Are you looking for an affordable way to spruce up your gaming lair, something that shows off your unique personality? As gamers, these things can be hard to come by, especially if you don’t want to hang up a paper poster. We may have the answer for you with Displate, handcrafted metal posters. This is a site to buy custom artwork printed on metal from thousands of artists. If you want to take your space to the next level, this is one review you won’t want to miss.
Last year my wife and I bought a new house. Less than a week after closing, we had our third son. It was a crazy summer; two toddlers, a newborn, and makeovers, all before I returned to my normal teaching job 10 weeks later. As you can imagine, my own office setup fell low on the totem pole. Over the past year I have collected desks, computers, toys… but it still seemed incomplete due to the bare walls. Thanks to a previous review I did for GameSpace, I knew where to look: Displate.
If you’ve never heard of the site or the products they offer, consider it an artist collective. Thousands of artists create custom prints and upload them to their Displate storefronts covering every topic and interest you can imagine. The game is huge, just like anime and really any pop culture. You can also find real paintings that you might see on a canvas in an art store, printed letters, things designed to make you laugh, make you sad, inspire you. It’s like DeviantArt with the diversity on display. If this interests you, chances are there are dozens, if not hundreds, of custom artwork you can have printed.
Browsing I came across the work of Hustl Art which has some really nice Zelda: Breath of the Wild paintings. You can see some of them here.
I have been sold and bought a whole set for my main office. The shine of the print is just fantastic and I couldn’t be happier with the result. Here’s what they look like with a before and after photo:
Before
After
I also have a second desk in the bedroom, so I decided to get a few more behind it. Zelda was one of my childhood passions but it wasn’t the only series that swept through my afternoons.
The Samus on the right is also made by Hustl Art, although the Mario was created by another artist named Helen Vargas who has some amazing work herself.
The prints I chose are large in size which measure 27″ x 19″ and weigh just under two and a half pounds each. The print is high quality, but will scratch, so I was happy to see they were well packaged and separated for safe shipping. You can get smaller and larger sizes to suit your needs, but on average, large size prints sell for $89-99 a piece. The entire site goes on sale frequently, and in preparation for this review, Displate offered us a 15% off coupon with the code “mmorpg” (no quotes) via this link.
What’s even more interesting is that they are incredibly easy to mount. Displate uses a magnetic mounting mechanism that combines a strong magnet with a protective adhesive sheet. You can also use a nail or, as I did, a screw with drywall anchors if you’re worried about damaging the paint. I don’t think it’s a major concern, in all honesty, because when I searched the web, I couldn’t find any reports of it. I chose to use anchors for my setup primarily for my own peace of mind. We have freshly refinished hardwoods and those sharp metal corners made me too nervous to trust an adhesive.
Note: the adhesive paper is for reference only; you don’t need them if you nail or screw the magnets in place.
Once the magnets are in place, simply press down firmly on the Displate to lock it into place. Adjustments are ridiculously easy since you can literally drag or rotate the plate to wherever it should go. If I hadn’t drilled, the whole process of mounting half a dozen plates would have taken 15 minutes, including leveling.
Final Thoughts
When I decided to decorate my office, I considered many different choices, but kept coming back to Displate. It’s simply the best place to find artwork that matches your personality. There’s such an incredible variety of prints for any interest you might have, it’s hard to imagine anyone coming away empty-handed. Prints are works of art you can be proud of, no matter how old you are. Don’t take my word for it, though. Ask around like I did; I have yet to find a person who has received a Displate and has not been impressed.
If you buy through our link, you will help support our site. Even if you don’t, be sure to use code “mmorpg” for 15% off your order.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.
