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engineer print trend 4

Framed engineer prints are everywhere. Have you seen them? I especially love the ones featuredĀ here, here and here. I had been looking for a large piece of artwork to hang in the boys’ room when it dawned on me that an engineer print might be the ticket.

I had taken a photo with my phone of Layne and Everett on our recent trip to Florida. They’re mid-air jumping into a pool and it just exudes BOY. I had the photo blown up into a 2′ x 3′ black and white engineer print at Staples. (I quickly ordered the print online.) One day and $3 later, I had the print in hand. Since the print was so inexpensive, I “splurged” on a wood poster frame.

The print isn’t the highest quality and the paper is thin but for $3 I wasn’t expecting perfection. Also, the image doesn’t fill out the entire 3′ length – it’s more like 32″. This probably has something to do with the fact that I took the photo using the VSCO app. I might DIY a mat but next time I want the image to fill the entire frame. The frame itself is nice for a poster frame. The wood gives it a more expensive look and the facing is acrylic (not glass) which is ideal for a kids’ room.

engineer print trend 3

Layne and EverettĀ LOVE it and that’s all that matters anyway. The plan is to switch out the print for a current photo of the boys each year. I really like the idea of this being a feature that evolves as the boys grow. And at $3 per print, we can afford to change the imagery whenever boredom strikes.

Have you tried enlarging a candid photo into an engineer print yet? It’s so easy and inexpensive and instantly adds personality to any space.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

39 Comments

16.July.2014

love the print! can i ask about the plant? where you found the hanger and is it in sand? what type of plant? looks awesome! thanks, Heather

16.July.2014

Great tip! Love your Hudsons Bay blanket :)

16.July.2014

I’m ordering my first engineering print this week! We have a large frame to fill that will be perfect for the new baby’s nursery. I used to use them very often from staples when I worked years ago at a consulting firm for actual engineering prints but never tried it with a photo… yet.

16.July.2014

Great photo and idea. I do this often with my kids. I would comment that I don’t think it exudes “boy” but I would say it screams kids! I have both a daughter and son, ages 12 and 14, and this is level of activity is both of them on any given day and has always been. :-)

16.July.2014

I love engineer prints-I have several!

16.July.2014

I really think that candid photo of them warms up the space. And the idea to switch it out as they grow is really appealing. Candid photo for the win.

I just did this on Sunday! I ordered a print of a photo that my hubby took flying over Afghanistan on one of his earlier deployments. I’ve been revamping our master bath while he’s deployed this summer, and I hung it in there as a surprise! I couldn’t wait, so I showed him while we were FaceTiming – and he loves it! I loved the experience so much that I went ahead and ordered a wedding print for our bedroom!

16.July.2014

I second that! I feel like I vaguely remember you mentioning the plant for your boy’s room but can you please give us a refresher?

Room looks great so far. Looking forward to seeing more!

16.July.2014

Where is the leater/white pillow from? Love.

16.July.2014

Can you tell me more about the hanging planter and plant? Soo pretty!!

16.July.2014

I love the thought of changing out the print often to keep up with them as they grow! That $3 price frees one up for all kinds of possibilities. And since you mentioned you’d like the photo to fill the frame, you could easily just re-crop it and print again! (I know that sort of thing would bug me every time I saw it, so it would be worth it to fix it up right. Plus, um, $3.) Great project.

16.July.2014

I’ll admit I couldn’t figure out what you meant by “engineer” print… I looked at the other site’s you linked to and still didn’t get what made it an “engineer” print. I work in an engineering/architectural firm and was expecting blue prints or site plans etc. I only clued in you meant a 24×36 print size at the end when you mentioned enlarging the photo. lol feeling a tad slow today…It looks great for the cost :)

I had a 3′ x 4′ engineer print hung over my daughter’s crib in our last house. It was a great way to feature a favorite photo in a surprisingly subtle way with the washed out b&w copy… it definitely feels more like art than a family pic :) Love it!

16.July.2014

I had no idea what an “engineer” print was, but we have been hanging them in our home since we were married 45 years ago. We generally have at least one 2 x 3 print hanging somewhere in our house. Right now, the one we have hanging in our dining room is a photo my husband took of an eclipse of the sun.

16.July.2014

I concur with the questions about the plant and planter! Inquiring minds have to know!!!

16.July.2014

Such a great way to honor his service!! ( …and yours ;) )

16.July.2014

Okay I’m jealous of all y’all. I tried to get an engineer print at our local Staples and they told me no-go; that they were for engineering blueprints only. I told them- but, but, the internets said you did these! And he concurred that some Staples will do them and others won’t. I haven’t been able to find one in the Twin Cities metro that does them so if anyone knows of one, please let me know!

16.July.2014

I’ve done these and I LOVE them, the size is always a little funky, but the effect is killer for basically no $$!! Also, I’m ready for you to just come decorate my house, I love decorating and love my house, but yours always looks finished!!! I feel like my house is always “this” close!! But yours is there!!

16.July.2014

This looks great!
We scanned in a bunch of pages from our favorite novels, and got engineer prints of them at Staples for a gallery wall in our living room. It’s a great conversation starter, and I hope to switch them out more often as our kids start reading for themselves…

https://beautifulprotest.squarespace.com/blog/2013/11/14/evolution-of-a-living-room-part-2

16.July.2014

What a great idea for book lovers!

16.July.2014

Well, if it’s any consolation, I don’t feel like my house is finished! (Because it’s not. haha.)

16.July.2014

Really?! Have you tried ordering online? That’s how I did mine. An employee might give you the run around but maybe you’d have better luck with a computer?? Also, this probably means they’ll start charging more for engineer prints. Boo.

16.July.2014

The wooden frame gives the print a nice vintage look. I like it.
I did print at staples but a 36″x48″ size and did not frame it. I pinned it on the wall.

http://weekendtweaks.blogspot.com/2014/03/painted-wall-frame-for-large-poster.html

Thank you so much, Dana!!! :) When he’s away, I have to keep my hands and mind busy. This has been such a fun deployment project! I actually just posted our master bath before & afters this evening, where I also included the photo that we had enlarged at Office Max. I don’t usually post my own links on someone else’s blog, but in case you want to see our engineering print in our new-to-us bathroom, here it is: http://justoneoftheboys.com/2014/07/16/the-master-bathroom-is-finished/

Your blog has been such an inspiration to me. In fact, I used Dark Pewter in the makeover! I have been in love with the color ever since I spotted it on your blog, and I am beyond thrilled with how it turned out!!!

17.July.2014

I bought an engineer print of a picture I took of Catalina Island here in California. The size definitely wasn’t exactly what I asked for, but luckily it was too big for the frame so I just had to cut it down a little. Unfortunately, my frame was formerly for a painting, so it didn’t have glass/acrylic and now the print is sagging and looking shabby.

17.July.2014

Forgive me if this is a stupid question but what is an engineer print? Isn’t it just an enlarged photo?!? Or is it because not on photo paper? I’m a bit slow today (no wait, I’m slow most days. Have you see how long it’s taking me to finish my kitchen renovation? We started in January…)
Anyway the pic is sweet. I love seeing a happy memory in a room. X

17.July.2014

Yes, I did order online! I got an email from them telling me that they couldn’t complete my order. I emailed the store manager and he explained how they had been overwelmed with demand due to Pinterest (!) and so they were now limiting them to blueprints only. Maybe I’ll have to order some in another state!!

17.July.2014

Oh, the joys of Pinterest!

17.July.2014

I believe it’s meant to be an enlarged blueprint…not a photo. But it’s so inexpensive that many people are now using them to blow up photos on the cheap. It isn’t photo paper. Just heard from a reader that some office supply stores are starting to turn down customer requests for photos to be enlarged into engineer prints. Boo!

17.July.2014

I love the dark pewter in your bathroom!

17.July.2014

Such a great idea to paint the frame on the wall!

18.July.2014

Loved your idea and presentation,Look like a more than 3 usd investment ;)

19.July.2014

Thanks for clarifying. I had no idea what it was either. Apparently, I’m not up with current trends.

30.July.2014

Dana — can you tell me where the white and leather pillow is from? thank you!

05.August.2014

[…] My goal is to finish tweaking the boys’ room by the end of the month. The last time I shared my sluggish progress in the room, I got a ton of questions regarding the hanging plant(er). I thought I would give it a […]

06.August.2014

It looks great! Indeed I think the shop has some very nice stuff but I do think it is very expensive. You could have easily made that planter yourself with some T-shirt yarn and wooden beads from the craft store, don’t you think?

07.August.2014

You could definitely DIY it! Here’s a great tutorial…

http://www.deucecitieshenhouse.com/2013/12/diy-modern-macrame-hanging-planter.html

This time, clicking “add to cart” won out. I supported a small business and I spent an extra hour hanging with my kiddos.

[…] {House Tweaking} […]

23.December.2014

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