Kirklands Wall Art: Home Decor Store Budget Collection

Okay so I just spent like three hours at Kirklands last week because my client bailed on me and honestly their wall art situation is way better than people give them credit for, especially if you’re working with that under $100 per room kinda budget.

The Metal Signs Are Actually Where It’s At

First thing you gotta know is their metal wall art pieces are surprisingly decent quality for the price. I picked up this oversized metal leaf thing for like $39.99 and it looks way more expensive than it is. The trick with Kirklands metal pieces is checking the back brackets though – some of them have these flimsy sawtooth hangers that’ll rip right out of drywall. The good ones have the keyhole slots or the sturdier D-rings.

I always flip them over in the store now because I learned this the hard way when a client’s piece fell at 2am and we both freaked out thinking someone broke in. Anyway the metal signs with the raised lettering or the ones that have that antiqued finish actually photograph really well too if you’re doing this for like rental staging or anything where you need it to look good in photos.

What to Skip in the Metal Section

• Those really thin stamped metal pieces that bend if you look at them wrong
• Anything with the word “blessed” unless that’s specifically your vibe no judgment
• The super trendy stuff because Kirklands cycles through trends fast and you’ll see the same piece everywhere for like six months

Canvas Prints: Hit or Miss Situation

Their canvas prints are where things get tricky. Some of them are actually gallery wrapped and look legit, others are basically poster prints stretched over frames. You can usually tell by the sides – if the image wraps around nicely and the staples are hidden, you’re good. If you see staples and white canvas edges, it’s gonna look cheap on your wall no matter what.

I grabbed this abstract blue and gold piece last month for a bathroom reno and honestly it held up great even with the humidity. Cost me $34 and my client thought it was from West Elm which like…I’ll take that win. The thing with their canvases is the coating matters – the ones with that slight sheen finish are more durable than the matte ones which can absorb stains.

Oh and another thing, their oversized canvas options are actually a steal compared to other stores. A 40×30 piece runs maybe $60-80 when it’s not on sale, and they have sales basically every other week. Sign up for their emails even though you‘ll get like 900 of them because they send 50% off coupons randomly.

Canvas Selection Strategy

Walk past the front displays first because those are always the picked-over trendy pieces. Go to the back corner where they stack the extras – that’s where I found this gorgeous neutral abstract that had been marked down twice because the frame had a tiny ding that I literally covered with a touch of brown Sharpie and nobody can tell.

The Framed Art Collections

Okay so their framed art comes in sets a lot which is both good and bad. Good because it takes the guesswork out of creating a gallery wall, bad because you’re stuck with their arrangement ideas unless you wanna buy extra pieces. I usually buy the sets and then add 1-2 additional pieces from their open stock to make it feel more custom.

The black frames are consistently better quality than the natural wood or white ones – this is gonna sound weird but I think they put more budget into the black frames because those are what people expect to look expensive. The white frames sometimes have this weird plastic-y coating that catches light wrong and just screams budget.

Wait I forgot to mention – their botanical prints in the simple black frames are genuinely good for the price. I’ve used them in probably five client projects now and nobody’s complained. They run about $20-30 per frame depending on size and you can mix them with more expensive pieces and everything balances out.

Textured and Dimensional Wall Art

This is where Kirklands actually surprised me. Their dimensional wall art – like the wood cutouts, the woven pieces, the ones with beads or fabric elements – these punch way above their weight class. I bought this carved wood medallion thing for $49.99 and my friend who works at Anthropologie was like “oh is that from that new collection” and I just smiled and nodded.

The woven wall hangings especially are good right now because that whole boho coastal thing is still hanging on. They’re lightweight which makes them easy to hang with command strips if you’re in a rental situation. Just don’t put them in direct sunlight because the colors will fade – learned that one when I staged a condo with western exposure and everything turned into this washed out beige situation.

Things That Look More Expensive Than They Are

1. Anything with geometric metal patterns in gold or brass finish
2. The large scale botanical prints in dark frames
3. Carved wood panels especially the ones with that weathered finish
4. Mirror wall art combinations – they mix mirrors with metal or wood frames

How to Shop Kirklands Wall Art Without Looking Basic

The secret is mixing their stuff with other sources and not buying complete sets exactly as displayed. I’ll grab like two pieces from a Kirklands three-piece set, add something from HomeGoods, maybe one piece from Etsy or a local artist, and suddenly it doesn’t look like you bought everything from one store on the same day.

Also their clearance section is actually worth digging through unlike some stores where clearance is just damaged garbage. I’ve found pieces marked down 70% just because they’re transitioning seasons. Got this massive farmhouse-style piece last February for $35 that originally retailed for like $120 because they were making room for spring stuff.

My dog knocked over a whole display when I brought him in once which was mortifying but also the staff was cool about it and that’s when I noticed they keep additional inventory in the back – so if you see something online but not in store, ask them to check the back inventory because their floor space is limited.

What Actually Holds Up Over Time

I’ve had Kirklands wall art in my own house and in client homes for years now so I can tell you what lasts. The metal pieces genuinely hold up – no fading, no warping, no issues. The wood pieces are fine as long as they’re not in humid areas. Canvas prints will last a few years easy if you’re not in direct sunlight.

What doesn’t hold up: anything with a lot of small glued-on elements. Those beads and embellishments start falling off after a year or so. Also their mirrors – the actual mirror part is fine but the decorative frames can get loose or the finish rubs off if you clean them too much.

Hanging Tips Because Nobody Talks About This

Most Kirklands wall art is lighter than you’d think which is actually great for hanging. I use those heavy duty command strips for anything under 5 pounds and regular picture hanging hardware for heavier pieces. The metal pieces especially are deceptively light – that huge leaf thing I mentioned earlier weighs maybe 3 pounds.

For gallery walls using multiple Kirklands pieces, I lay everything out on the floor first and take a photo from above. Then I use that as my guide for hanging. Sounds obvious but you’d be surprised how many people just start hammering nails and hoping for the best.

Oh and funny story – I was watching that Netflix show about interior design while arranging a Kirklands gallery wall and totally copied one of their spacing techniques where you keep everything 2-3 inches apart consistently. Worked perfectly and now I do that every time.

The Sales Cycle You Need to Know

Kirklands has a predictable pattern. New collections drop in January, April, July, and October roughly. The old stuff goes on clearance about 2-3 weeks before the new collection arrives. If you’re flexible on style and willing to shop the clearance, you can furnish entire walls for under $100.

They also do this thing where certain categories go on sale each week – like one week it’s all wall art 30% off, next week it’s furniture, whatever. If you can wait, you’ll catch a sale. I’ve literally never paid full price for anything there because I just check back every few days until something goes on sale.

Black Friday is obviously huge but their after Christmas clearance in January is actually better for wall art specifically because everyone’s returning stuff or they overstocked for the holidays. I got this entire set of neutral abstract pieces for $60 total that would’ve been $180 regular price.

Mixing High and Low

Here’s what I actually do in real client projects – I’ll spend money on one or two really good statement pieces from like an actual gallery or artist, then fill in around them with Kirklands stuff. Nobody can tell which is which when it’s all arranged together, and you get that expensive collected-over-time look without spending thousands.

For example, I did this whole living room situation with one $400 abstract painting from a local artist, surrounded by six pieces from Kirklands totaling maybe $200, and the client tells everyone about their expensive gallery wall. The Kirklands pieces make the expensive one look even better because they’re supporting players, not competing.

The key is varying the frame styles and sizes so everything doesn’t look too matchy. Kirklands actually makes this easy because their collections are kinda all over the place style-wise anyway. You’re not gonna walk in and see everything in identical frames like at some stores.