Non-traditional Family Art

Our goal as a design firm is to tell your story. What better way to reflect your life in your home than to incorporate meaningful images of your loved ones? While photos are wonderful, in this day of digital cameras and instagram, there’s something extra special about other modes of portraiture.

Here are a couple of ideas to explore:

Silhouettes

In this client’s dining room, we commissioned colorful silhouettes of each family member (including the dog, Paisley!) You can find vendors on Etsy who do this from photos you submit.

photo: David Peterson

I actually made my own silhouettes of my kids when they were little. In my bedroom, I included them in a gallery wall. The larger silhouette is something Clio made in Kindergarten (with teacher help) as a mother’s day gift.

photo: Kim Cornelison

Pet Portraits

We love our pets, too. Why not commission a painting of a beloved dog or cat? This client leaned her portrait of Buddy on an open shelf to bring some color to her mostly white kitchen.

Photo: Spacecrafting

Ancestor Portraits

In a Minneapolis dining room, a portrait of one of the homeowner’s great-great-(great?) grandparents presides over the table and sets the tone.

Image: Josh Grubbs

In a dressing room in the same house, high school graduation portraits of both homeowner’s moms share space. (The lesson: you don’t need to go back decades to make this work!)

Photo: Josh Grubbs

Paintings from a photograph

In a house in San Francisco, a painting created from a photo of the kids hangs in their bathroom.

The daughter’s portrait—painted by her aunt!—also hangs in her bedroom.

Photo: Josh Grubbs

Commissioned Photography

If you do love photos but want a more unique and artful way to incoroprate them, Fine Art photography is another way to go. Minneapolis artist Shelly Mosman creates beautiful stylized portraits. I commissioned her to photograph my kids when they were 7 and 9, and I treasure the results!

Artist: Shelly Mosman

In an upcoming post, we will talk about how to incorporate family photos in tasteful ways. More to come!