Should Your Picture Frames Match the Art or Your Decor?

Should Your Picture Frames Match the Art or Your Decor?

When buying made to measure picture frames, you have the opportunity to choose materials that perfectly match the decor of the room in which the picture will be hung.

But is this the correct course of action? Or would it be better to choose a bespoke picture frame made to match the artwork that will be placed inside it?

In most cases, the final choice of frame and material will be at least slightly different, depending on what you decide to match it to – so which is best?

We’ll take a look below at some of the options in an attempt to decide whether picture frames should match the artwork within, or the decor surrounding them.

1. Match the room decor

If you’re getting custom picture frames made for yourself, there’s a good chance you know where you want to hang the finished picture.

This means you can match the frame to the room decor. For example, if you have a specific species of wood used throughout a room, e.g. walnut or mahogany, it makes sense for your bespoke picture frames to be made of the same wood too.

Frames don’t have to be wood-finish. You can choose metallic picture frames, monochrome black, white or grey frames, and every colour of the rainbow.

Custom-made picture frames are your chance to express yourself, so don’t be afraid to go avant-garde – you can always get a different frame in the future if your tastes change.

2. Match the artwork

When buying a bespoke frame for a specific piece of art, it can be very tempting to match the appearance of the frame to the art itself.

This is not a bad idea, but it needs to be done carefully. If the frame is a very close colour match, it may appear as an extension of the canvas, which can work well to give a framed picture a more borderless appearance on the wall.

You’ll want to avoid choosing a very wide frame in an exact colour match, as this can risk diminishing the impact of the picture itself and leaving it adrift in a sea of empty colour.

Instead, you could choose a matching frame but introduce a clear border for the artwork itself by adding an internal mount – we’ll look at some ways to do this below.

3. Matching mount

It’s common for a picture frame to have an internal cardboard mount, even if the frame is made to measure. This helps the displayed photo, artwork or document to look a little more grand.

When choosing colours, you can match the mounting card to a prominent colour in the artwork. For example, if you are displaying a graduation photo and degree certificate, you could match the mount to the colour of the graduate’s robes.

In this configuration, the mount becomes an extension of the picture, but the external frame does not have to match. Instead, you can match the frame to the room decor, so that together the custom frame and mount work as a transition between the room’s interior design and the colour scheme of the artwork.

4. Contrasting mount

Alternatively, you can choose a mount that contrasts with the image in the frame. This creates a stronger border for the image but still leaves you with plenty of options for the frame itself.

These include:

• A frame that matches the artwork divided by a mount that matches the room.
• A frame that matches the artwork but divided by a contrasting mount.
• A frame that matches the room decor but not the mount or artwork.

Combining the frame and mount colour unleashes a lot more colour options. Using the example above of a graduation photo, you could have a mount that matches the robes or sash, with an outer frame that matches the background of the portrait or a prominent colour from the degree certificate.

Again, with a bespoke photo frame, it’s completely up to you to express yourself in a way that displays the image the way you want to – if you want to go for something unusual, that’s completely up to you. There are no hard and fast rules.

5. Don’t match either

The fifth and final option is to buy made to measure picture frames that don’t match the room or the artwork.

By doing this, you make sure the frame stands out, allowing it to add an extra aesthetic quality to your room rather than blending into the background.

It’s also a good option if you’re likely to redecorate the room or change the picture in the frame in the future, as it means you don’t have to match the picture or decor to the frames you already own.

You can still give each frame a visually complementary mount, in a matching or contrasting colour, or in a neutral tone that will work well no matter what picture you display.

Guest Article.