We've lived in our house now for almost six years. It's hard to believe that it has been that long. I feel like it was just yesterday we were speaking with the builder, tediously deciding what would be the perfect tile for our bathrooms, and imagining the family we would soon fill the home with. Now two kids and years later so much has changed since we received those special keys at the closing table.
We've definitely taken our time decorating our home. Sure there were the initial "must do" projects (painting, buying furniture, hanging photos), and we have accomplished some major projects over the years (basement buildout, backyard landscaping, nursery designing/trim work), but for the most part a lot of the house has remained pretty bare when it comes to doing those little finishing touches to make it "home".
Somewhere in the last few weeks Mr. Cute came across a certain channel some of you might have heard of - HGTV. There must have been a lull in what was on one night because he actually let me have control of the remote. Not one to miss a rare opportunity, I introduced him to the wonderful world of Fixer Upper. Well now he is hooked, and ever since has been channeling his inner Chip Gaines. He has tackled a few projects that have been on our to-do list over the last few years, and has even gained inspiration to apparently re-do our whole laundry room. Much to our dismay, however, this was not the quick one hour project that Mr. Cute originally thought it was. :)
Not to be outshone when it comes to the decorating department, I've decided to be the Joanna to his Chip and to finish off a few projects of my own. As I was planning on what I wanted to accomplish around the house, I realized I wanted to layer in some spaces with art. Immediately Minted came to mind. A few months ago, I was introduced to Minted and their fabulous selection of art, and I knew it was the perfect spot to get just what I was looking for.
I definitely hit the art jack pot. Recently, Minted held their "Through The Lens" photography competition. The competition received over 5,000 submissions! As a retired photographer (does a photographer ever really retire???), I was immediately drawn to so many of the photographs as I was browsing through Minted. With over 459 new pieces added from 248 artists you can spend hours looking at all the beautiful options.
The winners of the challenge are simply breathtaking.
I fell in love with so many of the pieces available for purchase and framing, and knew this was just wanted to add to our home.
I ordered without even really thinking where I wanted the photographs to go, but that I just had to have them displayed in our home. I realized I was leaning towards kind of a coastal feel in my favorites, so I narrowed down my selection from there (trust me when I say it was still so tough!). I chose an 8x10 of the photograph "Shorebird" by artist Donna Rosser, and a 16x20 of the photograph "Seagulls" by artist Lisa Cersovsky. I had both framed in the reclaimed barnwood option, and when they arrived I could not have been more in LOVE!
This is my second order of art from Minted, and I am just as pleased as I was the first time. They are so easy to work with and the art is always shipped quickly and comes with these authenticity cards that you can store with your timeless piece of art and to share with future generations.
I also loved that I ended up choosing a local artist to support. Donna did a great job representing our home state in the challenge, and now I can look at her work every day.
Again, I chose the prints before I really knew the space, but I was so glad I chose the reclaimed barnwood framing. For each piece I chose the same option, but they each have their own tone and characteristics.
I love that their authenticity lends to color variation, and even has little notches to add to their charming character.
I also love that Minted makes all of their frames ready to hang.
Not many places make the process so easy and effortless from start to finish when it comes to an art purchase, and being able to just unpack and hang my new purchase in seconds makes me love Minted even more.
After careful consideration of where to hang my new art, I ultimately decided on our master bath. I wanted to display it in a place that I knew we would be able to enjoy it everyday. This spot in our house gets used a ton, but is hardly decorated. Our bedroom suite already has a coastal vibe, so carrying that into our bathroom seemed like an easy transition.
This is the place where we get dressed every morning, where my kids get to take baths in the "fun big tub", and where my girlfriends and I get ready for a fun night out. Why not make it a little more special? The bonus is it's a fairly large bathroom so I have a ton of blank space to work with.
I placed "Shorebird" right at the entrance to our bathroom, over one of our towel bars.
The tones of the frame match the colors in this room perfectly. The tile we have in here has a mixture of dark brown, tans, and blues to it. To contrast we have a light creme color on the walls, so the photograph gives this part of the bathroom just the little "pop" I was looking for.
For the larger print, "Seagulls", I decided to display it over our garden tub. The area splits our sinks and we can both enjoy looking at it each morning. It is such a serene photo and is perfect for looking at it during relaxing soaks in the tub. You know, when day when I can actually enjoy one of those. :)
I love the Minted art prints, and already have my eye on a few coordinating pieces to display around the rest of the room. The bathroom still has some changes on our list to complete the coastal feel (I am currently coveting these lights to exchange for our current ones, and can't wait to frame in our mirrors), but at least we are moving in the right direction to make it feel more like home.
Can't wait to share more of our home updates with you over the next few weeks (and trust me when I say Mr. Cute seriously has been on a mission), but until then...peace.
What Minted photo are you currently dreaming about?
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**This post is sponsored by Minted.com. We were given product in exchange for our review, but all thoughts and opinions are our own.**
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