A beautiful print can look completely different once it has a frame around it. The colours settle, the details become more apparent, and suddenly that small corner of a room has a little more life. If you are wondering how to frame art prints, begin by thinking less about filling a blank wall and more about creating a place for the artwork to breathe.
A joyful floral print might be the first thing you see with your morning tea. A garden scene can bring a gentle moment of colour to a calm bedroom. Framing is not simply the final practical step. It is part of the pleasure of living with art.
How to frame art prints: start with the print itself
Before choosing a frame, spend a little time looking at the print. Notice its palette, its scale and the feeling it carries. A lively bunch of flowers with rich pinks, greens and yellows may sing in a simple natural oak frame, while a more dramatic botanical image might suit a slim black frame that gives it definition.
Also look closely at the edge of the artwork. Does it have a printed white border? Is the image designed to run right to the paper edge? Is there a lovely deckled edge you would like to see? These details help determine whether a mount is right, whether the print should sit directly behind the glass, or whether it deserves a float frame treatment.
Try not to trim a print to make it fit a ready-made frame. That quiet margin around an image is often intentional, and cutting it away can make the work feel cramped. It also limits your framing options later. It is usually kinder to the art to choose a frame around the size of the print, rather than asking the print to adapt to the frame.
Choose the right frame size and proportion
The easiest route is a frame that matches the paper size exactly. This can look crisp and contemporary, particularly for a bold print in a larger format. If the art has a white border, placing it straight into a frame can give the image a clean, graphic finish.
For a more generous, gallery-like feel, choose a frame larger than the print and use a mount. The mount is the card surround between the art and the frame. It creates visual space, protects the paper from touching the glazing, and gives even a smaller print a more considered presence.
There is no single perfect mount width. It depends on the scale of the artwork and where it will live. A small print above a bedside table may benefit from a broad mount and a frame with some visual weight. A large, colourful artwork above a sofa may need only a narrow mount or none at all, especially if the room already has plenty going on.
As a starting point, allow more breathing room than you first think. Narrow mounts can make a print feel mean or overly busy. A wider, soft-white mount often gives flowers, foliage and expressive brush marks room to glow. Pure brilliant white can feel rather stark beside warmer, painterly work, so consider off-white, ivory or a very pale warm grey instead.
Match the frame to your room, not just your furniture
A frame does not need to match every other wood tone or metal finish in the room. In fact, a little variation often makes a home feel collected rather than overly coordinated. The goal is harmony, not a showroom set.
Natural oak and ash bring softness to botanical and garden-inspired prints. They work especially beautifully in rooms with linen, rattan, pale walls, painted furniture or a relaxed country feel. Black frames add contrast and can make bright floral art feel wonderfully confident. They are particularly helpful where a print needs to hold its own against patterned wallpaper or a darker wall.
White frames are light, fresh and unobtrusive, though they can disappear against a white wall unless the artwork has enough colour or the mount provides definition. A warm painted frame, perhaps in a muted green, blue or buttery cream, can be lovely, but it is more of a commitment. Choose it when you want the frame to be part of the decorative story rather than a quiet border.
Frame width matters too. Delicate line drawings and smaller works tend to suit slim profiles. Larger prints, or art with abundant colour and movement, can carry a deeper or wider frame. If in doubt, avoid a very ornate frame unless the room already has traditional character. The art should remain the thing your eye comes back to.
Select glazing that protects without distracting
Glass and acrylic both have their place. Standard glass is clear, weighty and widely available, but it can create reflections, particularly opposite a window. Non-reflective or anti-reflective glazing is a worthwhile choice for art in a bright room, where glare would otherwise hide the image at certain times of day.
UV-filtering glazing can help reduce fading from light exposure. It is a sensible investment for a print you hope to enjoy for years, especially near daylight. It does not make a sunny windowsill safe, however. Direct sun is still hard on paper and pigment, even with protective glazing.
Acrylic glazing is lighter than glass and less likely to shatter, making it a practical choice for a large frame, a stairway or a busy family home. It can scratch more easily and may carry a slight static charge, so ask your framer what they recommend for the particular paper and image. The best choice is often a balance between budget, weight, light levels and where the piece will hang.
Use materials that care for the paper
The parts you cannot see matter just as much as the frame itself. Ask for an acid-free mount and backing board. Ordinary card can discolour over time and may leave marks on the paper, which is a sad thing to discover years later.
Your print should not be glued flat to a backing board. A good framer will usually attach it with small archival hinges along the top edge, allowing the paper to expand and contract naturally with changes in temperature and humidity. This is a modest detail, but it protects the work and keeps future reframing possible.
If you are framing at home, handle the print with clean, dry hands and work on a clear surface. Keep the glass spotless, but do not spray cleaner directly onto it once the artwork is in the frame. Moisture can find its way inside. It is also worth checking for tiny fibres or dust before you close the frame, as they become surprisingly noticeable once everything is sealed.
When to use a mount, and when to float the print
A conventional mount is a beautiful, forgiving option for most art prints. It looks polished, gives the paper breathing space and suits almost every interior. For a print with a white border, a mount is still possible, but you may prefer to let that border act as the visual pause instead.
Float mounting is different. The entire paper sits visibly on top of a backing board, so you can see all four edges. This is especially lovely for artwork on textured paper, a print with a deckled edge, or a piece where the paper itself is part of the charm. It feels more tactile and artist-led, but it needs deeper framing so the artwork does not touch the glazing.
Do not float a print merely because it is fashionable. If the edges are uneven from handling, or the paper has no feature worth revealing, a mount may be the quieter and more elegant choice. Framing should support the character of the work, not impose a trend upon it.
Think about placement before you hang
Hold the framed piece against the wall before committing to hooks. It sounds simple, but this little pause can save several unnecessary holes. Consider the artwork from the doorway, from where you sit, and from the position where natural light falls across the room.
As a general guide, the centre of a single artwork often looks best around eye level. Above a sofa, sideboard or bed, leave a clear relationship between the furniture and the frame rather than hanging it too high. A print should feel connected to the room, not as though it has drifted upwards towards the ceiling.
Avoid placing paper art in a bathroom, directly above a radiator, or in strong sunshine. Kitchens can work well if the print is away from steam and splashes. A framed giclée print from Georgie Richardson Art can bring a lasting burst of garden colour to these everyday spaces, provided it is kept away from heat, damp and direct light.
For a gallery wall, begin on the floor. Arrange the frames until the grouping feels balanced, mixing sizes while keeping a consistent thread through the frame colour, mount tone or subject matter. A cluster of flowers, butterflies and still life works can feel abundant without becoming chaotic when there is a little breathing space between each piece.
Ready-made frame or professional framer?
Ready-made frames are excellent for standard sizes and for changing art with the seasons. They are often the most affordable way to bring a new print into a room quickly. Choose one with a sturdy back, proper hanging hardware and enough depth for the print, mount and backing to sit comfortably.
Professional framing is worth considering for a treasured print, an unusual size, a large artwork, or a room where reflections and light protection need careful thought. A framer can show you mount samples alongside the artwork and help you find the balance between understated and special. Take the print with you if possible. Screens and photographs rarely tell the full story of colour.
Whatever route you choose, let the process be enjoyable. A frame is not there to make art more formal or precious. It is there to give a print a home, so its colour, tenderness and energy can meet you again and again in the ordinary moments of the day.