I love having lots of artwork on my walls. I think it’s a relatively easy way to inject all kinds of style and drama-glam into one’s space. But y’all watch out, ‘cause what you choose to hang on your walls, says a lot about who you really are! It’s kind of like a window display into your soul! So keep that in mind when you’re debating about where to hang that velvet Elvis painting, holla! I certainly have no problems letting my soul glow by way of my artwork display, but where I get snagged is having things framed! Custom framing ain’t cheap, y’all! Since my artwork usually comes from trolling thrift stores and flea markets (in other words, it's cheap), I don’t necessarily want to spend a lot of money on having it framed. It’s also a time issue… it can take several days to have something framed (that’s if I remember to haul it to the frame shop) and like most folks, I just want that project done yesterday!
Well, wait y’all, there's more: Store bought frames and mats! For my funky little paint by numbers desertscape, which I scored for a mere .35 cent at a Goodwill store (Goodwillla Goodness!), I bought this frame from West Elm, on special for $30 (take us there, West Elm value!). I love how clean and modern the all-white frame and mat will look against the chaos of colors this little painting is serving us! There are tons of places that sell similar frames with pre-cut mats, here a few that I like: Pottery Barn, CB2, Zgallerie.
My painting was slightly larger than the 8 x 10 opening in the pre-cut mat, so I just took it to my local frame shop to have it cut to fit! For a mere $3, Darrin at Prints Charming (yes, y’all that’s the real name, I can’t make this genius up, call him: 718-230-8118) explained that he could trim the mat to fit my painting while I waited! Now that’s called service!
BUT- sad panda spoiler alert- there was a slight problem! He discovered that the pre-cut 8 x 10 opening was intended for vertical display only b/c the mat was smaller on top and bigger on the bottom, meaning it would be off-center horizontally. Oh, y’all, who knew framing could sound so raunchy?! There would be no way we could properly frame my desertscape horizontally by using this pre-cut mat! What, horrors! I didn’t even notice this when I bought the frame! BUT, tragedy turned triumph when for only $16, he cut a brand new mat and it looks amazing! Check it!
So, even though I’d have much rather paid $3 to have Darrin trim the store bought mat, the $16 I did spend, added to the cost of the frame, still brought me way under what Darrin said would have been a $108 custom frame job! I think that’s awesome! Plus, there’s added value here for y’all learning from my oversight…be sure to double check the store bought frame & mat against the orientation of the artwork you intend to place in it. Y’all know how controversial orientation can be!