How To Pick The Right Made To Measure Frames For Your Art

How to pick the right made to measure frames for your art

You only have to look around any art gallery or museum and the wonderful pictures that are hung there, to see that sometimes the picture frames are as beautiful as the art that is hanging within them. They may be minimal in style, or shiny metallic or even beautifully gilded in gold – whatever they are, they are sure to highlight the works of art within them. 

This is because expensive pieces like this, tend to have been framed by professional framers who are well versed in the big difference that choosing the right made to measure frames can make – by not only enhancing whatever is inside them but also adding to the mood as well. 

Be warned, though – get your framing wrong and it could affect how you feel about your favourite piece of art, print of photo!

Don’t worry though, the team at Frames are here to help. We’ve pulled together some ways you can our made to measure photo frames to add some oomph to your walls. 

Black and white is ultra-classy

A black and white colour way is one of our favourites, as they are both ultra-classy choices when it comes to pictures and picture frames.  Using a white or black frame is a great way to bring a large collection of different styles of art together – creating a theme easily. You can also use it to echo other elements in your home, such as white furniture or black framed doors and windows. 

You could also play with the monochrome theme by displaying white framed items on a black picture shelf, or vice versa – it can look really modern and cool. 

Easels are not just for painting on

You could really highlight the artistic elements of your favourite work of art, by using a beautiful easel as a display stand. This will not only make it the stand out piece in your room – as every eye will be drawn to it, but it also makes it more portable to – meaning you can move your favourite piece to wherever in your home you want to, very easily.

Match your decor

Of course, the frame you choose should not fight against the image that is inside it, but rather enhance it – but it should also enhance the feel of your home as well and not fight against it. For example, if you have a coastal style in your home, you could use a wooden frame for your photo, whereas a city centre loft theme might work better with a metallic frame

Keep it balanced

If you are hanging your pictures in groups of four of the same shape and size, then it may be an idea to use the same frame for all of them as well to keep a sense of coherence. You can also add to the balanced feel by positioning the frames in a balanced way on your wall, and keeping them in line with any other large elements in your room. The key is to measure more than once to make sure your display looks right before you start banging any nails into the walls!

Consider a floating frame

Floating frames are growing in popularity as they create a frame within a frame feeling, causing the artwork inside to feel like it is floating. They are an easy way, therefore, to make an eye-catching statement in any home. 

Simple is usually best

Using your staircase wall as a gallery for your family photographs is a popular idea nowadays, and you can make it look even more striking by using the same coloured frame for all of your memories. If you prefer a classic look then choose a white frame to fit in with the minimalist feel of your home, although a black frame would work just as well. You could always go for something brighter coloured, though, if your home décor is more bohemian. 

Go au natural

Rather than paying a lot of money for some staged professional photographs of your children, why not capture them while they are playing? Sometimes these un-staged shots can be more successful than posed ones. You can further add to the home-grown vibe by using some simple wooden frames to hang them – after all, nature is always a good idea. 

Keep scale in mind

Just because you don’t have a large space in your home to display pictures, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t display them. You can hang pictures just about anywhere as long as you keep the scale of them in proportion to the space - I.e., small pictures hung in a narrow alcove can look great. Keep the frame size as close as possible to the image size, and arrange them in an artistic way on your wall to help draw the eye in. 

Now we have given you some ideas of different ways you can frame your art or photos, how do you decide what you want to frame? Art is a very subjective subject, some people like black and white photos and some people prefer more abstract paintings, so whatever you choose to put on your walls should depend on what you like and what you can live with every day, and not what anyone else thinks.

Having said that, however, there are some things you should keep in mind. 

Think about the style of your home

If your home is modern, minimalist and contemporary then why not reflect this in the art you choose and go for some abstract art painted in bright, bold colours. This will help draw the eye and can enhance the feeling of the rest of your space. 

Add a personal touch

Super-sized black and white prints can look really classy, especially if you choose ones which reflect your personal hobbies or interests – such as a still from your favourite film or your favourite holiday destination. This can help bring some personality to your home as well. 

Don’t just frame photos

Photos are a great way to showcase some of your favourite memories, but they are not the only way – you can frame album covers, film posters or even gig tickets to really add a personal touch to your space. Make sure you keep the frame design on the minimal side though, so that you don’t draw any attention away from what is inside. 

If you have space, use it

Homes are getting bigger all the time, and being built with different configurations in mind than we might be used to. If you live in a home with an interesting configuration, why not use that to your advantage, and find unusual places to hang your art. For example, if you have a vaulted ceiling, then hang a few of your pieces higher up the wall to really draw the eye up into the space. 

Chart your travels

As we have said before, art isn’t the only thing you can hang on your walls – there are lots of different ways to jazz up your space. If you are a frequent traveller, you could hang a large map on your wall instead, and mark out the places you have been – to inspire friends and family to broaden their horizons, or just to keep track of where you want to go next!

Sample it

More and more people are choosing to play with colour and print in their homes, rather than going down the magnolia route – but this can be quite a scary thing to do. Dip your toe into the water by framing some wallpaper samples that you like – these are easy to source, usually free, and you can easily change them whenever you see something you prefer. 

Create your own art gallery

If you are a real fan of a certain type of art, or particular artist and have collected a few pieces that are very similar then why not create your own mini art gallery? Hang them in a row as you would find them at a gallery, or be freer and hang them in a way in which pleases you. 

Celebrate your roots

We all tend to have a great love for the place we were born or where we have chosen to live, and so why not celebrate that by hanging a vintage bus blind or railway sign, or special piece of art that references it? 

Family comes first

Your children are probably the apple of your eye, so why not create a space in your home that reflects that? You could mix pictures of them up with artworks that they have created, and really make a beautiful display that shows them how much they mean to you. 

Hopefully this article has given you a place to start to think about what you might want to display, and what sort of frames you might want to display them in. 

If you are ready to add some personality to your home, then please take a look at our wide range of custom picture frames uk – we really do have something to suite everyone.