Ten Things To Know Before Framing Your Picture

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Ten Things To Know Before Framing Your Picture:

What and why to custom frame. - Whether you are framing a poster, your kid's handprints, or a fine work of art, custom framing will reflect your personal taste and protect your piece for years to come.
Consider the surroundings. - While you should certainly consider the room's decor, you shouldn't match the frame to the room at the expense of what looks good with the picture. Keep in mind that the room decor may change in the future.
Choose matting to enhance your artwork. - Matting is the term used to describe the "window-cut" material placed around an image within a frame. They can be made of a variety of materials such as paper, cotton and fabric in a wide range of colors. Mats serve as a spacer allowing the artwork to expand and contract with changes in humidity. Matting makes the overall size of the finished piece larger and provides a space for the eyes to rest between the art and the frame.
An ounce of prevention. - Many times cherished art is damaged prior to arriving at our frame shop because it is improperly stored or transported. If it's a rolled piece such as a poster, serious damage can be caused by rubber bands, tape, paperclips and even a gentle squeeze. Make sure that the artwork is placed in a folder, protective covering, or a tube. To prevent accidental damage, allow us to remove the artwork from its packaging.
It's all in the details. - Consider adding another detail. Fillets, beveled mat treatments, creative window openings, specialty paper or fabric mats can add a distinctive flair to your artwork. We are familiar with these options, and can help you decide what works best with your item. Sometimes it's the smallest element in framing your artwork that makes it stand out.
Choose the best frame to enhance your art. - There are thousands of different frame styles and sizes that come in a variety of stains, glazes, and finishes. Let us help you select the frame that best suits your artwork and have it made to your exact specifications.
Archival materials protect your art. - Some common framing materials such as paper mats and cardboard contain acid that will gradually destroy your art. Using archival mats and backing boards will help protect art from the damaging effects of time and from common pollutants that cause yellowing, fading and deterioration.
Mounting your artwork properly. - The dry and wet mounting processes bond artwork to a board to prevent artwork from bubbling or waving and are most appropriate for posters and photographs. Pieces of any value are generally not dry or wet mounted since these processes are irreversible and can greatly affect any resale value. Museum mounting, commonly known as hinging, attaches the art with paper hinges to the board. The art hangs freely, allowing it to expand or contract with changes in humidity. Hinging or archival photo corners are recommended for original artwork, delicate heirlooms, and other irreplaceable items.
Choose glazing to protect your artwork. - Glazing refers to the glass or acrylic material covering the artwork as a means of protection. There are many variations including regular clear glass, anti-reflective (chemically coated), non-glare (acid etched) and conservation glass (specially formulated to help filter UV light). There are also acrylic glazing products that come in the non-glare and UV filtering varieties. Acrylic is lighter in weight and is safer than glass but requires a soft cloth and a non-abrasive cleanser. It is ideal for oversized pieces, frames hanging in children's rooms, or items to be shipped.
Find the right framer - A good framer will help you with all the decisions that go into properly framing your picture. Quality framers have years of experience with preservation framing and design using a variety of materials and methods. A quality framer will usually hold the designation of Certified Picture Framer (CPF®). The CPF exam is administered by the Professional Picture Framers Association; PPFA. This extensive exam covers all aspects of conservation framing techniques and methods. For outstanding customer service and the latest products, design theories, and techniques, you can rely on framers with the CPF® mark of excellence.

Ten Things To Know About Hanging Pictures:

Take A Look At The Size Of Your Wall - Larger walls call for larger pieces of art, or a tall and wide arrangement of smaller pieces. A skinnier wall needs narrower art or some smaller pieces stacked vertically
Think About The Size Of Your Furniture - If you are hanging a picture over a piece of furniture, it is best to not have the width of the artwork exceed the width of that piece of furniture. Ideally, you would want the art to be 3/4 to 4/5 of the width of the furniture.
Think in terms of your room's decor... Does the room have a theme? Is there a mood you're trying to create? Do you want to try to match the furnishings with your art or is it more your style to hang the walls with art that contrasts your room scheme?
Use two smaller pieces of art instead of one large piece. Take two pieces of art that have something in common (artist, colors, medium, subject matter, etc) frame them alike and hang them as a pair. This can add interest and help to visually break up larger expanses of walls. This can be particularly effective over a large piece of furniture like a sofa.
Think in terms of symmetry. You can hang different pieces of art in an arrangement that is symmetrical. This works well in more formal, balanced rooms like living rooms and dining rooms and can add to a calming mood. You can also achieve a neat effect by hanging art arranged asymmetrically. This is nice for more casual and fun areas like great rooms, game rooms, TV rooms and the like.
Create a theme for a wall and stick to it. Choose a style of art, a set of colors or a historical subject for example. Frame the individual pieces similarly, but not matching, and group most of the pictures on one large wall for impact. Spread two or three others among the other walls to finish carrying out the idea. Look for cues that already exist in the room to help you gel your theme.
Think in terms of lines. Artwork can be hung on either vertical or horizontal lines, and the way you use these lines can help you further the mood that you are going for in a particular room. Hanging art on a vertical line can give a space more height, make it seem more formal and denotes a touch of elegance. Hanging art on a horizontal line can give a space more width, make walls seem longer and evoke a more casual feeling.
Don't forget the diagonal! Hanging artwork on a diagonal, or offset, is not advisable for most situations as it creates too much chaos for the eye. But hanging artwork on the diagonal over stairways or odd-shaped walls can add interest and drama to otherwise muted wall space.
Think in terms of "units" not "pieces". A grouping of pictures should work together as a single unit. A leading online seller of art and framing offers these helpful hints: Plan a grouping by laying the pieces out on the floor in front of the wall before you start putting holes in the wall. Try different combinations until you come up with a layout that makes a cohesive unit. And to be really precise, take it one step further by laying the pictures out on a large piece of paper (like brown kraft paper) and then tracing an outline of each picture onto the paper. Then temporarily hang the paper on the wall, and voila! - you now know exactly where each picture goes!
Don't be afraid to be different! Make a statement, have fun!