Choosing the Right Frames for Your Display

Our team here at Frameworks Gallery and Frame Design wants to help you display your art to its best effect, and an important step to achieving that goal is to select the right frames. A well-chosen frame will help heighten the effect of the photo or painting, while a poorly chosen one will diminish or muddle its impact. In addition, frames have a lot of design potential when it comes to incorporating your art pieces into your space—you can have your pieces boldly stand out from the rest of your décor, or blend into and complement it. To help you select the right frames for any art display, we recommend that you ask the following questions:

• Does the frame work with the piece? As we mentioned above, the best frame for any work of art is one that amplifies its visual impact. This means that an ornate, detailed painting will work best in an ornate, detailed frame, while a stark black and white photo will work best in a stark black or white frame. If you’re not sure what would work for a given piece, you can consult with our experts at Frameworks Gallery and Frame Design to get our professional recommendation.
• Does the frame work with the surrounding décor? Besides setting the piece off to its best effect, a frame should also complement the surrounding décor. To stick with the ornate painting example, you’ll want to choose a frame that matches its style, but doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the room. Choose a color that matches both the painting and the existing color scheme, or stick to neutrals if that’s not possible.
• Does the piece even need a frame? While we at Frameworks Gallery and Frame Design are obviously big fans of frames and the design potential that they offer, we also acknowledge that there are cases where an art piece may not need a frame at all. While works on paper typically need the visual weight of a frame, pieces painted or printed on canvas can look quite nice without further accompaniment. Just make sure you look for gallery-wrapped canvas, which hides the staples and nails on the back of the stretcher bars rather than leaving them exposed on the sides.