Thursday, January 26, 2012

Custom Framing, Without Breaking the Bank...

I've mentioned that Jesse and I are in the middle of decorating the large two-story wall in our living room with framed maps. We have over 30 maps of varying sizes and, while it was easy to frame some of the standard-sized maps, we had plenty that needed custom framing because they were oddly sized.

We've had some custom framing done before and boy, is it expensive. I visited the framing section of our local craft store, thinking it would be reasonably priced, but even so, it would have been $350 to frame just ONE map, our largest (42" x 53"). And that was with a 55% off coupon. Definitely not in our budget.

Not willing to give up on our map wall, I hit the Google machine to see what I could find. Searching for "custom frames" brought up a bunch of hits but luckily led me to Poster Frame Depot. The website has an easy custom frame configurator, a nice color selection, & seriously reasonable pricing. Best of all, they're made in the good old USA. Plus they're headquartered pretty close to me so they shipped quickly.



Once they arrived, we were faced with actually putting them together. The trade-off, of course, is that when you go with less-expensive frames, you don't just go to the frame shop and pick them up fully assembled. I was nervous.

The frames were all organized and came with detailed instructions & all of the necessary hardware. It was as simple as attaching the sections at the corners...



... and then sliding in your prints with the backing and clear covering.  They even come with wires & hangers...


The frames are sturdy and look great. (I should probably also mention that, despite my gushing, I was not paid by Poster Frame Depot in any way to write this!)

Once we get all of the frames, I'll show the final product, but here's a peek for now.


How do you buy your frames? Do you attempt to do it yourself?  Let us know and stay homey!

4 comments:

  1. This is so smart. I've always wondered why framing is SO expensive. This is such a good idea.

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  2. Oooh brilliant idea! Since my bf is a carpenter we're considering actually making some frames from scratch! I got my fingers crossed, hopefully it turns out once we tackle them!

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    1. Please let me know how it goes! We have one VERY long print that's bigger than Poster Frame Depot usually makes. I'm thinking of trying to make a frame myself.

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  3. Did you put any glass/plexiglass on them? What did you mount the maps on? Looking for affordable framing for my photos. Thanks. just found your blog...it's fun!

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment!