I used to think it was the Pink House Husband’s fault that I found it so hard to choose art for the walls of my - sorry, OUR - home. Whenever I’d suggest something - from a £5 print to a five grand work of art, he’d immediately dismiss it. “Nah,” he’d say. “Doesn’t really do it for me.” Which was why the walls stayed bare for bloody ages.
So when it was time for me to pick prints to hang on the walls of my home office, a room where PHH has zero power of decor veto, you’d think I made some quick and easy decisions as to what to hang where. Well, you’d be wrong. Faced with the freedom to pick (nearly) anything I wanted (those Harland Millers remain well out of my price range, unless I sell a child or two), I was paralysed with indecision. Where to start? How to choose? What frames? Where to hang them?
My confusion wasn’t helped by the fact that my study is really very small, so any art I install has to work with neighbouring accessories and furniture. I’d got as far as putting up a few picture ledges around the room, but these just stared at me accusingly, as if to say: You’ve got no idea what to put on me, have you?
Sometimes the perfect brand approaches you with the perfect project at the perfect time. In this case, when I was at peak print panic, it was Desenio, the affordable art specialists, who asked if I’d like to pick some pieces from their collection to hang on The Pink House walls. A quick flick through their exceptionally well-designed and carefully-curated website and I knew it was problem solved. As you can see in these pics of my study - all six prints are from Desenio - I’ve given their names in the captions so you can easily find them. So how did Desenio help me find my Prints Charming in half an hour? In these six simple steps:
1) Choose a colour scheme
Yes, I’m oh-so predictable, but the first thing I did upon opening the Desenio website was search the word ‘pink’. My study is all about pops of pink against the dark grey walls, so I knew I couldn’t go wrong. Plus, a coherent - and strict - colour scheme would stop the tiny room looking too hectic. This search brought up a set of prints from a wide range of subject matters and designs, allowing me to browse, based purely on what caught my eye.
2) Go with gut instinct
The first print that stopped my scrolling through the ‘pink’ prints was ‘Pink Dress’ - it reminded me of my childhood and ballet lessons, and I thought the soft pink tulle would look lovely against my steely grey walls. Next, the two abstract grey, pink and gold prints ‘Pink Sky’ and ‘Pink Gradient Cubes’ captured my attention: the colours and textures drew me in and I knew they’d look good in my study - perhaps all three would work on the largest wall with its two picture ledges?
3) Search by theme
The ‘Pink Gradient Cubes’ print got me thinking it would be nice to have another geometric patterned print, this time to hang above the fireplace - I liked the idea of contrasting clean lines with the floral decoration on my period mantelpiece. This time I chose ‘Graphical’ from the drop-down list of categories in the Prints section of the site. And I soon found what I was looking for - the simple but luxe ‘Cubes Pattern’ with its gold geometrical design. Then I searched the ‘Typography and quotes’ category because I knew I wanted at least one print with words or numbers on it - that’s where I found the artfully arranged ‘Calendar 2019 B&W’ and thought how nice it would be to have an at-a-glance view of the year, in view of my desk.
4) Fill the gaps
With just one print to find to fill the final picture ledge, I browsed a few different categories, knowing now that what I needed was something simple and monochromatic to balance the calendar, while still having personal meaning. The ‘London’ print, a happy reminder that I once again live in my favourite city, was perfect.
5) Decide on sizes
Now I just needed to choose the size I wanted each print in - I used my measuring tape to check what would work best on each wall and chose from the options offered for each print. Simples.
6) Add the frames
This was the bit I was worrying about - finding frames for prints has to be one of the most frustrating of tasks. But Desenio makes it easy - when you choose a print, the site automatically offers you a selection of extremely reasonably priced frames in the correct size and a variety of finishes. I chose a selection of black and gold frames so I could play around with combinations, while ensuring everything worked together. And then I went straight to the checkout - with only 29 minutes on the clock. Job done!
I’m not often a fan of a gender-stereotyped fairy tale, but in this case I have to admit that Desenio’s Prints Charming came to the rescue of my poor bare walls (I won’t take this analogy any further lest it strays into ‘My Dad Wrote A Porno’ territory). And my home office lived happily ever after as you can see in the pics below…
L to R: Pink Gradient Cubes; Pink Sky; Pink Dress
L to R: Cubes Pattern; Calendar 2019 B&W
L to R: London; Cubes Pattern; Calendar 2019 B&W
My code “PINKHOUSE” gives 25% off prints* on all Desenio sites until midnight 4 April 2019. Follow @desenio for more inspiration. *Except for frames and handpicked-/collaboration/personalised prints.
