It's safe to say that most of us are picky about what we hang on our walls. Our decor isn't just a reflection of ourselves; it also reflects our tastes and standards. With 42% of Americans claiming we own at least one "museum-worthy" piece of art, it's no wonder we like to show off what we have!

Of course, finding the right decor is only half the battle. Displaying it wrong can leave guests hunching or standing on tiptoe to see the photos and artwork you love.

When hanging pictures on walls, there are a few things to keep in mind to achieve the right height. Let's take a look at some key tips based on the art size and room arrangement.

Picture frames are essential to protecting and preserving artwork. There are many different sizes available, so choosing a frame should be easy. Unfortunately, that's not always the case.

Large works of art often don't fit into a standard-size frame, so custom framing might be your only option. The downside is that custom frames are often quite expensive.

This is where DIY framing comes in. You can create the perfect-sized frame for your artwork at a fraction of the cost. And if you didn't know, The Frame Room offers DIY custom framing services if you would prefer a little help with making this the perfect gift!

Keep reading to learn how to make your own large DIY picture frames.

When it comes to choosing artwork for the home, 62% of homeowners prefer photography pieces. To make those photography pieces stand out, they need proper setting. This means selecting the right matboard color and frame to showcase the artwork. 

Follow this guide and make your home's artwork stand out. 

People celebrate Easter with several kinds of festivities. Many go to church to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. People also enjoy Easter egg hunts, giving their children Easter baskets, and gathering with family for a big meal. 

Eventually, though, these festivities come to an end. So, what are some other ways you can spend time with your family on Easter?

One suggestion is to take a photoshoot and have those memorable Easter moments custom framed! With its bright colors and family fun, Easter provides families with several moments to capture and develop. 

If that appeals to you, keep reading! The Frame Room will explore several Easter photo ideas in the guide below. Let's jump right in, shall we?

People in America spend almost $24 billion on Valentine's Day gifts each year! Most of this cash goes towards flowers, cards, and chocolate.

Break out of the Valentine's Day gift rut and buy something your Valentine will actually want to have. What better way to display your love than with a framed piece of artwork called a Heartstagram!

We walk you through how to create your own Heartstagram so you can wow your Valentine this year!

Did you know that almost 80 percent of Americans have artwork in their homes? So - what is the most popular form of art that Americans are putting up?

Photographs take the number one spot with paintings coming in at a close second. However, almost 20 percent of Americans don't have any artwork in their homes.

Some people don't know what kind of artwork they want or how to hang it. If you have an interest in how to hang a gallery wall, then keep reading on for more information. 

Recently we received a call from a potential customer inquiring about how to order a shadowbox mount of a Squire Stratocaster for a corporate gift. We are a small, locally owned business which allows us to provide outstanding customer service to all our clients and jumped on the opportunity to work on such a cool project.

But there was one catch: they needed it done in less than a week.

At first glance, the Maryland State Flag was very interesting. It appeared to be very old and a bit fragile, so this would be a challange for our custom framing experts here at The Frame Room. The colors and the look of the flag were very specific to a Maryland state flag or possibly a Baltimore city flag. The design of the shadow box was very clean and bright, which was ideal for displaying the flag with good complimentary colors and adequate space.

In this case study, we'll break down each of the steps we made to get this awesomely tattered Maryland State Flag into a customized shadowbox frame.

After graduating from college, you said goodbye to sticking things to the wall using command strips. At least we hope you did. Decorating your home with a custom picture framed at work is a way to show off your personality without needing to paint every wall. Now it's time to think outside the box, outside the custom shadowbox, that is. Let's explore some of the unique things you could frame instead of that same ol' IKEA print.

The Best Valentine’s Day Gifts: How to Show Some Love to Everyone on Your List

Hello lovers! It’s the time of year to wear our heart on our sleeve and perform romantic gestures to show our love to those special people in our life. Maybe it’s your significant other, a dear friend, or recognizing the marriage two special people who’ve loved and supported you through thick and thin; we have all your Valentine’s Day gift ideas covered.

Valentine’s Day gifts beacon thoughtful and meaningful gifts. Consider a keepsake that will stand the test of time.

Here is The Frame Room’s Valentine’s Day line-up, ready to pump your brain full of wonderful and thoughtful gift ideas. Don’t want your gift to be tossed into a cardboard box and forget about it? Listen up! We have some amazing ideas.

It’s all back to business now that summer is drawing to a close and schools are back in session. Are your office walls looking a bit bland or sparse? Maybe the same picture has been hanging on the wall for 13 years and you’re a little tired of looking at it. This indeed calls for an office makeover. Here are a few ideas to get that dreary office from funky to fabulous. 

A Wedding Dress: Old, Tattered, Generational, and a Birthday Surprise

This was a long and fevered process but with a dynamic and meaningful ending. It involved a lot a pre-planning, over- the- phone designing for a garment that was old, tattered, and fragile. This was also meant to be a surprise for their wife/mom for her upcoming birthday and her daughter’s subsequent wedding. The original plan was for the daughter to wear the wedding dress during the ceremony but considering the age, color, and fragile state of the garment it was best to preserve the dress inside a frame. The dress was about 75 years old being handed down from generation to generation. The father and daughter really wanted to do something special to prevent further deterioration and to present the dress in a way that future generations could proudly view and appreciate a family heirloom. I noticed right away that there would be some issues in mounting and handling but nothing that proper planning and the right materials couldn’t fix.

A South African tapestry with painted birds: Beautiful, comfy, and educational

When I first saw the tapestry it looked like a nice comfortable blanket you’d want to wrap yourself in on a cold winter evening. It was obvious that this particular blanket was not intended for cuddling or keeping warm but rather for displaying and viewing. The blanket was nicely painted with indigenous South African birds, a simple and engaging design, and subdued but vibrant colors. The initial thought was to treat this blanket like most tapestries and rugs which is to float them on a mat board in a shadowbox frame. Considering how squared up the blanket was it seemed unnecessary to make a shadowbox, other than personal desires and aesthetics. The customer was adamant about protecting and preserving the blanket as best as we could without compromising the overall look and feel of the blanket. Most conventional fabrics need to be sewn down in a methodical manner to ensure it will not fall and bunch up over time, resulting in unflattering wrinkles and shadows. Because this blanket measured well on all sides it was decided that we should “sandwich” the blanket between a UV protected acrylic and an acid-free backing which would enclose the blanket in an optimum environment. This would also help the blanket stay flat and clearly visible with the acrylic firmly pressed against it on all sides. There was no worry of sticking or possible damage because we were using a framer’s grade acrylic which is fairly unbreakable and flexible. If we decided to go with a UV protected glass, the glass could potentially damage the fabric because of possible condensation and breakage. 

Encapsulation: Protecting what’s really important

Encapsulation is an excellent method one can use when framing a piece of artwork that is fragile, valuable, or unsuitable for traditional top mounting. It usually involves many layers, mat windows, and rigid backings as well as some type of transparent film to cover the artwork being protected. There is a lot of designing and preparation involved in an encapsulation, if the artwork is to be properly protected and viewed. Objects and artworks that tend to be encapsulated are: magazines, baseball cards, paper cuts, very old paper, dried flowers, coins, and of course valuable fine art. The film which holds the artwork is usually a strong, durable, acid-free clear film known as Mylar. Other films, acrylics, and sheer fabrics also can be used, but Mylar is the best film for most encapsulations because of it durability and transparence. Some encapsulations can be two-sided; to get a better view of the artwork both front and back and to make sure it’s properly sealed. This is sometimes done out of necessity but usually is a desired aesthetic effect. The whole process of encapsulation can take some time and involves quite a bit of labor and high-quality materials. If done properly, the artwork being sealed will stay protected for decades to come and the integrity of the artwork will remain true with little to no deterioration.   

The Peruvian Hat: a fragile, colorful, sequenced accessory coming out of hiding

The hat was from Peru and it was quite becoming. The customer owned the hat for some time and finally decided to properly display it for herself and for her new apartment. It was a very interesting hat, which had a black cap for the top of the head, covered in a myriad of colorful sequence and patterns surrounded by a faded reddish brim which was made of a feathery cotton material. The underside of the hat was a very soft material perfect for wearing hours on end or possibly for a traditional ceremony. The customer was keeping the hat in storage for some time and wanted to finally display it in a more fashionable/presentable way to show off its craftsmanship and to help preserve it from further deterioration. When it came to the design, the customer didn’t have any preconceived notions about color and feel, she just wanted it to look nice, simple, and complimentary to the colors and style of the patterns and design. 

In Memoriam: A Horse Biddle, a shadowbox, and a bittersweet story

When the customer came in with what look like a small horse saddle, I started to get a little anxious and a bit worried about finding a substantial frame and the adequate materials for such an ambitious frame design. I was mostly concerned about the possibility of design complications, proper securement, debris collection, and feasible execution in a timely manner. I’ve framed many intricate, heavy, unconventional, and bulky objects in the past but nothing quite like this. When the customer set the small saddle down and asked if it was possible to frame it within a few weeks, I was immediately reticent and unsure if it could be done in a timely manner with quality materials and execution. But after some examination and asking a myriad of questions, it was becoming more and more clear that this saddle would be a good candidate for a shadowbox. 

Peruvian Rug Shadowbox: mounting something old and something beautiful

When I saw the rug the first thing I noticed was the size; it was pretty big with a lot of crazy fringe and illustrious colors surrounding the entire perimeter. It was fairly big for a personal custom frame job, like something you would see in a nice gallery or art museum. Other than its size, the rug was pretty meaningful and sentimental to the customer, so I had to design and handle the rug with great and intimate care. The customer bought the rug years ago in Peru when traveling around South America and for some time was hanging it on his wall unprotected and not properly mounted. The customer knew if he wanted to preserve the rug for decades to come he would need to properly mount the rug in an enclosed acid-free, UV protected environment. So after a few discussions it was decided that a simple shadowbox was the best route to properly preserve and present the rug in an appealing fashion.

Framing a Flag

The flag at first glance was very interesting and appeared to be very old and a bit fragile. The colors and the look of the flag were very specific to a Maryland state flag or possibly a Baltimore city flag. The design of the shadow box was very clean and bright, which was ideal for displaying the flag with good complimentary colors and adequate space. Before I even started mounting the flag onto the textured mat, I wanted to be sure all my materials were ready to go and the initial design requirements were being met. If I were to rush into the mounting or rush into gluing materials in place, a simple design oversight could ruin the whole process or compromise the integrity of my work. When sewing a flag or any garment for that matter, you want to be sure that you have the right threads, needles, and tape to properly execute the job. You’ll also need some type of awl or thumbtack to puncture the mat board so the sewing needle can easily pass through the flag and the mat without bending or breaking. Once your materials are set and you’re completely clear about the design and layout, you’re ready to sew.