In honor of our Bedroom Makeover Giveaway with Crane & Canopy, we pulled together three of our favorite bedroom makeovers from expert interior designers and homeowners just like you. With these rooms as inspiration and our $500 bedding and art giveaway (which you can enter for a chance to win here), you’ll be one step closer to making your dream bedroom a reality.

Put a Frame On It

DesignSponge featured this bedroom makeover from interior designer Shannon Kaye. There are a lot of DIY touches that look absolutely stunning (interior designer-approved). Beyond the new wall color and fancy bedding, we love the bold photographs (framed perfectly) hanging on the wall.

Happy in the Hamptons

Photo Credit: Trevor Tondro of Housebeautiful

Housebeautiful editor Frances Schultz worked on her East Hampton home renovations one room at a time. It’s pretty darn cool to turn an arched wall into a vanity, but what really catches the eye is the art. Look at that gorgeous gallery wall.

Paintings and Pillows

Don’t have a mirror that you can perfectly fit into the enclaves of your room? You can make a difference in your bedroom without grand gestures. Simply adding colorful throw pillows and a beautiful painting above your headboard can make your bedroom a whole new space. This bedroom makeover was featured in the wonderful Apartment Therapy.

Are you inspired yet? Enter our giveaway and you’ll earn $250 to Crane & Canopy as well as $250 to UGallery. It’s a perfect place to start. Have fun and get to makeover-ing: http://www.ugallery.com/giveaway.aspx

We stumbled upon Greg Constantine’s Poetic License series on Pinterest. A particular favorite of ours is his “Art Doesn’t Have 2 Match the Couch” composition.

It got us thinking. Does art have to match the sofa? We turned to our home guru, Apartment Therapy, for the answer. They address the issue head on with their article Art Above The Sofa. Here is what they had to say:

“There are so many different ways to hang art in your home. If there’s a blank area above the sofa in your living room — you’re looking at several different options to occupying that space. There’s no one definite way that this needs to be dealt with and that’s what makes deciding how to hang artwork so much fun.

Some choose to make a huge statement by hanging one large piece of artwork. It’s where the eye immediately goes upon entering the room and if you love the piece that much, this is an excellent option. It’s an even better option if the piece serves as a pop of color as one of the bits of interest.

If you don’t have just one large piece, hanging artwork and photos gallery style is an extremely popular option. This is really successful for those who own a lot of artwork and can’t just choose one item to hang on its own. Group unlikely photos and prints together and you’ll be surprised that they will actually work together!Lay out the framed pieces on the floor first before hanging, that way you can map out a shape before committing to holes in the wall.”

So, not only does art not have to match the couch, but it doesn’t have to match your entire interior aesthetic! Still, if you want to match it, go ahead. The beauty of hanging art is that it is completely, one hundred percent, up to YOU!

Do you believe in love at first sight? With so much art in the sea, netting the perfect piece requires forethought and practice. However, seeking art shouldn’t be a hunt for the one and only. The best part about loving art is that you can love more than one piece. A house has so many rooms to fill and there are so many paintings waiting to do the filling. 

The design duo Kaitlyn Andrews-Rice and Christopher Patrick of Blue Rooms White Houses have been falling in love with art left and right. It’s part of their job! In a blog post they call “The One Series,” these two designers start with a favorite and build a room based on it. This is the ideal scenario for making your art at home.

Don’t fret if your room is already set-up. Finding the perfect piece of art for a furnished room rather than designing a room around that piece is only a little bit harder and well worth the extra effort. Art will add a polished look to any room and solidify an overall mood. The paintings or photographs you choose will showcase your creative tastes and personality.

Here are a few tips to finding your art soul mates and how to make moving in together easy!

Set Parameters

Tall and handsome? Or short and stout? What size piece will look best on your wall? Determine the orientation of your blank wall. Whether your room has high ceilings or is vertically challenged will determine the size and shape of your art. You’re allowed to be a little shallow when it comes to seeking art. As a rule of thumb, bigger pieces need more space to breathe. And if you found a must-have that won’t fit on your wall, you can always find another room for it. Don’t force it. To test size, you can cut a piece of cardboard to match the actual dimensions of the piece and place it on the wall to determine its overall presence in the room.

Take your time

Don’t be afraid to play the field. Compare one piece to the next. What are the pros and cons of each? If you still feel unsure (and your piece happens to be on UGallery), you have the option to try it for a week in your house. If only dating had such an awesome return policy, the world would be a happier place. 

Play Matchmaker

Most design blogs will tell you to match the color palette of your room with the color palette of your piece. Keep warm tones with warm tones and a blue room with a predominantly cool piece. 

This is valid advice if you want your house to be cohesive. But remember, opposites attract. Apartment Therapy addresses the debate of matching wall paint with art paint in their post Art Colors vs. Room Colors. If you found the one and it has to work in your room at all costs, don’t be afraid to mix and match. If you want your room to be somewhat consistent, consider pulling colors from the painting and accenting the room with accessorizes such as a throw pillow, a vase, or a lamp. 

Fall in love

Last, but not least, fall in love. There’s always the tragic tale of a “friend” or family member visiting a home and stating their dislike for a newly acquired piece. In moments like these, it’s crucial to know that what matters is YOU loving the art. Defend your choice against any attackers. Be prepared for judgment. If your art gives you happiness, don’t let others take that away!

Don’t know how to pair your art and wall colors? Apartment Therapy offered some sage advice:

The all-white room is a 20th century concept. I think it was the Bauhaus that threw the goddess Color out of the temple, but even Corbusier had his own vivid color palette, and we’re talking of course about people with resources and money. Go to the great houses of Europe, the beaches of Mexico, the streets of Bombay and what you see is color, color, color.

Perhaps it’s the artist rather than the art collector who requires the purity of all-white rooms for the untainted experience of viewing, but even then, I don’t buy it. The British favored red as the ideal color for a portrait gallery, an idea that goes back to Pompeii. The aristocracy has always used color — rare and expensive were pigments — to display their wealth. And when I troll the museums here in New York, all-white rooms may be associated with Modernity (MoMA) more than anything else. I close with a sampling of photos snapped over the years. When it comes to art collections, I personally am more likely to paint my walls black than white.

all photos via Apartment Therapy

Silhouettes are so in these days. They are all over the top DIY blogs - Design*Sponge and Apartment Therapy for example. And *confession* we have one hanging in our kitchen.

Contemporary artist Kara Walker also loves the silhouette. Kara, however, turns her grand silhouettes sinister and, in doing so, addresses 19th century race and gender power struggles. Here’s a great video about her work (via art21):

Apartment Therapy has done it again! The DIY decor site gathered together the top trends for filling an empty space over a sofa. Here are their art suggestions with some Ugallery accompaniments:

Kevin Yang Hang the Head

When a sofa’s up against a wall, a big statement piece is usually a safe bet. It helps to anchor the couch and can even make a small space feel larger.

Daniel Cornejo “Sammy Jane”

A blown-up photograph is an easy way to personalize your room and, it can be an inexpensive option.

Matthew King Bottom of the World #1

A sculptural wall piece adds drama. Be wary of how heavy the work is if you live in earthquake country!

Diana Delgado You Can Lead a Horse to Water

A large-scale painting can bring intense color into a room. If you really want to ramp up the scale, hang a couple of large pieces together.

UGallery artist Greg Minah’s work hangs on the left

Design blog Apartment Therapy wrote up a great post about how to clean and maintain artwork and we thought we’d pass it along to our readers. Enjoy!

Dislaimer: This advice is intended for light cleaning. If your art is valuable or damaged you should consider having it professionally cleaned. If you are unsure of how cleaning will affect something remember to test a small hidden area before diving in.

Oil Paintings and Watercolors: Check out this video with step by step instructions for how to clean your oil and watercolor works with A LOAF OF BREAD (not joking).

Framed Artwork: Spray some glass cleaner onto a cotton cloth and then use that to clean your glassed artwork. Lambs wool is excellent for dusting really nice frames.

Ceramic and Glass: Clean these items by hand as you would washing fancy dishware using a 1% soap solution. Toothbrushes help to get into tiny spaces. If you need to get any major gunk, a razor blade held perpendicular to the object can be pushed across it to clean the surface.

Paper, Fabric and Silk: VERY CAREFULLY use an automotive cleaning cloth that is damp but almost dry to remove surface dirt.

Steel, Iron and Aluminum: A soft brush (toothbrush) and a 1% soap solution can be used in most cases. Mild chemicals can be used to remove light rusting.

Bronze: Dust it to keep it clean and you can occasionally apply wax. Don’t try to remove the patina, it is part of its charm!

Marble: Marble is a very sturdy stone so it can be cleaned with various mild cleaners.

Wood and Leather: A slightly damp cloth should take care of most light cleaning. Using a fine paintbrush you can work butcher’s wax (in a can) into wood and leather. Polish it up with a soft cloth. (avoid spray waxes because they contain lots of other ingredients.

Ancient and Valuable Art: Dust it with a fine bristle paint brush and leave it alone.

Beware what you hang above the stove! (Photo via ApartmentTherapy.com)

Our old friends at Apartment Therapy (check out their favorite Ugallery pieces here) recently did a post about the nuances of art in the kitchen.

It has some great tips about what to put in that oil-splattered, steam-filled danger zone, so we thought we’d share:

Apart from their children’s crayon masterpieces, many people refrain from putting art in the kitchen for the same reason they’re reluctant to hang it in the bathroom - moisture, heat, grease and extreme temperature changes — the four dark horsemen of art. But we say, have at it!

While you might not want to put a rare lithograph right above your stove, why not try a pretty postcard, a photograph or a graphic poster? Art here is a welcoming addition. Our only piece of advice? Stay away from anything kitsch or kitcheny. Go for the graphic, the bold, the unusual, the unexpected.

With AT’s expert interior design advice in mind, we have gathered together a few Ugallery works perfect for the kitchen:

Jonathan Murray Spins Her Heart Out - $75

Jonathan’s digital prints from photographs are graphic, bold and durable, perfect for the kitchen. This work comes from a series of work that capture the moods of a girl who “likes to act much younger than she is.” As part of a series, this piece will be perfect for people with more than one hold to fill. See the rest of Jonathan’s portfolio here.

Mark Elverson Smoke 10 - $80

Got a sexy, steel-coated modern kitchen? Mark Elverson’s steamy photographs may be just the right accent. He has many colors to choose from, and you can order the image in different sizes. The work is so seductive, you’ll be happy to see smoke in the kitchen!

Ina Christensen In Time - $200

Ina Christensen’s rustic, color-infused photographs will tug at the pocketbooks of Anthropologie shoppers everywhere. She takes country settings and turns them slightly askew, leaving us with a lovely blend of edginess and nostalgia. To meet all of your decorating needs, this work is offered at multiple sizes and has many fraternal twins if you are looking for a whole collection of work.

Alison Wynn Last Supper - $80

Are you proud to live on the wrong-side of town? Did you slip into a grungy pad before your hood gentrified? Then this gritty photo is for you. It doesn’t get much more bad ass than digging into some Chinese food in front of a graffiti-soaked, barb-wire restrained rendering of the Last Supper.

Greg Byers Tide Pool - $225

And finally, a little treat for all the outdoorsy folk. Greg Byers’ abstractly arranged panoramic of a tide pool in Cinque Terre, Italy (the birthplace of pesto!) is a jaw-dropper. The crisp image will delight weary travelers while reminding us all to be a little more eco-conscious.