Yes, my old affordable art favourites Urban Road are back with some more gorgeous canvas designs! These are my picks from the new range.
What do you think? Isn’t Agate Slice fab? It comes in other colours too. If you fancy something a little more whimsical, how about He & I (below)?
Or for something a little bolder, there’s Flip Out Pink (which also comes in purple and blue).
Starting at $120 for the smallest size with free delivery in Australia. All canvases arrive ready to hang. Shop online.
Urban Road, known better for their affordable canvas artworks, launched a new cushion range at Life Instyle Sydney last week. Inspired by jewels and gemstones, they could bring some warmth to your home this Autumn/Winter.
They’re digitally printed on the 100% cotton linen on both sides, giving you two cushions for the price out of one. Get creative and bring out your inner decorator!
Did you enjoy last night’s first room reveal? Alisa & Lysandra won and I think rightly so. Having finally met the girls at my event in Melbourne on Thursday, I may be a little biased, but I like their attitude, think they know their stuff and have great taste. So I’m putting it out there now: I’m on Team Twins (editorial assistant Olivia is a big fan too)!
If you’d like to get the look from any of the four rooms, I’ve rounded up some of the products available to buy online from The Block Shop. From Alisa and Lysandra’s (above), check out the Forty Winks Gap bed and the Urban Road deer canvas.
I absolutely LOVED the Zuster copper mirror (I NEED it!) in Kyal and Kara’s room (below) and the Christopher Pennings artwork from Otomys Arthouse. This was my second favourite room. Loved the soft colour palette.
When does a printed canvas look like a painting? Usually when an artwork is painted in the first place.
That’s the whole premise behind Urban Road’s first collaboration, with designer stationery brand Little Branch. Original painted art created for the Little Branch canvas collection, in collaboration with Urban Road, is based on still lives and images that the Branchettes (Maree Oaten and Anna Johnson) had admired in European flea markets and mysterious hallways and on old black and white photographs of eccentric art collections.
The impetus for this series came from the idea of the abundant hang; that somewhat crazy country house aesthetic for mixing all sorts of genres and sizes of canvas on one wall over time. Stretched canvas might be square, but it needn’t be neat. A rambling bohemian spirit sprouts up with every beautiful thing you choose to hang and Little Branch adore the idea of an ever-shifting gallery.
Spring is upon us and so are the latest canvas designs from Urban Road, seen here for the very first time.
Modern homes will suit abstract works like Nebula and Colour Bomb, while more traditional spaces will love the balance of shades and textures found in Bottle Brush, Lace and Falling Leaves.
Everyone’s idea of affordable is different but for the purposes of this post, I’m talking art for under $500 and, in many cases, under $100! All Australian and available to buy online from the comfort of your own home.
These guys, husband and wife duo Jaynie and Nathan Johnson, remain in my top 10 because they continue to produce fantastic affordable prints and wall flags which are always featured by the glossy magazines. They’re also really nice people, and that’s important too!
A small but lovely collection of prints and wall hangings, available to buy online from $49.95. Grab one of their gorgeous Fig & Melon candles while you’re there. Delicious!
Here’s Shantel Ross’s gorgeous entry for the gold theme:
Guest judge Suzie Atkin, of Urban Road, had a hard job deciding. Good job it was long weekend! “I was blown away by all of the amazing entries and just thrilled to see so much talent, it was a visual feast! I found it very difficult to select just one winner but there was something about the vignettes of eatlivelaugh that I just adore. So creative and visually just stunning, I love each and every entry. They all work together beautifully and the rustic vintage feel they have is divine.”
Suzie and I both loved her gold entries (of which there were 3!) the best. In fact, that was my favourite day of this month’s challenge. So many sparkly, glamorous images! Which was your favourite theme of the week?
Exciting news, folks! We have a fabulous prize for one lucky winner in next week’s 7 Vignettes Instagram challenge (starting on 1 June): two extra large canvases of your choice from Urban Road’s new collection, released this week. Which would you choose? I’d choose these two!
I’m a big fan of Urban Road. I have a couple of their canvases in my home and they always get comments. They’re releasing a new collection tomorrow but I have a first look at the designs for you. These lovely smudgy ikats, called Sienna and Spectrum, are my favourites.
Can you believe I’ve posted 1000 times (well, a few more than now, actually!)? I would say I can’t, but it’s not all that surprising to me! Nonetheless, I thought what a great excuse for the best giveaway I’ve ever done, and one that’s full of amazing prizes I know interiors addict readers will love! One lucky reader will win EVERYTHING and all you have to do is answer one question. The best answer will be judged by Belle magazine’s interior design editor Steve Cordony and interior designer Darren Palmer. So here’s what’s up for grabs, in no particular order (it keeps going and going)…
An A0-size limited edition signed print of Andrew O’Brien’s Pink, Turquoise on Ultramarine Ground, as seen on the cover of a recent Real Living magazine
A timber outdoor setting from Freedom
A multi-coloured ikat canvas from Urban Road
A $100 voucher from Xavier & Me, which you might spend on their new cushions
There’s now an updated 2013 version of this post here.
*I’m going to have to apologise in advance for the typography bias here. I can’t help it! I love words! Words as art are cool!
Blacklist Studio Prints. I’m in love with everything Sydney’s Jayney and Nathan Johnson do, and word on the street is that they’re ridiculously nice people to boot. Their world map and flag artworks are flying off the shelves this year and their typographic prints remain firm favourites, seen in all the homes magazines. Nathan and Jayney’s home has even been on the cover of Real Living. Their work is fun, cool and full of love! I interviewed them here.
Typo. For REALLY cheap canvas art catering to mainstream tastes, go no further than Typo. They also have all manner of wooden and wire letters in different colours, metal signs, posters and wall decals.
Urban Road. If you want colourful, large art in a hurry, check out Urban Road. Everything’s on canvas, which is really handy if you’re a renter using 3M hooks. There’s a great range of designs and you have the option of choosing custom colours on some of them. It can be hard to fill a lot of blank wall on a budget but I think these guys provide great value, as well as free shipping Australia wide, and everything arrives ready to hang. They often have great specials too so keep an eye on their website.
The challenge of finding affordable, stylish artwork is a big one. Trying to find it online sounds like a terrible idea. But Suzie Atkin is making it happen with her growing business Urban Road.
Suzie always loved art while she was growing up. “My parents were crafters and my brother, two sisters and I were their production line,” she jokes. “In Year 12 I decided I wanted to be an art teacher, but was encouraged to do business by my well-intentioned father. So, I ended up in IT and I was lucky enough to get a job with a design software company. When I discovered their software I fell in love with its possibilities.”
She spent a lot of her spare time tinkering with graphics online but continued down the corporate career path. After she had her first child she started doing illustrations for people, mainly portraits.
“I am pretty fickle when it comes to decorating my house and I like to change colours and styles every now and then, but finding something I really liked that was affordable and would cover large expanses of wall space was difficult, so I decided to create it myself.” In 2010, Urban Road was born, with a view to creating fabulous artwork at super affordable prices.
So how does she decide on the designs? “Oh that’s easy, I do what I love. When I get an idea I become an obsessed mad woman and have to design it as quickly as possible. They don’t all make the cut mind you.”
Suzie thinks her art’s for anyone who loves to design, renovate or redesign their home, who wants to look like they spent a fortune on artwork without actually spending a fortune.
Key to Urban Road’s success has been the online gallery which shows the art in situ and gives people inspiration for how they could hang the canvases in their homes. There’s also the option to create things in your own custom colours. Pretty damn cool if you ask me. Suzie supplies a lot of interior designers and started selling through retail outlets last year.
“I don’t want to jinx myself but business going great… really great! I have to pinch myself sometimes because I can’t believe I actually did it.”
Canvases start from $49 (retail) and you can apply for a trade account. Oh, and did I mention free shipping Australia wide? My personal favourite designs are Dreamy Wilderness and Ava Pink. The Ava series can be mirrored in a pair for a striking effect which could cover some serious wall space! Lightweight enough for renters to hang with 3M hooks too…
