Choosing Art: How to Find Custom Photos For Your Home Decor

Have you been told that you should invest in a piece of art for your home? Does the thought of searching for art sound overwhelming...and expensive? Well, I'm here to share a little secret about searching for art for your home decor: start with your phone. You may be surprised at what treasures are hiding in your cloud storage.

I have used photos that I've taken of buildings, food, nature, and even a traffic light as wall art in my house.

Choose the photos you absolutely love

I know this may sound obvious, but choose a photo that you love. It does not have to be a photo that is the definition of perfect photography. It only has to be a photo that you love and are drawn to.

I was in Paris on a trip in 2017, sitting at a cafe having a mid-afternoon coffee, when I snapped the photo below. It was a clear June day and I was enjoying resting my legs after walking around the city for a few hours. The cafe was on a corner with a traffic light and I took out my iPhone 7 and shot the image below. I later had this printed into a 24"x36" black and white canvas print that I still have today.

I love this photo, not only because I think it looks great printed in black and white, but because of the memory attached to it. Each time I look at the photo, I am brought back to that corner cafe and how much fun I had on that trip.

Decide on Placement for your home decor

Before you print and frame the photo, decide where you want to place it first. Do you want to hang the photo on a specific wall? Will the photo be the focal point of the room? If it is the focal point, what size should the photo be once printed?

I have made the mistake in the past of printing photos that I liked at the standard 4"x6" size thinking that I would add it to one of the existing frames I have already. The problem was that I always printed too many of these photos, so very often, these extra photos would get stored away in a drawer and wouldn't be seen at all.

Order or Print Your Photos

Once you decide on the placement, then it's time to either print your photos at home or place an order. For most of the photos I've had printed, I've used photo websites like Shutterfly for an oversized print. The other option I also like is having your photo printed on canvas, which makes it more of an art piece.

So the next time you are looking for inspiration for your next room, start off with checking out your phone and the photos you have saved!