The first thing I did when I got a job and apartment after college, was A.) sent flowers to myself B.) splurged on an all-new wardrobe, or C.) went to a home decor store and went bananas, or D.) all of the above.
The answer is D! And my first stop at said home decor store, was… the kids’ section for my artwork. I may have been an adult on paper, but my favorite show was still Lizzie Maguire. Plus, one thing that hasn’t changed since the days of that cute apartment in the Twin Cities is my love of color. And art made for children is always vibrant and colorful and fun. Just like I used to be before a mortgage and laundry and stressing about forgetting my daughter’s freshman orientation wore me down and beat me up. I digress.
Here are a few artists whose work would look amazing in either an office OR a playroom.
Matt Lyon (aka C86) is a London-based artist that I’m sure I can’t afford. He’s done work for Nike, AT&T, and AOL (remember aol?!) among others, which tells me he’s out of my price range, but maybe not yours! In any event, we can appreciate his fun, funky designs like Cloud Blusters. To see more of his happy-go-lucky designs, check out his website here.
Matt Lyon isn’t the only Matt whose creations are kid-oriented, parent-appreciated. Matt Mabe illustrates animals and is there a kid’s room in the world without some kind of animal art? No. Even as an adult I wouldn’t dream of living in a home without some animal art. And his is perfection. Matt Mabe began creating a series of animal prints (one for each letter of the alphabet) for his kids’ bedrooms. They should definitely take them when they move into their first apartments.
Finally, I’d love to introduce you to a local Michigan artist. I was grabbing a cup of coffee a few weeks ago at a Full Circle Coffee (Byron Center- a few miles from the ice arena, incidentally.) and there was this beautiful, whimsical art on the walls. Mary Litwiller creates the most precious scenes- sometimes with fairies, sometimes not, but always cozy and/or interesting and/or fun. Check her out on IG at miss.artiste. Her feed is chock full of goodness. Not to mention… the mushrooms! Swoon!
I hope you’re doing something for your inner kid today! If you need some inspiration, look no further than your local home decor store!