When decorating walls, think outside the frame

By Emily Kulkus

Sunday, April 12, 2015 | 2 a.m.

“Triple Elvis,” a 1963 Andy Warhol silkscreen of Elvis Presley dressed as a cowboy, recently sold at an art auction for $81.9 million.

Out of your price range? Probably.

But can you make your walls look as good or better as Elvis’ proud new owner’s? Definitely.

Here are some tips for how to make your walls pop for not much hunka hunka burnin’ cash.

• Poster photos

  

  Think outside the 4x6 and start blowing up your favorite photos.

  A couple of factors to keep in mind: Be sure your photo is a high-enough resolution for a poster-size print. (Most online photo sites or print shops will detect if the digital image is large enough.) And good photo art does not always mean people. Think of that flower stand you saw in Paris, the spice shop in Istanbul or your favorite spot at the park. Consider a black-and-white or sepia tone for added interest.

  Any of your favorite subjects can make a great poster and flood you with great memories.

• Select a theme

  

  Walls can carry much more than picture frames. A few ideas: decorative plates, hats, crosses or religious artifacts, mirrors, concert tickets or vinyl records. Look at your own collections, or start a new one and size up how it might look on your wall.

  Consider items that have a theme but variety, too. For headache-free installation, pick items with natural hooks (old-fashioned keys) or those that easily can be mounted with hangers from the hardware store, such as vintage tiles.

• Make an interchangeable gallery

  

  Do you get bored easily? Create your own rotating gallery. Craft stores sell scrapbook paper in hundreds of fun, funky patterns for just pennies. Find a color palette you like and mix and match it with your frames.

  Don’t like it? Switch it out and start over. You can do the same with fabric, which also comes in tons of patterns and is inexpensive when you’re buying scraps.

  Another option: Use pieces of high-quality wrapping paper from a fancy stationery shop. Each sheet can run $5 to $10, but the patterns often are luxurious — and it’s still cheaper than a Warhol.

• DIY canvas

  

  Arts-and-crafts stores sell blank white canvases in every size imaginable. Watch for sales or buy in bulk (three-pack!), then use your imagination to create your own art.

  You don’t even need paint. Pinterest is loaded with ideas for creating art with everything from broken crayons to coffee stirrers to beet juice to tea bags. Get your creative juices pumping, then invite your friends over to critique your new “collection.”

• Use books and calendars

  

  Peruse the bargain section of any bookstore, and you’re likely to find vintage or coffee table books and calendars with big beautiful photos of everything from national parks to presidents to pugs. If you’re paying rock-bottom prices, you won’t feel bad about tearing out pages. Paper-ripping can be cathartic, and you’ll enjoy the images more on your walls than tucked inside a book.

  Look for large photos, pieces of art, interesting text or anything that inspires you. This works great for kids’ rooms, too; think dinosaurs, outer space, trains or flowers.

• Get creative

  

  Think beyond the traditional. Do you love gardening or woodworking? Frame pages from a horticulture book or a hobby manual. Do you have 5,000 (worthless) baseball cards in your basement? Use them to wallpaper your guest bathroom. Do you have copies of your grandmother’s recipes, postcards or sheet music? Find frames that fit, and voila – art!

  The best part: This art will have a lot more meaning than something you bought at a store.