Curating a gallery wall with dog-inspired art

Once I fall in love with something, I fall in love with it hard — attribute this tendency to my Venus in Libra, if you will. I absolutely went bonkers with all things dogs once I became a pup parent. If you sift through my belongings, you’ll find wallets, purses, totes, and miscellaneous tchotchkes with dog motifs. I can’t help it. I’m a dog lady through and through. Naturally, I have a whole gallery wall dedicated to dog decor in my room. 

 

It’s not all that difficult to find home decor for dog lovers at HomeGoods and Target. (In fact, I have a golden retriever Christmas ornament from Target). But I wanted to create a gallery wall that featured vintage charm and unique pieces. Naturally, I started collecting dog home decor by scouting my local thrift stores.    After a year of hunting down dog decor, I’ve managed to assemble a cozy and kitschy little dog gallery wall in my bedroom. Frankly, you’ll find more cat decor at secondhand shops, but I’ve lucked out over the course of time. This little corner has become the perfect spot for cuddling my fur babies. 

Here’s how I put together my dog gallery wall, plus a breakdown of the cool pieces I’ve picked up at thrift shops. Maybe you’ll be inspired by some of these dog decor ideas!

Where to find dog art and wall decor

I’ve had the best of luck finding cute dog decorations from Goodwill. If you’re looking for cheesy, sentimental pieces, Goodwill is such a great spot to hit up. People just toss out framed prints and wall decorations with reckless abandon, and I get to bring these treasures home for only a few bucks. (Everything I’ve picked up from Goodwill was $4 to $5.) 

Here’s what I got from Goodwill, plus information I’ve managed to extract from some quick Google lens searches. 

• “In Disgrace” by Charles Burton Barber: This framed print features a little girl and her Jack Russell terrier leaning against the wall in shame next to a broken vase. The wooden frame isn’t anything special, but the picture makes me smile.
• Pug “Welcome” Sign: I almost left this piece behind but decided to run back into the store half an hour later to grab it! I have three dogs, so it’s kind of perfect. (They are, however, not pugs.) Couldn’t find any information on this piece online, but isn’t it cute? I think it’s some kind of key holder.
• Collie plate: I didn’t know that people hung plates on the wall, but I knew I had to incorporate this piece into my dog lover’s corner. No information on this piece, either! It came in a goodie bag with a bunch of other small trinkets, including a wooden frame. It also tickles me because I have a lurking suspicion that Luna is part collie. (She rounds up her brothers like they’re sheep…)
• “Boy with Little Dog” by C. Bremont: Apparently, a female artist painted this under the name C. Bremont in the 1800s — it’s almost certainly a reproduction, but it looks very upscale and features a weighty, ornate frame.

Other finds:

• A gold photo frame from my local charity shop: I put a puppy picture of Luna in it! I think I actually have a few more of these frames — will pop photos of the boys into them later.
• “Girl and Dog, Drum C1880,” also from my local charity shop: There’s very little information available on this print, but I like its Victorian vibe.
• “Lord Setterland” by Carol Lew: This dog canvas art portrait, inspired by Anthony van Dyck’s painting of Lord Bernard Stewart, features an Irish setter in frilly 17th-century attire…what’s not to love? (Per Wikipedia, the nobleman sadly died very young at the age of 22 during the English Civil War.) I just thought it was hilarious because it looked like Luna, although I doubt that she’s part Irish setter. It does jut out a little on my wall, but it was too good to pass. I technically didn’t thrift this — I actually picked it up while wandering around TJ Maxx one day.

How I refurbished my thrifted finds

Most of my pieces were honestly ready to hang. The only two pieces that I needed to spruce up were the pug wall art piece and the “Boy with Little Dog” portrait. 

The “C” on the welcome sign broke off, so I had to fix the “C” with some air-dry clay. To make the piece look less disjointed, I painted the letters with gold acrylic paint. 

The portrait was honestly fine, but I wanted to give the frame some new life because it looked a bit brassy and tarnished. Again, I went in with some gold acrylic paint, using very rough, broad strokes. 

And, of course, this cozy dog wall art corner would not be complete without a real pup, so I lured Luna onto my accent chair for an obligatory photoshoot. 

I’m not on the lookout for any other wall decorations, but you never know with thrifting! There are just so many prints of kids with dogs…and I’ll buy ‘em all.