrapping paper templates to fill the space. Then I headed back to the Minted website and searched for prints to fill those spaces.

Installing Art 

My #1 secret weapon for hanging any artwork is a paint stick with a nail stuck through one end. I have to admit that I can’t take credit for this idea. I got it from Kelly at View Along the Way. I feel like I am eternally indebted to Kelly because this trick has absolutely saved my sanity when hanging art around my home.

Hang your artwork on the nail with the sharp side pointing out.

Hold your artwork up to the wall. One you’ve determined your placement, gently press the nail into the wall to mark where your final nail will go. Then all you have to do is hammer a nail into the wall and hang your art. It could not be easier!

For hanging gallery walls I would just add a couple of tips. For a standard wall, start by hanging your center piece and work your way to the left or right, then up and around.

For a stairway, start with the bottom piece and work your way up and over. Finally, you’ll want to make sure all of your artwork is about the same distance apart. Or you can go a bit random like we did on our stairwell!

Giveaway Time

Minted is giving one lucky OGT reader $250 towards their own art purchases! Simply click here and fill out the form on that page to enter. Giveaway ends Sunday, 1/31 at midnight. The winner will be announced Monday, 2/1!

And for those of you looking for a unique and personal Valentine’s Day gift, Minted is currently offering 15% off art and stationary gifts! Just use code VALENTINE16 at checkout. Sale ends Sunday, 1/31.