First, let’s admit how much fun My Little Ponies were. I probably had about six as a child, and they felt magical.
In related house news, after what has truly been months of indecision, we finally chose artwork to fill the empty wall spaces on either side of the sink nook in our bedroom.
I’d had fun making a little Pinterest-inspired painting, but decided it didn’t belong in the bedroom…
So John and I had several conversations about what would work across from our bed. We wanted something bold and moody — photography that feels sophisticated and slightly contrasty rather than soft and saccharine. Because the chandelier is playful and the duvet is bright, the art needed to ground the room and give it a more adult, intentional vibe instead of tipping toward a playroom or dorm look. With that in mind, we started browsing online.
The winner? Horses. I’ve always loved animals, and I’d been coveting the large horse photography I’d seen in glossy homes and magazines. After spotting a few inspiring layouts (including a nursery with giant horse art), I hunted through several print shops and marketplaces and found everything from racehorses and black beauties on farms to dramatic ponies in motion and a serene horseback rider at the seashore. The two that caught my eye most were a motion shot of running horses and a moody horse-on-the-beach image, both by Jan Lakey.
John had a say, too: he wanted prints that weren’t too energetic — something calming and scenic for the bedroom. I worried the motion-filled horses might feel too lively, so I used a simple trick to help him visualize the options: I photoshopped the prints into a snapshot of our room. Seeing them in context would either calm his concerns or confirm his objections. My quick mock-up looked like this (ignore the “progress” label — I borrowed the image from our house tour):
The mock-up made it easier to picture how the prints would integrate with the chandelier and bedding. We both agreed the room needed contrast and sophistication — not pastel, blown-out landscapes. We liked the idea of subtle gold undertones in the artwork to relate to the curtains and the bedding’s gold leaf accents, without being overly matchy. After the mock-up, I was sold.
John? He immediately liked the print on the right. He hesitated for a beat over the left print, which made me nervous, but then he said, “I like them.” No complaints about the horses feeling too chaotic — he appreciated that the two pieces weren’t an exact set but still worked together. Photoshop saved us what might have been a long decision process and helped turn a potential debate into a quick agreement.
Art is personal, and these horse prints won’t be everyone’s taste. That’s fine — we want our home to reflect what speaks to us, even if it isn’t universally appealing. Letting go of the idea that every visitor must love every choice gives you freedom to be authentic. It also keeps your rooms from looking like everyone else’s.
Cost-wise, large prints can be pricey. The ones we ordered are over three feet wide (40″ x 30″) and often retail for $100 or more, but we found each of these for $49. I also used a coupon code to save 22% off the order, bringing both prints down to $77.98 (from $100 for the pair). Shipping was $5.98, so the total came to $83.96 for both prints — not bad for two oversized photographs. Printing similar images locally would likely have cost more.
Frames for two 40 x 30″ pieces can be expensive, so we planned a budget-friendly alternative: mounting the prints on canvases. I’d previously picked up 40 x 30″ canvases on clearance at Michael’s with these walls in mind — we even taped off the space to test sizing beforehand. The canvases were a great deal after stacked discounts, so I even grabbed an extra one for the entryway project I worked on.
With the canvases already on hand, our total per piece will be about $64 once the prints are mounted — a fraction of what similar large canvases from major retailers often cost. My plan is to spray-mount or glue each print to its canvas and possibly seal the surface with matte Mod Podge for a textured, printed-canvas appearance. I haven’t decided the exact finish yet, but I’ll share the results when they’re hung.
P.S. John and I watched a documentary called Catfish last night and it stuck with us — a thought-provoking watch about online identities. It made us think about how well we really know people online, even those who write blogs like ours.