Drastic, yet whimsical, improvement!

such a good idea that’s so cute! love it!

I love it. I have been looking for ways to update an ugly old frame.

I love this idea so much! Pretty much all of my artwork is vintage, but I love the idea of updating some of it:)

amazing, wow, i really love this!

very cool & modern!

SUCH a happy accident! I love it when that happens! An amazing transformation!

(Welcome back, Grace!)

Gotta love when happy accidents go your way! This is great.

Awesome. This is my all time favorite before and after!

SO FUN! Makes me want to dig around in tag sales and do something similar. Just hope it doesn’t end up being some “Antiques Roadshow” half-million find! =)

Wow, that looks amazing. When I read the description I wasn’t expecting much but then I scrolled down and was blown away! That picture is totally transformed.

This is the best Before and After that’s been on Design Sponge-and I love this feature!

Aw, this is so fun!

That is soo much fun! I never would have thought to do that! I always find really dated paintings and prints that I would never give a second look…. until now

FANTASTIC!!! Love it!!

Accidents can come out so beautifully sometimes. This cranks the picture up several notches in terms of freshness – I love being surprised like that.

dude.

Excellent idea! I might have to try this! I have a couple of these ol’ boys in the basement! What a fun way to spruce them up! Thanks for the idea!

This is truly awesome! It reminds me a bit of Andy Detskas, who paints funny robots into thrifted vintage paintings.

did you also paint over the colors in the painting or just clean it? the red looks so vibrant now!

How cool is that?!

The “After” is a million times cooler than the “Before” – way to get creative!

Thanks for the generous comments everyone!

In response to michele – I didn’t touch the original, it may just be the photograph that makes it appear brighter.

fabframes – thanks for the link – I knew there were other folks out there doing this sort of thing – there are so many possibilities!

Wow…seriously…this is jaw droppingly innovative.

wow! what a fantastic “accident”! very creative, and what a great way to make an old painting go from drab to fab!

so unique! my grandpa had that same print in his house ~ minus the great makeover!

very cool, i love it! it’s so whimsical and fun!

brilliant! so much better than the original even!

Wishing my accidents turned out that sweet!

Definitely one of the better before and afters that I’ve seen – very creative.

this is so creative and fantastic! Love it!

absolutely fantastic work with the painting!

Ahh, that’s so cool – I actually think the painting got much better with that creative framing! This idea goes in the vault for later use…

so clever and fresh!

I’m definitely tucking this idea into my little mental file…

Genius!

so inspiring! and so easy! I may have to shamelessly copy this.

Awesome! I have a friend that takes thrift store art work and paints in random zombies and such over the existing characters!

AND…I love that coffee table! Where can I find it?

Fantastic!! What a really creative way to transform thrift art. I have to admit that I didn’t even like the before, but the after is very cool!!

I love it. Now the painting has a dream-like quality

LOVE!

…that’s it! I’ve had two great friends who’ve experimented with this before, and it always comes out lovely/intriguing. I can’t wait to have the space to test it out!

G E N I A L!!!!!!!!!!

That is so cool! I love all of the before & afters, but it’s great to see something totally new. I would love to try this “on purpose” myself!

Very cool, and now a one of a kind!!!

Now that is a friggen GOOD idea!

So awesome!

This is so inspiring! I would have never thought to do that with an old painting. It really becomes the focal point in the space. Great idea!

Really takes it out of the realm of “kind of boring old print” to something fascinating.

BRILLIANT!

The painting is brilliant! It looks so fresh and gorgeous with the white paint. Talk about breathing new life into a piece.

Hi Amanda,
I saw your Eames chair remake and would love to ask you some questions about some specifics. I can’t seem to leave a comment on your blog.
If you have an email address, please post here. Thanks.

its goes PERFECTLY with the wall behind it!

that is beautiful. don’t you just love it when mistakes turn into something wonderful!

Cool idea.. I wonder if the original picture was a little dark though?

This is the best idea I’ve seen for what to do with thrift store art.

LOVE. Absolutely love it. Unrelated question for Amanda: what shade of paint is that on your walls? I’m in lust. Must have.

Michele P – love to talk about the eames – me.hearties(at)gmail(dot)com

Emily – it was painted that blue before I moved in – unfortunately I don’t know what shade it is!

Thanks again for the lovely comments!

Amanda

What a nice idea – it looks so contemporary – well done!

i’ve found some similar frames/prints at estate sales lately; now i know what to do with them. thanks!

Great job! That looks really great!

it looks great!! that’s a happy accident.

This really is brilliant. Such a modern update. It’s definitely one of my fave before/afters ever. nice job!

..there must be a way of turning this into a product. Maybe a frame or custom-sizable cardboard borders in various patterns that slips over existing pictures?

Genius! Love it!

What a great result. Turning an accident into a successful end result. Nicely done.

I bet when it first happened, Amanda said a few expitives, and then…violla! Instant transformation into something cool!

Brilliant! Such a simple way to make a drastic and clever change.

Love it! Funny!

great to see how adding a concept made it into a work of art. Truly impressive … and inspiring to see!

Amanda, love the creativity!!! random question for you, though: the sliding curtain on the door frame- how did you mount it at the top?!

In response to Laura Boppell – you bet I did!!! ha ha!!!

laura – the curtain hardware is the “DEKA” from Ikea – $4.99.

Beautiful! I love the colour of the blue wall behind the picture. Do you have the name of it, or the code (numbers) for the painting?

What if it turns out to be a valuable lost masterpiece? :D

I feel so affirmed! I have a print from that same era & style, w/the orig. frame. I’ve been thinking of framing it with a 4 to 6″ wide flat frame. Maybe paint it high gloss black or stain it a dark walnut or cherry.

My grandparents have this painting in thier living room. I have to say, I like your version better.

i love how it bleeds into the frame. very Wayne White inspired… who by the way has a new book of his work out. It’s amazing. Check it out.

http://www.ammobooks.com/books/waynewhite/

OMG that’s the same painting my Dad hung in the kitchen when I was growing up! It has a way different vibe with the white paint on the edges.

Greetings From Singapore… Wat a great way to salvage the old painting.. nice work : ) hope to see more creative ideas from u in the near future !

that is really really nice, one of the best before and afters I’ve seen! good job!

I loved this when I saw it, and finally tried it out today on a thrifted painting. Thanks for the inspiration!! It turned out great!!