This month I am working on my entry, and I’m happy to say we are making progress. First, we got some navy paint on the wall. You may recall from that the reason I decided to work on this entry in the first place (after having just redone it a year ago) is because we painted our living room in July, and the color completely clashed with the entry. Light gray and beige? Ummm… no. The issue is that our entire main floor is turning light gray: first it was the dining room, then our office, followed by the living room, and now it’s the entry. I needed something to break up all that gray, and a navy accent wall seemed like the right thing to do. As a reminder, here was the wall before (beige)… Okay, so not a great angle, but it’s the best I’ve got.
And here’s what it looks like now:
I love it! Hale Navy for the win!
The thing about this wall is that it’s so big and plain. I have had nothing on it since my entry makeover last year. That is changing this week…
I absolutely adore the blog Blesser House and because I subscribe to her emails, I have access to her free library of printables, which includes some botany prints. I decided to print them as engineering prints (because an 18×24″ print only costs $2.99).
NOTE: I’m not sure if Staples is catching onto this trend of printing large images for cheap, but I tried to have engineering prints done at one local store and my order was denied. They wanted me to resubmit my images and have them printed as posters for $25 each. ($75?! Not thank you!) I simply tried another store, and they printed them without issue.
I ended up finding these 16 x 20″ frames at IKEA. And the price? $4.99 each. Woot!
I didn’t really want white frames though, so I weathered them (just like my table from last week) to make them look more like wood.
If you follow on Instagram, you know what happened next… My dog ATE my engineering prints. By ate, I mean shredded them…
I had to trim them to fit the frames anyway, but he gave me no choice but to trim them from the top (which would not have been my first choice). But what can ya do? #reallife
Here’s how they ended up.
Update: I still use these prints in my home 5 years later, but ended up reprinting the images and using 18×24″ frames from Michaels in order to eliminate the need to trim the print to fit the frame.
For more ideas on free/cheap wall décor, check out this post.
Budget So Far:
- Paint Supplies: Many times I have what I need for painting, but this time around, I needed more tape and a new roller…
- Painter’s Tape- $3.24
- Painter Roller- $3.51
- Hale Navy Paint- Color Matched in Behr- $23.78- I bought a gallon, knowing it was WAY more than I’d need for this one wall, but buying a gallon is cheaper than buying a quart (per ounce) and you never know when some Hale Navy paint might come in handy 🙂
- Colored Engineering Prints x3- $8.97 ($2.99 each)
- 16 x 20″ Frames x3- $14.97 ($4.99 each)
- Supplies to Weather Frames- Free (Already had on hand)
Total So Far: $54.47
Love it? Pin it!
Erin, love love love the navy blue wall! Thinking I’d love to do the same in my son’s bedroom!!!
I love the navy even more than I thought I would. A boy’s bedroom would be a GREAT place for it!
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the navy!
Thanks Stephanie! I love it too, and now I’m trying to figure out where I can add navy in our house 🙂
Oh my goodness, your dog ate your homework!!!! LOL. That totally sucks but like you said, this is real life. You did a great job trimming them. They look great and I absolutely love that navy color!
Thanks Wendy! I’m just glad he took some off the top so they could still be salvaged… otherwise I might have cried a little bit 🙂
I must be the only person who hasn’t heard of Hale Navy paint! I love the colour, will tuck this away for future use. Good doggy, that is what dogs do, Mine eats everything paper or cardboard. And I would forgive her no matter what 🙂
I see a lot of people using Hale Navy on furniture. It always seems like such a gorgeous shade of navy, so I got a sample, and went for it. So glad I did. I’m lovin’ the way it turned out 🙂
I can’t even tell you had to trim the prints!! It looks fantastic and Hale Navy my favorite navy color, hands down! It looks amazing on your wall and makes your pretty artwork pop even more!
I am SO happy to hear you say that you can’t tell the prints were trimmed. I was hoping to get the full image at the top, but, hey, when the dog chews them up, you have no choice. I really love how they pop against that blue too 🙂
Love the frames! I had such a laugh (sorry) when the dog chewed your prints – it was the same week our dog ate some of our son’s birthday gifts! Oh what we go through with out pets!
Our dog is such a stinker. He just can’t help himself when it comes to shoes and paper. Luckily he just got the tops and I was still able to use them 🙂
Ikea for the win again! These prints look great and I’m loving your navy wall. What a great change!
Thanks Meredith! Gotta love IKEA!
Naughty puppy! I love how the prints look against that blue wall. Hale Navy is an amazing shade of blue!
I see Hale Navy everywhere, and every time I love it. Decided to bring a little into our home 🙂
omg lol the dog eating the prints could have been a story from my life. i’d never know you trimmed them, they look great!
So happy to hear that you can’t see the trimming that took place. I was so frustrated when I found that mess. What can ya do?
Beautiful prints and they look even better against the dark wall. Love the look!
Thank you! I am loving that navy wall… and I feel like the prints really pop against that dark background.
This looks awesome Erin. I am so glad that you were able to salvage the prints. I didn’t realize that they were big and special order prints. That would have been a bummer to have to have them redone. Yikes! Good save. Love the navy. It really changes the space. Ikea frames are always an awesome buy.
I actually had parts of the frames sitting on top of the prints, but the tops were sticking out, which is the part my dog was able to get at. I did have to “repair” one corner that he chewed a little low, but it’ll do for now.
I LOVE the wall color! And those printables are perfection! Bless’er House is one of my all time favorite bloggers! <3 I cannot wait to see your reveal next week!
Love Bless’er House! Everything she does it amazing… and I sure do appreciate those willing to share free printables!
I love this. I love a dark dramatic wall. And eating the prints is totally something my dog would do. It looks fantastic all together!
Thanks Liz! I don’t think I’ve ever gone with such a dark color in my life, but I love how this turned out. Kinda glad I bought that gallon, ’cause I definitely think I need more navy around here.
Love your botanical prints on your stairway! Thank you for sharing your talent.
Thanks Kathy!
I think your dog might be working for Staples! Lol! Good job Erin! Love the Navy blue!
Ha! Maybe. He doesn’t agree with getting big prints so cheap either 🙂