November 26, 2010

Get the Look: Octopus Triptych

Have you seen this delicious Octopus Triptych?

or maybe you've seen it in Bill & Giuliana Rancic's dining room designed by Thom Filicia?

Good news, you can buy it for only $3550!! It's really a gorgeous piece of art. As noted from Tonic Home - "The original is a copperplate engraving by Lord Bodner and was published in 1826 in London as part of a series studying creatures of the deep."


Graphic prints are so hot right now but spending big money is not. This look is easy to knock off. I found the octopus clip art at The Graphic's Fairy.

pretty close right? The clip art is free for personal use, just save the file to your computer. Now, you can print this in black & white for cheap at FedEx/Kinkos - like under $20 (poster size - 36" tall or wide, on rolled paper is available at most office stores - check with your local store for prices.)

or, you can upload the jpg to Picnik and start playing around...
duotone effect: cutie patootie in a kid's room or choose grown up colors for a sleek modern look

or tint effect: this would be so dramatic in a bold color with the white background hung against a darker wall or on exposed brick
then print at a local print house or an online print house like this or this. Ikea has some great framing options too. The Ribba frame starts around $19.99 for poster sizes and you can even choose the wood, black, white or silver.

I'm always on the hunt (who isn't) to get the designer look without the big bucks. Most of the art in my house is from garage sales, thrift stores, artist friends or homemade. Maybe its just me but I would rather spend the big bucks on things like bathroom and kitchen remodels and spend the pennies doing high impact, low cost DIY projects.

14 comments:

  1. Love this! Vintageprintables.com and the NY Public Domain Libraries (nypdl.org maybe? I don't remember) are other awesome sources for royalty-free vintage art. If you do this you must take pics!

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  2. OMG! One of my readers just sent me over to your page...I just did a post on the Octopus Triptych as well, but I LOVE your idea about uploading it to picnik! I might have to try that!

    You have a great blog!

    Happy Holidays!!
    Emily Hewett
    A Well Dressed Home
    awelldressedhome.com/blog

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  3. I have drooled over that octopus triptych. What a great way to get the look for less. Thank you for the links.

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  4. I am in the process of making my own Octopus print for my Living Room using the links you provided - thank you so much - great links, great idea! I will post my finished product on my blog: agirlwithtaste.blogspot.com.
    Love your blog!

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  5. Hey A Girl with Taste - I CANNOT WAIT!!! Thank you!

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  6. Thank you for sharing, SplendidMinta! Been looking for this for ages... I have to find a gift for my sister's housewarming (beach house) and she would absolutely love this.

    AGirlWithTaste, do share your graphic soon!

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  7. Ha. Was going to airbrush this. Now I think I'll follow your recommendations.

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  8. Has anyone actually done this? I love this idea but I'm scared that the picture quality, because I don't have the original copy, will cause it to come out pixelated...

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  9. Thanks for the links and how to do this - I really would like to do this and was searching online for the print itself and found your site! But now Picnik is closed. Any other ideas?

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  10. For those of us less tech savvy, I found a great knock-off of this here. Seems to have a lot more detail than the clip art version, and has several options on pricing depending on the quality you want:

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous - did you have a link?

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  11. The above image shows as a low resolution image when I go to print it in poster size (36'). Anyone have any hints??

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  12. Hi,

    Can anyone send me a link to a high res image?

    Thanks!

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  13. Oh my gosh I have been looking for a way to do this on the cheap ever since I saw it on an episode of Giuliana and Bill. Thank you SO much! I repinned and can't wait to do it!

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