Halloween is a wonderful time of year to embrace your truly spooky side. It is a time when you can go all out with scary home decor or you can take a more tasteful and intriguing route. The possibilities are endless! Let's take a few minutes to go over a few of the different color schemes you can use while decorating for Halloween.

A Halloween Color

ORANGE DECOR

You can choose to decorate with all orange and orange art. You can use a large roll of craft paper in orange and put a giant Jack-O-Lantern on your front door along with orange window treatments with crepe paper or even orange string lights on your bushes. Orange is a great accent color and let's not forget, pumpkins are orange and Jack-O-Lantern's are a fun family project!

BLACK DECOR

Another option is to use black decorations or black art. This may sound a bit depressing but when you look over the options of black art it's quite mystical and enjoyably spooky! You can put a black, skeletal tree in front of your house or on a door and use black cut out's to represent ghosts or other ghouls!

Pumpkin Decor

A wonderfully traditional option is to decorate with pumpkin art. There are tons of wonderful artistic representations of pumpkins to use and the best part, you can keep a lot of them up through Thanksgiving!

Traditional Halloween Art

Finally, a great way to decorate that is simple and festive, is to use Halloween posters. It is not as invasive as other decor schemes but gives your Halloween visitor some fun art to peruse while they visit.

A great way to decorate with Halloween art that is both fun, scary and hopefully intriguing is to do some kind of mix of the above suggestions, you can decorate with orange and black art while also adding in pumpkin and Halloween art to create a really lush and fun home this Halloween season. Don't be afraid to embrace your spooky side with these options and make sure to check out some of the other options we offer here at FulcrumGallery.com. 

With Oktoberfest kickoff closing in, we wanted to talk about decorating home bars and entertaining areas with animal art, specifically. It’s a great, subtle way to convey the feel of Old World Germany traditions year round. Of course one of the animals that should be at the center of the decorating scheme is the dachshund.

Dachshunds have been a part of German culture for centuries, and according to the American Kennel Club, their roots go back to the 1600's. At the time, many German huntsmen used the dogs to capture foxes, badgers, rabbits and feral pigs. In later years, they were entered into dachshund races during October celebrations and other competitive events, which continue around the world to this day.

On top of that, there are companies that manufacture dachshund themed wine, beer and bar supplies. Among them are Dachshund Riesling, III Dachshunds Beer and Maitland-Smith. The dog themed bar supplies include brass wine holders, shot glasses, steins, highball glasses, bottle openers, coasters and more. Thus, incorporating wiener dog themed animal art into a home bar or Oktoberfest décor scheme makes sense.

There are two pieces of animal art that must be mentioned when talking about Oktoberfest and home bar decor. One is Stephen Fowler’s Dachshund Wine print and the other is Ryan Fowler’s Dachshund Brewing Co. print. They both resemble vintage advertising signs and prominently feature the dog's image. Because they do have the appearance of commercial art, they could be paired with artist Brian Rubenacker's Dachshund Wieners.

 For a more whimsical look, there is also Tracy Flickinger’s Hot Dog. It features a cartoon image of a female dachshund enjoying a cocktail while dressed in a pink feather boa. Additional decorating options include actual photos of wiener dogs and work by artists like Dean Russo and Serena Bowman. A combination of these prints will make the perfect décor for Oktoberfest as well as everyday décor for your home bar.

Fall is almost here! As the temperature drops and the days grow shorter, nature follows suit with a change of colors. Yellow, orange, gold, rust and red take over the landscape, diffusing autumnal spell. An irresistible spell. A spell you want to bring inside your home and spread the magic all around. Here’s how you can bring the colors of fall into your home:

Celebrate the Colors of Fall

Fall means the orange of pumpkin, the red of corn, yellow of gourds and the rust of fallen leaves. Often, they don’t come in one shade but myriads of shades and hues – a subtle yellow, a bold red or deep burgundy. Fall celebrate colors, perhaps nature’s way of cheering the beginning of colder weather. Fall colors are warm and inviting and what better way of duplicating these hues than inviting them into your home. How? By using fall art and prints that capture the essence of the season. For instance Bright Autumn Day showcases trees touched by the glow of orange and red while Autumn Embers captures a more subdued autumn. What you pick depends on the mood and feel you’re going for.

Celebrate the Season 

In America, fall calls for celebration – pumpkin patch, hayrides, harvest fest, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Often, fall décor is employed to amp up the ambience. Apart from using pumpkins and gourds and fall flowers to build the atmosphere, consider using fall art and prints to add layers of interest. Transform the kitchen into an autumnal landscape of irresistible warmth and colors. Consider pictures of fall harvest such as playful Sharing the Harvest or thoughtful Harvest Blessings. Choices abound with pictures of wine, olives, prairie landscape and Tuscany harvest. 

Celebrate Fall One Room at a Time

Think of how many ways you can use fall décor and how many places you can go with that. We’re talking rooms in your house. The kitchen may be the most obvious place to deck out fall décor but don’t limit your fall magic to just one room. Cozy up your family room with autumn flowers or autumn landscapes or abstract art. Or the living room or the den for that matter. Follow your fancy and allow fall magic to invade your living spaces.

Use art to celebrate fall in all its glories!

At its inception, the pop art movement brought relief to those that had grown tired of works created by abstract expressionists. From there, it went on to become one of the most popular art forms of the rebellious 50's and free-wheeling 60's. Today, designers’ passion for decorating with pop art featuring Andy Warhol helps to keep the love affair going.

Warhol, for those readers that may have not been around during the early pop art movement, was born in the 1920's and died in the winter of 1987. His work was renowned the world over. The colorful, iconic images that he used helped to convey what was going on in pop culture, whether the activity was ultimately controversial or not. As such, his artwork often stirred strong feelings in fans and critics alike.

When decorating with pop art featuring Andy Warhol prints, there are several schools of thought to consider. For instance, some interior designers like to display Warhol’s art in areas that match the picture’s subject matter. Others prefer to put the artwork in unrelated, unexpected spots that help jolt viewers out of their rote activities. There are also those that focus more on the colors and patterns inherent in Warhol’s artwork than the actual subject matter.

Take Andy Warhol’s Knives, c.1981-82 picture as an example. It could be hung up in a contemporary dining room or kitchen that has pops of black and cream coloring throughout. On the other hand, it could also be placed in a study or office with his series of Guns artwork and Skull, 1976 to show a love of mystery novels and forensic sciences.

There are other Andy Warhol prints on the market today that feature the artist’s quotes and images. One of our favorites is the one titled, Think Rich, Look Poor. It would look great on display in a bedroom changing area or walk-in closet. As would prints like It Takes a lot of Work to Figure Out How to Look So Good, Diamond Dust Shoes and Two Female Fashion Figures c. 1960.

To learn more about decorating with pop art featuring Andy Warhol, please contact us today. We have many prints of the artist’s work in stock as well as several other pop art prints of note.

Barn Owl Primitives started out small. Christi, the creator, started out making handcrafted Christmas gifts, specifically hand-painted, door-hanging snowman, when money was tight. Friends and families became her first customers but, then, the word got out…and friends of friends started placing orders as well. Since snowman is rather synonymous with winter, Christi started other ideas that weathered seasons: word art that are perennially appealing. Barn Owl Primitives was born and “signs to decorate your life” becomes her signature motto. Since then, her Barn Owl Primitives has birthed various categories of word art:

Family Rules

It’s true every family has its own rules, but some rules seem to be universal. Short of repeating yourself often, it would be neat to have these rules written out and place in strategic places as reminders. Need help to maintain order in the playroom? Enlist the help of Playroom rules word art – all the gentle reminders conveniently placed on the canvas (or neatly framed) – a great way to reinforce rules without nagging. How about kitchen rules? Barn Owl has a series of that too: Sit up Straight or simply entitled “Kitchen.”

Encouragement

We could all use a little “pep” talk now and then, a little pick-me-up encouragement. What better way to motivate yourself or others than a word art décor? Whether you want to be brave (or reminded you’re brave), strive to be real or just want to love and be loved, Barn Owl primitives have a range of selection to cater to your needs.

Holiday Signs

Want to create a festive mood? Or get into the holiday spirit? Holiday word art can help you do that without really trying too hard. Hang one up and allow the magic to diffuse the room with that seasonal joy and longing, a little nostalgia or warmth. Christmas, Halloween or just to welcome a new season, take your pick. Order up some holiday cheer, it's that time of the year.

Sports

Know a husband, a father, a son, a brother or a friend who loves sports? They live, eat and breathe sports and you may experience a little neglect when the sports season is on? They would love one of the word art on sports. Football or soccer, these word art will make great gifts for sports fans.

Using Barn Owl Primitives word art for decor is a great way to add character, swag or mood. Buy them for yourself or to give away as gifts. Feel free to browse our website or contact us for more information.

A popular decorating theme these days takes us back to the age of flower power and free love.  The pop culture of the 60s always brings back memories of a simpler time in our history.  We wanted nothing more than peace, love and rock and roll music.  Today our children have found the same delight that we did with shaggy area rugs, beaded door curtains and Papisan Chairs.

The art of this time was eye-catching and bold with the style of artist Andy Warhol being one of the most popular.  We also decorated our walls with life-sized comic strips, in the style of Roy Lichtenstein and giant cans of tomato soup.  The iconic peace sign was plastered everywhere we looked including our living room wall.

This time in our recent past was full of optimism and hope as we saw great promise in our future.  We took a man to the moon and a generation of young girls fell madly in love with the Beatles.  Music played a big part in our lives and we saw an explosion of musical talent that we would often remember in pieces of art.  

The artists of that time made great strides forward and took much pleasure in rocking the art establishment back on it's heels.  Some traditionalists simply could not understand how text on canvas could be considered art.  But we knew the power of those words and how they motivated us to be the best that we could be. It was also a time in our history when art sometimes told stories of sorrow and pain.

The Pop Art period was one of stretching boundaries and joyful experimentation.  We expressed ourselves on paper, canvas and even spray-painted on walls.  This was a time when rules did not apply.