House Proud

Many of us design addicts focus a lot of time and attention on our homes. We labor over renovations, and landscaping and decorating decisions. So why not show off our pride and joy a bit? A custom house portrait can be framed as a piece of art, or used as a personal "monogram" on stationery, note cards or book plates. And what a great gift for a friend with a special house, a designer, or an architect! I think shop owners would also love to have a portrait of their storefront that could be used as a charming motif on store tags or mailers.

Here are a few options, ranging from the more luxurious to the easily affordable.

A Felix Doolittle house illustration.

Felix Fu, the artist and designer behind Felix Doolittle, will create a drawing of your home, starting at $3000. The art can be framed, and the image can then be applied to any Felix Doolittle stationery.

An example of a banknote-style house engraving from Thornwillow Press.

Thornwillow Press, for around $1500-2500, will create an original frameable piece of art and an etched plate to be used for printing. Another option they provide is a hand-engraved steel die, interpreted by the engraver from a photograph. This house vignette will have the look of banknote-style engraving on currency, and the die costs around $4000. The cost for stamping and paper is additional and varies depending on quantity and format.

Florist shop illustration by PVE Designs

PVE Design's Patricia van Essche will create a personal, charming and stylish illustration of your house, shop or interior, starting at around $250. She usually works in pen and watercolor or gouache, and will provide a quote on request - each illustration will vary in size and price. You can also see more of Patricia's work over at the wonderful blog, Mrs. Blandings.




O at Home had these custom artworks made from the same house photo.
Top, a custom rubber stamp was created for only $59. What a bargain, at picturemystamp.com.

Bottom, artist Karl Johnson cuts each silhouette freehand with a pair of surgical scissors. 11" by 14", for $85. CutArts by Karl

Claudia Laub will create a sketch of your home and print 450 square notes for $125. A great price, I think, for a custom illustration and hand-letterpressed printing.

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