Tips For Hanging Any Type Of Art

Tips for hanging any type of art

There are hundreds of different ways you can interest to the walls of your home – from hanging hats to old window panes – and everything in between. You can buy art, use your children’s pictures or even paint your own. You can even download some art for free online. 

But once you have chosen your art, how do you frame it? Instead of searching for where to buy picture frames online – come to the experts at Frames.co.uk and we will make sure you have the perfect frame for your piece and your home.

Try a faux floating frame

Sometimes even the most amazing piece of art needs a little something to make it perfect. At Frames you can buy custom frames which will fit the piece perfectly, or you can add a little extra oomph by creating a faux floating frame. All you need is two frames of a similar finish, with one being substantially larger than the other. ‘Float’ the larger empty frame around the smaller framed artwork and voila! A modern way to draw the eye to your favourite piece.

Enlarge your favourite frame

Sometimes you can find the perfect piece of art or photograph and it just feels like it would be too small to display. One way to get around this issue is to double frame it. Find two frames that are of a similar colour, finish and style and stick one inside the other. This is a really inexpensive way to give a small print or favourite photograph of yours a more dramatic finish.

Enlarge the border

Sometimes it isn’t the size of the art or picture that is the issue, but the size of the border. Adding some fabric or decorative paper on top of the mat and then placing your art or photo on top of this can be a great way to frame objects or art that looks a bit lost in the border. Another solution is to use Wasabi tape to add a touch of personality to the edge of the border as well.

It is also a great way to easily swop the photos or art in a frame without having to get a new border every time – especially if there is a difference in the size of the print you want to insert. It also works well with older photos that tend to be quite small in size.

Paint by numbers

Our tips are not just limited to how to hang art, but we also know a thing or two about art itself. For example, one great tip we have come across is that if you find a cheap piece of art that you love, from a charity shop for example, but the colours don’t fit your home – then buy it and paint it by numbers yourself! 

Paint over the existing artwork with the colours you prefer, following the existing piece. You don’t need any artistic ability to do this, and you will create a customised piece that fits perfectly in your home. 

Add a touch of sparkle

If you are not brave enough to paint over a piece of art that doesn’t match your home décor, maybe you could add some sparkle with metallic paint. Just think about how glamorous an old black and white photo or a landscape would look with a splash of gold on it. 

You don’t have to stick to gold though, you can use whatever metallic shade you prefer that you think would work well with the picture – such as copper, silver, or bronze or something more unexpected such as metallic blue or pink.

Turn a charity store find into a silhouette piece

Another way to personalise a great charity shop find is to turn it into a conversation piece by painting over it to create a silhouette picture. It’s a great way to make an old-fashioned dark floral picture look more modern and chicer – and it definitely works well with boho style décor.

Add some words

Another way to bring a lacklustre picture up to date is to use it as a background for your favourite quote. You can use vinyl letters and stick them straight on, paint them on using a stencil or even freehand them if you have an artistic streak. 

You could also stick vinyl letters on then paint over them and peel them off, to reveal the picture underneath as the letters rather than the background!

Personalise your great find

You could really make a charity shop find painting your own by adding in some artistic touches of your own. If you can find a landscape, for example, you can add bunting, a treehouse, and even a boat to give it a more whimsical feel. This is a great way to turn something that could be seen as a little twee into a unique one of piece that suits your personality.

Paint the frame

Now, if you buy your frame from us, chances are it will be perfect, but you may have a frame lying around at home that just isn’t right. One way you can perk it up a little bit is to paint it. 

Paint is a great way to transform even the most mundane of items, with a coat of white gloss paint giving life to even the oldest most beat up frame. White is also a great colour to choose to elevate whatever picture you choose to put in the frame. 

Add some hardware to your frame

Another way of adding a touch of pizazz to an old frame is to decorate it with some gorgeous hardware, such as brass corners, from your local DIY store. This works great if you want your frame to fit in with your modern, industrial interior design scheme.

Add some 60’s style

Sometimes it can be hard to find a frame that exactly fits with the art or photograph it surrounds, and so elevating them with paint of hardware can really help to give a collection or gallery wall a much more cohesive feel. If you have some 1960s prints, for example, you may want to add some pastel colours to the frame as these classic colours of the decade will add to the overall look and feel.

Add some texture

Some of our favourite family photos are those we have taken at the seaside, and so why not really add to the coastal feel of these by painting the surrounding frames white and adding some rope or sea shells to the corners.

So, there you have it, some of our top tips on how to hang any type of art. If there is any more information you need, including ready made picture frame sizes, then please check out our website.