Picture frames display favorite photos and artwork, from Picasso to the pint sized painter. Most home owners show off their family photos in a variety of frames throughout their homes, in both public and private spaces; after all, homes are for living, not magazine photo shoots. It is a good idea to keep your frame styles similar if you are looking to display photos in the public areas of your home.

Changing out photos is a good thing to do once your available surface area is overrun with too many pictures, and organizing your photos by size and common theme is a nice way to achieve a cohesive look. An odd, unexpected style of frame can add interest in a field of “all the same” frames, if the frames are all the same color; think simple black frames and in the mix you paint an ornate frame the same flat or gloss black as the rest of the frames. You could add a few odd frames throughout an entire wall of frames of like color.

Frames alone can be a great decor item. Large ornate frames can be painted and used as mirrors, imagine an inexpensive, guilt frame in a funky color; think red, lime green or bright blue and position it over a vanity in a powder room or “tween” bedroom or guest room. This is a great jumping off point for a fun use of color and design experimentation.

A large frame that you have in your collection or one you find while shopping at tag sale, can become an interesting serving tray, with the addition of a plywood back and a pair of handles. Or take an old family frame that really doesn’t go with anything, but you still love it; frame a wallpaper scrap that you love the colors or design, or a textile, and place it in an entry, hallway or powder room. You keep some of the past and it becomes a conversation piece.

Shop for frames at one cent sales or two for one sales; select a variety of frames you like the shapes and sizes; then paint them all the same color. Paint a wall in the guest room a fun color and paint the frames a contrasting color; the color doesn’t have to be loud. If your walls are a soft blue, you could paint your frames a lime green for some pop and add a bedspread with soft blues and a hint of lime green. Or select a bedspread and take your color cues for the walls and frames from the spread. For a more elegant look to a room, paint the walls a soft color and add glossy white paint to the variety of frames; and position the frames over the bed, instead of a headboard.

http://www.designsrefined.net

Santa Clarita resident Linda Hammond, a certified member of the Interior Redecorators Network is an experienced decorator specializing in one-day room makeovers. My company, Designs Refined works with you in your home to economically achieve a comfortable environment for you and your family. I am also available for the design of professional and home offices.