This spring I’ve embarked on a few too many home improvement projects. The one that I’ve made the most progress on is fixing up my closet, but this one is WAY more fun, and less work. Minted reached out about refreshing my home with some art, and having seen their art on some of the prettiest walls on the internet, I was happy to have the chance to pick out some pieces for our guest room.

Here’s the first piece we picked out, ‘Torched.‘ It’s understated and calming, which seemed perfect for this spot that already has a lot going on with the bookshelf/console.

Something I wonder about sometimes when I see well-designed homes is how the person executing the design deals with letting their partner have a say in the art and decor. Do they pick stuff out together? What if one person hates something, do they have veto power? I’m guessing that a lot of couples just leave all of the decisions to the design-savvy half, but maybe collaboration is more common. The point is that I have no idea, because hardly anyone talks about it!

 

So I’m going to share how Steven and I picked art out together, which is actually similar to how many decor decisions get made around here.

Step 1: We talked about some spaces we would like to put new art, and agreed on a few.

Step 2: We each separately browsed the Minted limited edition art section, and either favorited pieces we liked, or sent each other links.

Step 3: We looked for overlap in our selections, and pieces that the other had picked that we both liked.

Step 4: From the ones we both liked, we decided on a few pieces, and then discussed the frames and mounting that would go well with the art and the rest of the room. The ability to see how each option would look helped a ton!

Step 5: We reviewed our choices together, and then put in our order.

We didn’t really think about it in terms of separate steps while we were doing it, but this is essentially what it came down to. Steven has a degree in art, with a minor in art history, so he definitely has opinions about what we put on our walls. I have no art degrees, just strong opinions, ha. Luckily, our tastes generally mesh really well, so it wasn’t difficult to find art that we both liked. But that is the most important thing, both of us liking it, because in the past we didn’t check in with each other on that, and ended up with art that one of us bought, but the other one didn’t like.

So I’m curious, how do you pick out art with your partner (or other people you live with)?
 
Here are some other pieces that we considered for the room.

Top row: Mingle | Shining Statement
Middle row: Cold Camel | Gossamer
Bottom row: Undertow | Melt

In the above photo, you can see the hairpin leg bench I made from wood left over from my kitchen shelves. Oh, and see those curtain holdbacks on the window? They’re leaves Steven cast in metal when he was getting his degree in sculpture. We didn’t have a use for them for a long time, but eventually figured out that they’d work perfectly here.

Here’s the other side of the room, with the other piece we picked out, ‘Misty Forest.’

 

A funny thing about our cat Delicious is that she is obsessed with getting petted on this bed, and goes running to it any time we go near it. She has always been excited about getting petted on a bed, but this became her happy place when I broke 22 bones a few years ago, and was petting her here practically all day. So while it was the worst time in my life, it was the best for her. I’ve accused her of bribing someone to incapacitate me. I can’t be too mad at this cute little monster, though.