Affordable Art & Framing Kits

On Monday morning, the gateleg table I use as a desk collapsed, sending my computer tumbling forward into my chair. The impact shattered the top frame, sending a hairline crack across the screen. After an hour or so at the Apple store, where the technician gave me some discouraging estimates, I decided there’s nothing a little duct tape can’t fix.

All of this is to say I was reminded of this very affordable collection of wall art (see above and below) from Cavallini and Co. Some of these posters, which are actually sheets of wrapping paper, cost as little as $4.50. I bought my first one, a map of the world, many years ago from Hello World in Philadelphia and framed it for our apartment. Years later, I bought a vintage Alphabet (similar to this one), which I tacked to Ella’s nursery wall.

If you’ve ever visited a Paper Source, you’ve likely seen these “decorative wraps” hanging from wooden racks. I am always amazed by the variety of prints, their beauty, the quality of the paper, and their low cost. This past summer on Amazon Prime Day, I discovered, while searching for frameless frames, I could buy the decorative wraps online, too, and then went a little crazy.

I bought a Map of England (to honor my roots!), Fish, Birds, Fruit, Periodic Table — if I had more wall space, I would have bought more. Look at this San Francisco one and these Bees and Honey. And would’t this Season’s Greetings be fun to break out for the holidays? If you search “Cavallini and Co. in Amazon,” you will find many more. I also love this Farmer’s Market 2017 Wall Calendar.

As much fun as the wraps, I think, are these framing systems, also made by Cavallini and Co. They come in two formats, horizontal and vertical, and each set comes with a nail (so handy!) and wooden dowels (halved to allow them to rest flush against the wall) with peel-off adhesive tape, which you stick directly to your poster. I love the simple design.

A few details:

On the subject of home stuff, this past summer I replaced my laundry basket with this Steele one from the Food52 Shop, and I love it.