Interior view of Barsky Gallery in Hoboken New Jersey, offering canvas stretching, framing and hanging services to Northern New Jersey and NYC art collectors.
It’s a familiar story.
Buy art from your favorite Hoboken art gallery.
Excitedly decide where you’ll hang it.
Pour over endless frame colors, sizes, and styles.
Change your mind, again and again.
Let yet another weekend pass by without framing and hanging your new art.
All in all, you’re probably wondering how to frame artwork like a pro? Well… you’re in luck.
We’re sharing our best framing artwork tips to help you decide which frame is best for your valuable piece of art and perhaps unveil a few gallery secrets along the way.
Frame for Style
Frame to Preserve
Let the Art Lead
What’s With Frame Matting?
Frame Glass
Frame for Style
With so many frame styles to choose from, how do you know where to start?
To narrow down your options, think about your own personal style and the style of your home.
If you have an industrial-style loft, perhaps metal frames will work best. Have you gone with traditional interior design? Maybe a more ornate frame would suit. If you’re a minimalist, you can’t go wrong with a quality white art frame.
Frame to Preserve
Another consideration to make when finding the perfect frame for your art is preservation.
Not only will you want to hang your most valuable art away from windows to prevent sun damage, but framing also goes a long way in conserving the quality of art.
Choosing your frames based on how well they’ll preserve your most treasured pieces is an important reason to invest in professional framing.
Let the Art Lead
With all that said, you’ll find the best frame for your piece if you let the art lead the way. In other words, don’t just choose a matching pair of frames for two different pieces. Think about which frame will truly bring out the best in the art itself.
This might mean framing your art to make it more period-appropriate or using a frame mat that enhances the essence of the piece.
Plus, if you’re trying to match a finish in your home or get the exact same frame you bought previously, chances are it won’t be exactly alike. Letting the art lead can actually create a more cohesive look.
What’s With Frame Matting?
What is a frame mat anyway? Mats aren’t always necessary but they’re definitely recommended to help your art to shine. The mat of a frame goes behind the piece and creates a distinction between the frame and the art.
Most works that are on paper like a photograph, print, or watercolor look best with a mat. Plus, acid-free mats offer valuable protection.
Regular Mat Board (or Paperboard) is acid-free and made with wood pulp. It’s the most commonly used mat, can last up to 100 years, and is best for low- to mid-range art.
Paper Mats can be either acidic or non-acidic and are made with wood pulp. Careful, acidic paper mats can yellow or even burn your art.
Cotton Rag Mats are acid-free and made with cotton and paper, offering a higher quality mat than its paper-based counterparts. Great for most works of art that don’t require high levels of preservation.
Conservation/Archival Mat Board is made with pH neutral cellulose that’s been treated to last for hundreds of years and is the highest quality frame mats you can find. This is what you’ll want to use for your most valuable works of art to maintain the highest level of preservation.
Floating Mats are another option that makes the art appear as if (you guessed it) it were floating. It’s more of a stylistic option for art pieces that are three-dimensional.
Colored Mats are also available and can be used to bring out certain colors in the art. White or off-white mats look amazing with most pieces.
Pro Tip: The width of your frame should be thinner than the width of your mat.
Frame Glass
That’s right -- there’s more than one kind of glass to choose from when framing you’re art. Here’s the lowdown:
Regular Glass is the least expensive option. It’s reflective and won’t protect your art from UV rays.
Conservation glass is slightly more expensive as it blocks most UV rays while remaining reflective.
Museum glass is your most expensive option. It’s non-reflective and blocks most UV rays.
Plexiglas is essentially lightweight glass that’s beneficial for large works of art (especially when they need to be shipped). You can find UV-blocking Plexiglas as well.
You might assume that non-reflective museum glass is always your best option but many interior designers actually prefer to use reflective glass frames for art, especially in small or dark spaces.
Like mirrors, reflective glass on artwork moves more light through the space, making rooms appear larger.
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We do hope this art framing guide helped get your art framed and on display.
If you’re head’s still spinning, let us know. Our Custom Art Framing Services in Hoboken can help you find the best frame possible to fit your style and protect your art.