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Easy Budget Hack to Add More Art to Your Home

A painting from the Cincinnati Art Museum collection. A colorful landscape of homes by a river. Painted in oils by Bessie Hover in 1937.
An early impressionist-style oil painting by Pablo Picasso in 1901 titled Clichy Boulevard. A colorful scene in Paris with a white building, trees, and people.
A painting from the Cincinnati Art Museum by Edward Henry Potthast in 1924. It's called A Sailing Party. Children are dressed in their colorful Sunday best standing on the beach in the wind, waiting for a row boat to come in.

Are you ever inspired by old school master painters? Have you gone to the art museum and been completely amazed by all the incredible artwork? The still lifes, the portraits, and the landscapes, I’m thrilled by them all! My inspiration for this hack, believe it or not, came from an afternoon trip to the art museum. Why not hang some masterpieces in your own home? I have an easy budget hack to add more art to your home…and it’s simple and fun to do!

field trip to the Art museum

The Cincinnati Art Museum's front entrance to the museum. It's a Romanesque revival style building with large Roman columns in front.
A beautiful Henri Matisse painting from the Cincinnati Art Museum. A woman in a white colorful blouse and a blue striped skirt with green tropical leaves in the background. Painted in 1937. It's titled The Romanian Blouse with Green Sleeves.

The last time I visited the Cincinnati Art Museum I spent the whole afternoon there. I was so engrossed in ALL the lovely artwork that time just flew by. And I seriously couldn’t believe that I was standing one foot away from an original Matisse canvas! Seeing his brush strokes with my own eyes …it was an incredible feeling! And, seeing many masterpieces all together in one room, the beauty and color, put me in such a creative happy mood! It was simply wonderful! So why not try to create that same feeling in your own home? You can…by adding some inexpensive fantastic art prints from old books.

A beautiful bronze sculpture from the Cincinnati Art Museum of the poet Phillis Wheatley which was made in 1973 by Elizabeth Catlett. A bronze sculpture from the waist up of a wide eyed woman with one arm crossed over holding her elbow and the other arm held up to her face with her pointer finger resting on her cheek in a contemplative way.
A partial view of a gallery room in the Cincinnati Art Museum. Displayed on the walls are two paintings: A Matisse painting of a woman wearing a white and colorful Romanian blouse and a Diego Rivera painting of Miss Joy Johnson, a woman wearing a fancy green blouse.
An impressionist painting from the Cincinnati Art Museum collection by the artist Pissarro in 1875. It's called Cabbage Patch Near the Village and it depicts workers in a cabbage patch with village homes in the background. It's painted in oil using soft pastel colors.
A Cincinnati Art Museum painting by Anton Mauve titled Shepherd and Sheep. Painted in 1880 it depicts a cloudy day in a field with sheep heading home with their shepherd close behind them guiding them along with his black dog.

Head to the used bookstore

The first thing I do is head over to my local used book store to find some colorful used art books. I go straight to the art section and search for oversized art books with high quality color reproductions. Then, I look for full length prints which are easier to find frames for. I search all the artists and the genres. I’m interested in Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, Old World, and Modern. Botanical and bird illustration books are wonderful to use too. I give them all a once over and then make my choices. I can usually get some really good deals. The books I purchase are normally only four dollars each… unbelievable!

Various oversized art books opened up on a table. An Impressionist landscape along with a Cezanne still life with a pitcher and green pears are shown. Framing art book illustrations is an easy budget hack to add more art to your home.
Several colorful oversized art books opened up to various artist's paintings...landscapes, still lifes, and bird prints. Framing art book illustrations is an easy budget hack to add more art to your home.

Thrift shop frames

Next, I start my hunt for some fabulous frames. I like pretty picture frames with some age to them, whatever catches my eye. Simple or ornate I like them all. I look in thrift stores, antique shops, flea markets, and even garage sales.

Beautiful art book illustrations of an impressionist landscape, still life, and a portrait of a woman in a fluffy white party dress are displayed with a small stack of vintage gold frames. Framing art book illustrations is an easy budget hack to add more art to your home.

assemble your new Art prints

The last step is to put it all together. it’s time to get creative. Find the reproductions you want to frame, cut them out, and assemble them. Sometimes I use just the frame with the art print and sometimes I use a frame with a mat and glass. It all depends on the look you are going for. This is such an inexpensive project that you can change out your illustrations as often as you like for a new look. There are so many choices!

Three art books opened up to show impressionist artwork by various artists. A vintage gold ornate frame rests on a Cezanne still life of a pitcher and green pears.
Three partial views of landscape paintings from various art books. A vintage gold ornate frame rests on an illustration of a Tawny owl.

A masterpiece in your own home!

My inspiration for his hack was indeed brought on by my fabulous trip to the Cincinnati Art Museum. I’m a fan of all genres of art but I’m especially in awe of the skill and talent of the old school painters! So when I want to add some vintage flare or even modern touches to my decor I think of framing masterpieces… try this easy budget hack to add more art to your home. All you need are art books, some picture frames and sometimes a little sense of humor…who wouldn’t want a mini Mona Lisa in their dining room? She’s perfect!!

An illustration of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci displayed in a fancy gold vintage fame. It is displayed in a china cabinet surrounded by colorful mini pumpkins.
A mini version of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is displayed in a gold vintage frame in a china cabinet with colorful pumpkins in wood bowls. It's an easy budget hack to add more art to your home.

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