I’ve mentioned before that I’m a custom framer at a pretty awesome art store in Atlanta, GA. One vital thing, however, about custom framing that many people forget is that it ultimately doesn’t have to match your couch, or your walls, or your rug.
Your decorative needs will change over time. Unless you’ve got life perfectly planned out and you know you’re going to live in one house forever, you will change your mind about how you want to present your home over time. Colors, patterns, and trends might go from one thing to the next over the course of a few decades. If you’re like my grandma, her home changes every few months. But the art in your home? It doesn’t. The actual physical artistic entity does not change. It might age, but with proper TLC and modern conservation practices, even that has slowed down.
What you are left with is a timeless piece – so frame it accordingly.
It doesn’t have to match the exact color of your house or your wall. In fact, don’t make it! It might seem kitschy and convenient to make them match, but in my experience, pieces tend to disappear when the matting and/or the frame is the exact color of the wall. Why have the art in the first place if it’s just going to die and disappear into plaster heaven?
I say: coordinate. Don’t match. Coordinate.
It’s so much more powerful to frame a piece with a mat color and a frame that coordinates with both the art and the decoration that’s already present in your home. That way, you get the best of both worlds. You can cater the matting and framing to fit the aesthetic needs of your home and the art itself.
There’s nothing more painful than seeing art that’s lost in matting and frame. When the two don’t combine to enhance the piece, you’re left with drab and awful. So repeat after me: coordinate.
Not sure where to begin with coordinating colors and frames? Ask your trusted framer. She has probably seen hundreds of matted and framed pieces (much like myself) and can tell you when something is too matchy or doesn’t enhance the piece. She might not tell you when something looks downright bad, but trust her instincts. She’ll let you know when you’ve struck gold!