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Photo Frames

About Photo Frames

A picture is worth a thousand words. But what makes a picture stand out from other interior elements in a room is a good photo frame. The frame provides a contrasting outline around the picture and separates it from the things around it.

We don’t have the ability to freeze time. Pictures are the closest thing we have to freeze time. They can capture a moment of joy or friendship and preserve it for a lifetime. Looking at those pictures will help you reflect and live those moments again. But some pictures are worth sharing with all your guests. So, you might as well frame them and put them on the wall or a shelf. But before you start shopping for photo frames, read this article to know more about them. Having a better understanding will help you make better purchase decisions when you shop.

A beginner’s guide to buying photo frames

Photo frames are not just a piece of plastic or wood. While technically they might be that, in reality, it is something that is going to hold the snapshot of your sweet memories. However, what type of frame should you buy to add colours to your memory? However, people often don’t know where to start and what to look for while shopping for frames. As a piece of artwork, frames have an abundance of aesthetic choices. But some elements of it are more prominent than the others. Here is a guide that will help you find the best one.

Keeping the picture in mind

Not all the pictures are the same. Some pictures are trivial, and you only want to frame them for a few weeks or months. On the other hand, there are pictures that are rare. It can be the case that you don’t have any other copy of that picture. In that case, you need a frame that is easy to work with as you don’t want to risk damaging the picture when you frame it. Another thing to think about is the place where you are going to hang the picture. Or do you want to display it on a table? Whatever it be, the frame should be of the right size for that purpose and should have the provision to hang or should have a stand depending on what you want to do with it.

Navigating through the sizes

The size of the art shouldn’t get in the way if you want to frame it. However, the photo or the art shouldn’t be ridiculously large as there are practical limitations to how large a frame can be. Furthermore, most photo frames tend to follow a standard set of sizes. But all arts are different, and sometimes the picture you have might not fall into any of these sites. In that case, you will either have to look for a custom photo frame or frame the picture in a frame of different sizes. There are ways to do it without ruining the look of the picture, leaving a clean blank space where the picture does not fill the frame. This technique is called matting.

Photo frame styles are numerous

The style and design of the photo frame is probably the thing that is going to affect how the picture looks when it is framed. Photo frames come in a variety of different colours, shapes, thicknesses, materials, and more. The type of frame that you choose will set the tone of the picture. Among the materials for photo frames, wooden picture frames, and metal frames have always been and still are the default choices. These two materials offer a significant amount of customisation and flexibility. But both of them add a wildly different look to the picture.

Filling the gaps

The chances are that you will have to use matting while framing the picture. Matting is not just for the pictures that do not follow a standard size even though that is one of its primary purposes. Having a lining between the frame and the picture can take the viewers’ attention away from the frame and focus it on the picture itself. To do this, you have to choose the right colour of matting and the right amount of thickness. Yet another reason for using matting is if you want to use a larger picture to fill up space on the wall.

Tips on how to buy Photo Frame for your home decor

Picking a photo frame might seem like a simple task at first. But if you want the frame to blend in with the tone of the picture and also other elements in your room, you need to put more thought into selecting the frame. Yet, this gets easier if you know what to look for in a good photo frame. Here are some tips that you can follow when you are shopping for them.

  • Wall frame vs tabletop frame – Some frames hang on the wall, while others sit on top of a table or a bookshelf. Wall frames are better for large pictures that might take up a lot of space on a table or a wall shelf. And for small pictures, tabletop frames are better as it might look too small on a wall. But you can still hang small pictures on the wall by making several of them into a collage or by using a multi-photo frame.
  • Choosing the right style – The great thing about photo frames is that you have so many different styles to choose from. They vary in textures, styles and finishes. There are a few ways to select the style of your photo frame. One way is to match the style of the frame with your furniture. Otherwise, you can simply look for a frame that will look good with the picture.
  • Finding a photo frame that complements the picture – The most important rule to keep in mind while selecting photo frames is that the design language of the frame should complement the picture. Consider the subject and mood of the picture to do that. For example, cute and colourful frames will work for your family vacation photos, but not for graduation pictures.
  • Choosing a cover for the photo frame – The cover of the frame is what protects the picture from humidity and dust while also letting you view the picture or art inside. Glass used to be the default option for photo frame covers. These days, lightweight acrylic covers are more popular, though.

Apart from these, there are some minor things as well to look out for in home decor process. One of these is the backing of the frame. You can choose between plastic, foam-core, and cardboard for the backing. Earlier people used to prefer cardboard for its lightweight and strength. But cardboard backing can sometimes destroy the picture as chemicals inside it leach into the picture. Foamcore is a newer material and solves the problems of the cardboard backing. And finally, don’t forget to check out other products from Home & Living .

Question & Answer

Can you recycle photo frames?

That depends on the type of photo frame. If the wooden photo frame is not painted or treated with varnish, it can be recycled. But the problem arises if it has paint or varnish. It is not possible to recycle wood without removing the external coating. But doing so is not viable more often than not. When it comes to plastic frames, they can or cannot be recyclable. You can check the bottom of the plastic photo frame for the recycling symbol. If there is no symbol, then most likely you will have to throw it in the trash.

Is an acrylic cover better than a glass cover?

The cover is a key part of any photo frame. But to go for a glass cover or an acrylic cover is a question that people face when framing their favourite picture or artwork. The matter of fact is that each one of them has its own upsides and downsides. Traditionally people only used glass as the glazing material. For one thing, glass is durable and resists scratches to a great extent. One major downside is that it is breakable. Acrylic, on the other hand, is more affordable and unbreakable. Being a softer material than glass, acrylic is more likely to sustain scratches.

How to clean a photo frame?

As something that always hangs on the wall, it is common for photo frames to catch dust and look faded after every few months. To keep the pictures looking good all the time, you should dust them often. But if you happen to let the dust stay there for a long time, then it will take a bit more thorough cleaning to restore the appearance of the frame. In that case, you can wipe the frame with a clean and slightly damp cloth. Spray some glass cleaner on the cover and wipe it off. When you are cleaning, make sure that no moisture gets inside the frame.

Where to buy photo frames online?

If you are looking to buy photo frames online in the UAE, look no further as you are in the right place. You will find anything from cheap photo frames for walls to the best photo frames to buy online in Shops.ae. Look for the frames using the retail search engine on the website. This will also let you find the best one among them by comparing the prices and features of different frames.

There are more than 500 shops and brands offering photo frames here on Shops.ae. These include some of the popular brands like MCS, Gallery Perfect, Giftgarden, Americanflat, Love-KANKEI, and SONGMICS.

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