To Frame or Not To Frame?

When you’re decorating the walls of your home, you have a lot of options. Fine quality art prints are a great choice because you have so much flexibility when choosing prints that fit your home’s aesthetic and your personal tastes. When you’re hanging a fine art print, you have to consider whether or not you want it framed.

Coquina Shores

Coquina Shores, Max Foster's limited edition photography print from Jupiter Island, Florida from his Ocean & Beach gallery collection.

A Happy Medium

The biggest factor in choosing whether or not you should frame your wall art is the medium it’s printed on. Paper prints need frames to support and protect them. You can’t hang a paper print and keep it looking nice if it isn’t in some kind of frame.

Another option is metal. High-quality metal prints can look amazing and are very durable. You can hang them directly on the wall, or go with a framing option to give the edges a different look. Unframed metal prints look great on gallery walls, and framed metal prints are an amazing centerpiece for any room.

The last and arguably most impressive option is acrylic. Light that comes in contact with an acrylic print refracts within the acrylic material and illuminates the artwork as if back-lit. Acrylic prints can be hung directly on the wall; however, adding an external frame creates an incredible masterpiece of vibrant art utilizing the highest gallery quality materials available today.

A 48x72" Gallery Ultra Trulife Acrylic Frameless Print of "Sparkling Positano" hanging in a client's home.

It’s a Balancing Act

Regardless of whether you’re displaying an unframed piece or framed wall art, you should consider how the print interacts with the existing space. If you’re adding a print to a gallery wall full of framed art, you’ll probably want it framed for visual cohesion.

A 36x54 Gallery Ultra+ Trulife Acrylic Print of Patience with a Tabacchino Dark Ash frame and black liner.

A 36x54" Gallery Ultra+ Trulife Acrylic Print of "Patience" with a Tabacchino Dark Ash frame and black liner.

Size Matters

Small printed images, like personal photos or small works of art, benefit from a mat and a frame so that they don’t get lost in the space around them. Huge images may add enough impact to the space without having to rely on a frame. If you do decide to go the framing route, remember, the bigger the image, the bigger and heavier the frame needs to be.

Seaside Melody 60x90 Trulife Acrylic

A 60x90" Gallery Ultra Trulife Acrylic Frameless Print of "Seaside Melody".

Framing A Story

Sometimes the content of the image might help you decide whether or not to use a frame. Unframed nature photography can draw the viewer into an unlimited expanse. But if you’re hanging an art print of say, an old advertising poster, a frame can help the piece feel more authentic.

Whispering Pines Monochrome 40x60 Trulife Acrylic Framed

A 40x60" Gallery Ultra+ Trulife Acrylic Print of "Whispering Pines Monochrome" with a Ramino black frame and white liner.

Match Game

Don’t forget to take a look at the room around you when you’re thinking about frames! If your house follows a minimalist, industrial aesthetic, a highly ornate wooden frame might look out of place. But if your house is an expansive bohemian-style rhapsody, that wooden frame might help tell your art’s story.

Ultimately, there’s no one right answer to the question of whether you should frame an art print– unless it’s on paper, and then you should definitely frame it. You have many framing and surface options for your fine art prints, and your tastes should always be the first thing you consult when choosing framing options!

Learn more about fine art and building your own home art gallery on our blog!

Golden Glory 24x36 Trulife Acrylic Framed

A 24x36" Gallery Ultra+ Trulife Acrylic Print of "Golden Glory" with a Tabacchino Dark Ash frame and white liner.