Affordable DIY Botanical Wall Art

Finding beautiful botanical art doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact it can be an incredibly low budget, high end look for your home. As I was working on our music room I decided I needed a little art gallery above our piano. I wanted a cohesive, simple collection of pieces that were sentimental. Next to the piano is our fireplace which has a large mirror over the mantle. Whatever I placed above the piano needed to be large enough to balance out the mirror. For the sake of contrast I also wanted several frames next to the one large piece above the fireplace.

In my mind I knew exactly the kind of frame I wanted. It needed to be modern with a white matte and gold frame. My first stop was Target and thankfully they had exactly what I had envisioned. These four frames were each $16 which is a good price for the quality. Since I planned on putting greenery in them which would cost nothing I was happy with the total cost.

Choose your frames.

Collect your botanicals.

Now that we had the frames it was time to go for a hike and find some flora and fauna to make our botanical art pieces. When decorating your home it’s so important to weave in good memories and story telling whenever possible. The goal of these botanical pieces was more than just design inspiration. I wanted them to tell a sweet story of the many nature hikes our family has enjoyed. We headed to one of our favorite walking trails where our dog can run off leash. We enjoy exploring our local reserves and parks. It’s so beautiful out in creation.

We had so much fun collecting I think we’ll go back for more and make a botanical press for each of their rooms.

Choose the pieces you will press.

We brought home more than we could put in our frames! We had so much fun though and it gave me a great selection to choose from. I mixed texture, shape and colors for the look I wanted. Nature is endlessly diverse. There are so many different plants are out there.

Arrange botanicals in your frame.

Once I decided on the leaves I wanted to showcase I laid the face of the frame down. Then I experimented with the plants by placing them on the frame and adjusted them a few different ways. Once I was happy with the look I had, the paper that came with the frame went overtop the leaves.

You can buy archival paper just for this type of project. If you want your plants to last longer this would be the way to go. I may do that, but for today I kept it simple. The back went on the frame and the plants are pressed. Voila, that easy, all finished!

Hang your botanical art and enjoy!

Because the mirror is hung vertically I chose to position the four botanical press pieces horizontally. Hanging them on a horizontal added variance to the upright mirror. All four frames together made a square which also adds contrast the rectangle shape mirror.

So glad I went with gold frames! The mix of metals is a look I love. The perfect vintage pewter table lamp, (in this case piano lamp) set next to the gold framed botanical gallery wall is just right.

This was such a simple project. It took very little time to put together and has such impact. If you were short on time you could even forgo the nature hike. Instead gather some of your favorite plants from around your yard to press. Small moments like those equal precious memories as well.

Bringing nature indoors is something I’ve always incorporated in my designs and home. Have you ever tried pressing botanicals in frames? If so what did you press?

xo Maria