Cheap Ideas for Decorating Walls

How to Affordably Frame Large Prints

Don't limit your art options to what can fit inside a standard frame -- you can go beyond the 8"x10"without going broke.


By Jen Jafarzadeh L'Italien

Mercie Ghimire Photography

Sometimes when you stumble upon art that comes in a big package, you shrink from the purchase, for fear that the framing will cost more than the art. But no fear -- there are other, more affordable options.

How to Frame a Large Picture: Supersize and Put Behind Plexiglass Blogger Mercie Ghimire of A Lovely Evening turned a 2"x4" inch mini Instax photo print into a giant 3'x5' print in her living room. She worked with a local framer and had them create a high-res scan of the photograph and then asked them to glue the enlarged photo on 1/4" thick gator board and glue 1/8" plexiglass on top of that. So the photo is free-floating -- there is no actual frame. The framer add a piece of beveled block on the back to make it easy to hang this 40 pound piece of art on the wall.

Photo: ReFrame

How to Frame a Large Picture: ReFrame It
Check out ReFrame's alternative framing solutions for hanging up poster-size prints. The frames are glassless but they're an affordable way to hang up a poster or large print for that cool gallery look. And the frames come in multiple sizes and three finishes -- natural, white, or black -- to suit your style.

How to Frame a Large Picture: Use a Ledge: Foam-core backing is another affordable solution for prints of non-standard sizes. Use spray adhesive to mount your print on foam core, which will make them sturdy enough to stand up on their own (and not bend.) Then you can place your print on a picture ledge, which gives you the flexibility of swapping out prints easily when you want a new look.

Plywerk

How to Frame a Large Picture: Attach It to Wood: Plywerkmakes blank panels from sustainably harvested wood, with a special pH neutral adhesive, for hanging prints of all sizes. You can also use their digital reproduction service to reproduce a one-of-a-kind print and have the copy attached to a Plywerk panel.

Design Sponge

How to Frame a Large Picture: DIY It!
We spotted this great DIY project on Design Sponge. Blogger Kimba of A Soft Place to Land created a DIY frame for an oversized map using door frame molding, corner blocks, and paint. How clever!

Depending on the print, another alternative is cutting up a large print to display in multiple smaller frames. That's something I'm considering for a gigantic blueprint I've been trying to tackle -- creating a grid of frames each displaying a piece of the blueprint.

Tip: Found a vintage frame that's the perfect size, but it's empty? Here's how to makeover an empty frame.
By Jen Jafarzadeh L'Italien