Art Hound

Today I have the absolute pleasure of being an unexpected guest of Victoria of sfgirlbybay. I’ve always been a fan of her aesthetic and loved how honest, real and warm she comes across. She features interiors that are inspirational but real. And it’s always rooted by a genuine personal interest in the people who live there. Yes, I have a bit of a blogger crush on Victoria.

Going back a bit, we moved into our current apartment in Brooklyn a year and a half ago, and I’ve spent the past six months really pushing hard to get the space to where I wanted it. We’re super lucky to live in an inviting space that gets a ton of light, but it was still a difficult ongoing process figuring out how to arrange it to best fit our lifestyle and aesthetic. I’d love to say that it all came together effortlessly but that would be a total lie! Along the way there were many iterations of furniture layouts and art hanging.

Take a peak at the finished product below but be sure to check out more (including an interview) over at sfgirlbybay!

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Styling by Katherine Hammond and photography by Elizabeth Felicella. Photo collages by sfgirlbybay. Curious about the artwork? There are details over on flickr.

After getting some of your thoughtful opinions (thank you!) on which photograph to add to the exposed brick wall in my living room, I decided on Baby Deer by animal photographer extraordinaire, Sharon Montrose. (If you’re not familiar with her work, her e-shop The Animal Print Shoppe is a must-see!)

I ordered a basic white frame and mat here to keep the look streamlined and inline with the other art on the wall. I played around with the placement of the photo but in the end settled on the design I had in mind from the beginning: one piece on the left and two aligned vertically on the right. I wanted the three pieces to read clearly as a group so even though the wall is large I spaced them pretty close together.

For now I’m content with the result and am putting down my hammer and nails. I am a serial re-arranger so like everything in our home this is a work in progress.

Sometimes you come across a piece of art and just know you have to have it. You may not have a place for it but you know you’ll find one. Other times you go looking for artwork for a specific space in your home. Lately I’ve been in the latter category looking for a third mid-sized piece for the exposed brick wall in my living room. Groupings are hard, especially with bigger work and although I like the current look, I plan to swap out the small piece on the bottom left with a (larger) photograph. To visualize how the wall would look and help me choose a piece, I digitally framed the potential photographs here like so…

…and photoshopped them onto the wall. Any guesses which one I chose?

1. Grey Waves by Karen Iwachow

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2. Fog and Ice by Stanislav Ginzburg

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3. Baby Deer by Sharon Montrose

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4. Owl by Sharon Montrose

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Other artwork shown are Stacked Upon by Jaclyn Mednicov and Pores by Anastasia Ugorskaya.

Over the last couple weeks we’ve made some exciting updates to our apartment that I want to share with you all. Isn’t it fun to see a space progress over time?

Here’s what our living room looked like at the time of our Apartment Therapy house tour in July. We had a couch and rug we loved, a great piece of art but not enough furniture and seating. Plus it felt a little stuffy. .

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And it stayed that way up until a few weeks ago when we purchased the Strut Blu Dot coffee table via Craigslist. The new coffee table is large and low to the ground which makes better use of the space and creates an informal, lounge-y vibe. The clear acrylic CB2 tables moved to the side of the room.

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And just this week we purchased this DWR chaise lounge in “Avocado” (again via Craigslist) and rotated the existing furniture. We are digging the new arrangement! There’s more space for lounging and the cats have given it their seal of approval too.

Pssst… Want to take a peak at our Brooklyn apartment? Curious to see the art that I live with? You’re in luck! I’m beyond stoked to have our apartment featured on Apartment Therapy, so come take a look!

I began collecting affordable art five years ago and it’s grown to be the defining element of our home. It’s what gives our space the most personality and it’s what friends comment on when they come over. Since I finished school and started collecting five years ago, I’ve lived in two cities, moved seven times, and acquired and sold plenty of furniture. The one constant (albeit growing) element is the art that we surround ourselves with.

Questions? Here’s a detailed tour of our art collection.

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Related Posts: Basics: Where to Look For Art? – Collector Interview: Little Glowing Lights – The Big Debate: Prints vs. Originals

Check out the newest addition to my collection! It’s a print of Going to the Mountains by Daphne Cellophane aka Katie Milloy-Parry. As soon as I saw this cute little number I knew I loved it, but I debated buying it anyway because I thought it might be TOO cute. After coming back to Katie’s print again and again (if this happens to you take it as a sure sign to go for it!), I finally made the purchase… for a mere $15 on etsy.

Affordability is the best thing going for prints. Don’t have much money to spare? Buy a print! Interested in art that might be too trendy/ cute/ dark/ etc.? Buy a print! Worried your taste might change in 6 months? Well, you get the point. The investment is negligible meaning that you can and should take risks and buy what you like today.

Here is the print framed and hanging in a little corner of my bedroom. I love looking at it when I get in and out of bed. It’s so happy and sweet and makes me smile. For more photos of my art collection, click here.