Taking art personally: The ultimate frame-up

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Published Date 2/8/2024

A professional stager or decorator can take any home, fill it with just the right furniture, rugs, drapery, and tchotchkes and make it beautiful. What they can’t do, however, is make it yours. That’s what personal framed art does. Then again, all art is personal to someone, right?

Realtor.com’s Arlyn Hernandez agrees that home Is where the art is — or should be. “Hanging family photos, artist prints and less traditional things like handmade crafts or textiles can take your room’s design to the next level,” she says. “Then again, it can feel overwhelming to figure out exactly how to put everything on display.”

She asks — should you go with a classic gallery frame or something with a bit more personality? Should you spend money framing your kid’s art or just hang it on the fridge until their next masterpiece comes along? And is it worth it to spend the extra money on professional framing services? All good questions for the would-be decorator in you after seeing home improvement shows with perfectly framed and displayed art objects all these years.

Local thrift stores are where you start when on a framing budget. “You can often find great prices on second-hand frames—even if you have to ditch the art that’s already in them,” says Hernandez. “A few things to keep in mind: old frames rarely have their sizes marked, so bring a tape measure. Also, if you have a home with kids, consider swapping out glass fronts for plexi which you can easily find online.”

If you are in the throes of frame paralysis and can’t decide what to do, go digital. Hernandez asks, “We all have what feels like thousands of options for cute photos of our pets, babies, friends and vacay spots—so, how do you choose what to get printed?” Digital frames offer the opportunity to display photos and even pictures of art and are not pricey. She suggests the Aura frame as the cream of the crop in terms of customer reviews and style, but says less pricey options are out there, all of which let you upload images directly from your phone via an app.

Got a little artist in your family? If your refrigerator doors are not a great decor choice for displaying finger paintings, crayon sketches, and funky school crafts, consider front-opening frames. “The genius product opens up to store dozens of papers, often more than 50, so you can keep adding to the same frame without a tedious switcheroo,” says Hernandez.

It’s easy to create art with a wall full of holes, but perhaps that’s not the look you’re going for. If you’re not great at art placement and/or like to experiment a bit, they make magnetic art frames now. “You simply stick a removable thin magnet to your wall that matches up with a magnet on the frame,” says Hernandez. “This lets you swap things around easily and get the alignment perfect without even taking out a hammer.”

Of course, professional framing is pretty much the gold standard. “Once you go the professional framing route, it’s hard to go back,” says Hernandez. “The quality and details (like the paper backing, hanging wires and felt cushion pads) are unparalleled.”

While a local frame service is a great choice, you can also order straight from your laptop from sites like Framebridge and Simply Framed — both of which will frame just about anything you can mail them — memorabilia, flags, textiles, etc.), and can also print anything you can upload. You can even tell them what you want — such as a giant mat and a small square black-and-white print centered at the top. Just add it to your notes. Frame It Easy is an online entity for ordering frames in the exact size you need.

Realtor, TBWS

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