Happy humpday! So yeah, how are we already on week 3 of the loft makeover?! Thank goodness I got my behind in gear this week and crossed off a few things on my to-do list.
As I shared last week I decided to incorporate photos of the kids as the wall decor for the loft.
To get the most bang for my buck I decided to go with engineering prints because of how inexpensive they are for a very large picture.
My total for two 18 x 24 {the smallest size offered} prints was only $3.58 at Staples!
Tips for creating large inexpensive wall decor using engineering prints
The biggest complaint I’ve heard regarding engineering prints is that they can look very grainy and just generally not the best quality.
Here are some tips for getting the best results when using engineering prints:
1. The most important thing is to start with a good quality photo.
If the photo looks blurry or grainy on your computer screen or phone, it will be the same when it’s printed. Or worse since it will be so much bigger.
These are the original photos I used with no edits. I went into Lightroom and edit the brightness and contrast.
If you don’t have Lightroom or Photoshop, you can do all this in PicMonkey even if you’re a beginner.
You can see in the picture below I got really good results.
2. Resize your photo to the size you plan to have them printed. My photos are 18×24. I also bumped up my photo resolution to 300 DPI as shown below. Here is a great article explaining photo size and resolution way better than I ever could :).
3. Using photos with a plain background will give you crisper, cleaner results.
From what I’ve seen, the most successful engineering prints have a plain background. For these photos I just had the kids stand in front of a wall in our house.
4. Make your photos black-and-white before sending them to get printed.
Not every photo is going to look good in black and white, so it’s good to see how it looks beforehand.
I made my photos B&W in Lightroom. But you can also use programs like Photoshop and PicMonkey.
You can get engineering prints from places like Staples {they are the one I used}, Office Depot, and Kinkos for only a few dollars each print. So consider giving engineering prints a try!
I really love the personal touch they add to the loft. The kids love them too!
Another small DIY I tackled that had a bigger impact than I thought it would. Is spray painting this metal sign I had above the clipboards gold.
It just really brightens up this whole corner! Plus it ties in nicely with the bar cart.
We’ve had these clipboards up for over two years, and love them. It’s a great way to show off the kids artwork or display pretty printable’s.
I’m convinced that gold spray paint is addictive LOL.
I also spray-painted the silver shelf brackets gold before installing them.
In addition to those projects, I also touched up the walls and decluttered a bit more.
You can see the white IKEA shelf is still there. I really wanted to start painting the table this week but the weather’s been too cold to paint with latex paint.
Although I still have a little more shopping to do. I’m really excited to start adding the pretty stuff like pillows and decorative items.
Total spent so far: $24.58
Two 18×24 prints – $3.58
Two frames – $21 {$14.99 each + 20% off}
Gold spray paint – Already had on hand {my spray paint collection is pretty exstensiVe LOL}.
Shelves – Already had from 2 years ago.
Week 1 | Week 2 |Week 3 – you are here | Week 4 | Reveal
I’m so happy there are 5 Wednesdays this month instead of 4 because I absolutely need the extra time to complete this loft makeover.
My main goal for this week is to get the table painted. Because it’s an oil base paint it takes a few days to cure.
Alright, don’t forget to check out the other blogger’s week 3 progress using the link-up below.
Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.
I love how you left a ton of white space in the shots of your kids. They are too cute! What an awesome budget project. Can’t wait to see the rest!
Thank you Jess! I think to leave a lot of white space really does put the focus on the subject 🙂
These came out great Linda! I’ve been dying to try this! Glad they worked out for you 😍
Thanks sweet Carli! You definitely should, you take great photos, so I know yours would come out great! Plus they are sooo inexpensive!
I’ve done engineering prints before and loved the outcome. Yours look better framed, though! I wrapped mine around some foam insulation so they’d be super light to hang with command strips in a rental.
Brittany, that sounds like a great renter friendly DIY the way you did it.
The room is looking fabulous so far. What a great idea to incorporate pictures of the kids into the space. I really need to update my pictures of my kids, and thank you for all the great editing tips. I didn’t realize it was so inexpensive to have them printed. Thank you for sharing.
I didn’t realize that they were so inexpensive! I’m going to have to make some! Thank you for the tips!
these turned out great! I’ve always been afraid those prints would turn out grainy but yours look fantastic.
These turned out great, I love using engineer prints, they make such a big impact for so little!
Those prints are amazing! Your kids are natural models. And I totally agree on the gold spray paint comment. I’m like that too!
The prints turned out SO WELL! I love engineering prints for big images. So cheap to get, and they make such a statement. Love all your gold touches as well.
What a fabulous idea! I have to see if my local printing place can do this. It looks great!
Hi Linda, I absolutely love your home decor. Thanks for the Free printable.
I have tried to print the succulent printable the number 1, however, every time a click on it, the file that appears is the little BOO YA ghosts. Would you please fix it. I want the three of them to make a set for my home. Thank you for sharing your talents.
Hi Rozane, thanks for letting me know. I’m so sorry about that. I have fixed the link now. Please let me know if you still have any issues. Thanks for visiting!