21+ Photo Frame Ideas 2019 (Design your own Picture Frame – Tips for Choosing Frame)

Photo Frame Ideas – Photos are precious things that contain and keep our important moments in life. Therefore, they need to stay in good shape for a long time. People usually store or display their photos in photo albums and picture frames. A picture frame is a decorative edging for a photo or a picture in general. Its purpose is to enhance the picture, make it easier to display and protect it. Picture frames usually contain a pane of glass made of acrylic glass substitutes such as acrylate or Plexiglas to protect the picture. A well-framed picture will stay in condition for a long period.

Picture frames have a lot of different styles and materials to make certain pictures look better. But, you can also make your own picture frame. Crafting your own picture frame is a way to customize the style. Because sometimes it’s hard to find the best one for you in the store. Hence, we already prepared a list of picture frame decorating ideas to inspire you.

Design your own Picture Frame – Handmade Ideas

Before designing your own picture frame, you certainly need to choose the beautiful picture to display. After choosing the picture, the next thing to do is to choose the right frame. Choosing a frame is not difficult once you know the basics. To help you with that, we give you some tips and explain three different types of frame.

1. Choosing the Types of Frame

There are plenty of frame types on the internet. To shrink down the long list, we only look at the most popular ones: wood frames, black or white frames, and metallic frames. These frame styles will magnify the beauty of the displayed picture when used correctly.

• Wood Picture Frame: Wood material offers a natural and classic feel. It also has plenty of color options, ranging from light to dark. Photos with warmer tones, such as red, orange, and brown are best combined with darker-colored wood frames like walnut and mahogany. While the photos with cooler tones, such as blue, green, and purple, are best combined with lighter-colored wood frames like oak and pine. Wood picture frame is favored by many because they can easily match a modern or rustic style home.
• White or Black Picture Frame: Using a solid color for your picture frames like black or white can enhance the beauty of the photo displayed when used right. Both of the colors carry a modern and elegant feel. Photos with light and dark tones are best combined with black frames.  Because black frames highlight the darker parts of the photo and act as a contrast to the lighter ones. Equally, white frames also generate similar vibe. They create a balanced look by making the darkness in photos stand out, and the light hues to blend into the background. Therefore, white frames work best when coupled with casual and candid photos.
• Metallic Picture Frame: Metallic frames carry modern, classy, and trendy feel. They tend to make the photos more vibrant and eye-catching. Since they add a classy vibe, they work well with family portraits, stunning landscapes, and wedding photos. Besides, they also pair well with black and white photos, since they provide contrasting color to the photograph.

2. Tips for Choosing Frame

Choosing a picture frame is not as simple as knowing popular frames and the best types of photo to pair. You need a few more tips to make the decision easier.

• Firstly, consider the overall tone of the photo, and don’t overemphasize matching specific colors in the photo to the frame color;
• Secondly, choose lighter-colored frames for casual and simple photos, and choose the darker ones for elegant and formal photos;
• Thirdly, choose the frame that complements your room décor or adds the right spark of contrast;
• Fourthly, make sure your frame color is not too similar with the wall color to make the picture stand out;
• Fifthly, your mat color and the frame color should be different to ensure that the attention is drawn to the picture, not the frame.

Picture Frame Decorating Ideas

Once you understand how to select the right picture frame for your photos, now you need some photo frame decoration ideas to adopt. We have gathered some desk and wall frame decorating ideas for you to choose.

1. Photo frame for gift

Like we said earlier, white photo frames like this one work well with casual or candid photos. Moreover, they create a sense of minimalism. Therefore, they will blend very nicely into minimalistic style homes. This photo frame will pair well with any wall color because of the neutrality of white color. Additionally, this can also be a perfect gift for loved ones since they are simple yet beautiful.

2. Frameless Photo

The frameless design is a thing for some people. Like a smartphone, bezel-less or frameless design often helps the displayed picture look alive. Frameless design can also make the picture look even more stunning. This style is great for people who love to display a huge size of portraits and landscapes to draw attention inside the room since they tend to treat pictures as some sort of artwork or paintings.

3. Traditional Family Room

Wood picture frames are often paired with traditional styles. This dark brown picture frame will accentuate the rustic vibe in the house. One thing to remember, use this frame color to frame photos with warmer tones such as orange and yellow. If you want to go further with the rustic vibe, you can add other brown-colored elements to the room, such as sofas and cabinets.

4. DIY Picture Frame

DIY picture frames have their own unique feel that makes them stand out from the others. Anything handmade usually has a higher value for most people, because of its differences from one another. Some may have a darker edge; some may not. Some may look brownish; some may look reddish. In short, they tend to add uniqueness in a house.

5. Wood Picture Frame Art

This might be the answer for people who are looking for a frame that adds artistic vibe in the room. This type of framing is usually paired with a traditional style room. But that is not always the case. Despite its Victorian vibe, this frame can also blend well with the contemporary room design. The only thing to do is choosing the right picture to use.

6. Personalised Photo Frame

This picture frame style is one of the casual ones. Cafes often use this type of picture frame to display their artworks. Although it might not be suitable for all kind of room style, this picture frame is worth considering for houses that adopt the minimalistic or straightforward design. It will make the room fresh and bright.

7. Custom Engraved Picture Frame

Sometimes you’re not looking for a picture frame for yourself, but other people. This desk picture frame is a great idea for a gift. You can customize the engraving and the writing as you want and give the picture frame to the ones you love. Because sometimes, personalised photo frames are the way to express our love.

8. Rustic Photo Frame

This one might be a little different from the others. This picture frame adds a traditional vibe differently. It can be placed on top of a desk. Moreover, it can be used to complement the picture frames displayed on the wall in the same room if the other picture frames have the same style.

9. Family Photo Frame

This one also emphasizes the artistic vibe of a room. This might be similar to the one we showed earlier, but the color it has is different. This might look Victorian, but with a more modern touch. Also, the white color adds a classic feel and will satisfy people who love Renaissance style.

10. Modern Living Room

This picture frame is the best match for a modern style living room. The thick black frame emphasizes the contemporary and elegant vibe. But, to be effective, it has to display stunning images with a strong vibe and a great story behind. And, the photos must have a bit of dark tone, so the frame can highlight the photos well because we want to draw people’s attention to the images, not the frame.

11. Gallery Photo Frame

Similar to the previous one, this picture frame also adopts contemporary design and has thick framing. The only differences are the color and the metal railing to display the frame. The white color gives a casual vibe, so it doesn’t have to be in the modern style room. This picture frame will work best with artistic photos and artworks.

12. Kids Room Photo Collage

Are you looking for a picture frame design for your kids? This might be the answer. This picture frame is simple and will match most kids’ rooms. The flexibility to hang pictures horizontally or vertically gives the possibility to display photos as a collage. Kids would love to have a collage in their room to display their favorite and memorable moments.

13. Table Centerpiece

This picture frame design is the one to pick if you want to display one essential picture. Some people don’t want to display a lot of pictures in their house since they already post a bunch of pictures in their social media. So, this type of picture frame is becoming more common nowadays. There’s only one picture displayed, but it becomes a significant part of the room because of the stand out design.

14. Metallic Picture Frame

This is another contemporary frame design that we suggest. The frames have thick metallic framing. They carry not only state-of-the-art vibe but also classy and trendy. Moreover, as we said earlier, it works best with stunning images and black and white photos since they add contrasting vibe to the picture and make the picture even more breathtaking.

15. Luxury Looks

This picture frame design has a gold color that makes the artwork look luxurious and also trendy. This frame works best with colorful images and artworks. Even though it looks luxurious, it will pair well with most room styles, especially if white color is the dominant color of the room.

16. Mediterranean Photo Collage

Photo by Terrie Hall. See more mediterranean powder room designs

A picture frame that blends well with Mediterranean style? This is the one. The bronze and black accent color of the frame will pair well with Mediterranean, Victorian, or even Renaissance style. It will make the room look antique yet authentic in terms of the classic style. What a perfect mix!

17. Samsung Frame Inspiration

This one is actually a TV screen, disguised as a framed photograph. So, this one might be a little hard to find or build by yourself. But, it’s a great addition to the living room, since it might be mind-blowing for some people who visit. It can blend with minimalistic or even modern style space.

18. Serial Photo Collage

This picture frame design is the best choice for people who want to display a bunch of small photos beautifully and neatly. It looks casual and pleasing to the eye. Most importantly, it will blend well with most of today’s room styles, such as contemporary, minimalistic, or even eclectic style.

19. Minimalist Photo Frame

This photo frame will work well with simple and modern room environment. You can use different sizes with the same frame style to create a certain position as you wish. The thin framing also generates more attention to the displayed photos.

20. Vintage Style

This vintage style picture frame pairs well with traditional and even eclectic design. Also, it blends nicely to the cream-colored wall. It makes this frame style favored by many people who love rustic design.

21. Rustic Photo Frame

This photo frame radiates retro vibe around it. It will match any rustic or traditional design. Regardless of the vibe it creates, it would also be suitable for some modern designs, especially the ones with dark colored walls. It’s a perfect frame to display monochrome photos.

Conclusion

Overall, there are plenty of frame designs that you can apply to your house. There are no specific rules to select the right picture frame. So, don’t be too limited to our tips at the beginning of this article. Sometimes, you have to design your own picture frame that is different from the others.