How to Pick Art with a French Vintage Vibe

Disclosure:  Thank you to Minted for the two art pieces.  All opinions are my own.

Sometimes picking artwork for your specific style can be difficult.

 I also do not have a lot of wall space so I usually end up with pieces I’ve already owned for years, mirrors and things I’ve framed myself.

My living room still has the silver platters hanging up until I know what to do that with that space.

There are a few key things I look for when picking out pieces for my French Vintage home and I’ll share those with you today.

 1. Architectural buildings

When I first started to decorate my home with my love of France, I was quite literal with a gigantic piece of artwork with the Eiffel Tower on it and I had many little Eiffel towers scattered around my home.

This one is so obvious now that I usually try to avoid it.  I think it’s been so overdone and as much as I still love that magnificent tower, I prefer not to have it in a large piece of artwork.

What I do still love are the gorgeous, muted colours of European buildings and churches.

A group of buildings with different frames with a few old oil paintings are gorgeous together displayed on a gallery wall.

This little space above this cabinet in between my living and kitchen was the perfect spot to showcase a Parisian building.  The bronze gold metal frame is the perfect touch.

2. Maps

Nothing is more vintage than black and white aerial views of European towns from centuries ago.  These art pieces with black frames or on canvas are a beautiful touch to a French Vintage home.

3. Black and White Engravings

For years I’ve loved black and white engravings.  I have a number of them and have always switched them out to different rooms over the years.

Black and white engravings are usually sold unframed but I had mine custom framed years ago with a thick matte and ornate black frame.

 I got the one below 20 years ago and I still love it.

4. Black and White Anything

Black and white portraits, black and white photos of architecture, vintage black and white photos of groups of people you don’t know, black and white silhouettes.

All these types of black and whites look gorgeous among neutral decor and add a pop to the wall with black frames.

5. Florals

There’s something so pretty and feminine about floral artwork with French Vintage decor.

The above artwork I’ve described has a bit of an industrial sharpness to it and florals seem to soften it all.

French can be very feminine with the curved legs on furniture and crystals hanging from chandeliers.

Florals just work with French Vintage decor.  I usually look for muted colours and currently greens with pinks are my favourite.

If you can find one with a natural wood frame, that is even better.

6. Vintage Artwork

Of course nothing beats old oil paintings and portraits.  You can find plenty of these at brocantes throughout Europe or on Ebay.

I like to look around at thrift stores and antique shops for pieces that show age.

I look for both framed pieces with an old, wood frame or canvas pieces.  Sometimes the frame itself is what makes the piece amazing and sometimes it’s just the art that is gorgeous but the frame needs to be switched.  Be sure to have an eye for both art and frame when shopping.

The two main pieces I’ve shown you today are from Minted.  I didn’t know they were carried such beautiful art pieces.  These two are from their Fine Art Prints.

This large floral is called Mesmerize and it’s displayed here with the Natural French Farmhouse frame and is 30 x 40 inches.

(Update: Jan 2018 – Minted no longer carries the Natural French Farmhouse frame for this print)

Parisian Windows is the first piece I showed you and is 18 x 24 inches with a matte brass frame and white border.

I love mixing art pieces together and these two pieces are the perfect examples of how to look for art pieces with a French Vintage vibe.

They go so perfectly with all my French decor and all my old, rusty vintage decor.

What type of artwork do you like looking for?

 

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