One Project Closer

I’m a firm believer in making your home a place that evokes feelings of warmth, comfort, and happiness. One of the simplest ways I have found to do this is by displaying photographs of friends and family. As I began doing this in my new home, my dad (Chris Paulis) was just starting to get involved in photography, and we all quickly learned that he was incredibly talented. He has always been artistically inclined - drawing, making wind chimes, stained glass decor (lamps, garden stands, kaleidoscopes, etc.), and most recently photography. In addition to taking beautiful family pictures, he also has amazing photos of flowers, birds, lighthouses, and much, much more. In the past few months I have ordered multiple prints and framed them for different areas of the house. The art is not only a beautiful and classy compliment to the decor, but it also reminds me of my loving father every time I see them.

Some framing and printing tips:

• You may have seen in my earlier post (Before/After Home Office) how I incorporated some of his photos into our home office. With these particular pictures, I did not want to crop them (even though they were not standard size). Since I could not find a frame to fit these pictures without cropping them, I bought Matte-less frames. The picture is placed in between two pieces of glass and the wall color shows through to appear like a matte.
• With good art work, you don’t have to spend too much on a simple frame, therefore letting the art stand-out.
• If you find a good, cheap frame but don’t like the color, lightly sand, prime, and paint the frame. Its takes a little extra time and love, but is well worth it.
  
• I use Shutterfly.com for smaller prints and larger quantities. I have had good luck with the quality of their prints and the speed of production. If you tend to order lots of prints, they also sell packages at discounted prices per print.
  
• I use Adorama.com for larger prints. I have also had great experience with the quality of their prints and the speed of production. They also run frequent deals for larger prints. For example, I recently spent $0.99 for an 8×10 Lustre print of excellent quality.

Feel free to check out more Chris Paulis Photography.

Here are a few photographs that are my favorites and a few that I display in my home. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.