I think it works there and the home looks beautiful but I could never imagine living there. Way too cold and impersonal.

i feel like there are too many. one or three would have been ok, but with so many close together i think you loose out on the pretty details of the frames.
i don't know if colors would help in this situation, it would stand out so much against all the white in the house. maybe some really light colored ones, like grey or yellow, would help

I used to really like this trend of empty frames but I am now over it. However in a setting like this where everything is white I think it works. With white on white rooms there needs to be texture in order for it not to be cold. The other rooms were cold but I thought this hallway was warmer because of the frames.

eh

I like it. I think the idea of mixing colors is good especially if the walls are all white. I did the same idea over my couch but with different colors and stole some DIY ideas with framed fabrics in some and I have a metal 4 in one. I get compliments on it all the time!

I don't like empty frames at all, no matter what the color scheme is.

I love collections. The frames work for me. Artwork would be more personal but I like the space in general. It's sparsity makes a statement. I also really like the pop of color the books give the living room.

I think it totally works in this context.

And I love the name "Nacho Polo."

It completely goes with this house, but I think it's a little cold and ghost-y (not because of the white, but because of the emptiness).

I might be able to go along with this idea, if the frames were unpainted artworks in themselves. But unfortunately their white forms just help make this already ridiculously austere space absurd.

I actually have some empty frames hanging on a wall in my apartment. I love the idea.

Empty frames has always struck me as an extremely sad display. I realize that some think it's striking and edgy, but to me it just looks like that person didn't have anything to put IN the frame. I'd rather see a collection of art or personal photos that meant something to the owner rather than empty holes of nothing.

I agree that it works in this space. It does a good job of tying in the other painted woodwork.

I like the idea of transforming the more ornamental space into something minimalist.

how depressing.

There's something a wee-bit creepy about those empty frames, perhaps even spooky. I definitely prefer frames with photos, preferably with photos of my loved ones & pets.

No artwork in the frames? That's like scraping the icing off the cake...

I really like a display of empty frames when they have beautiful wood tone or gilding... sometimes even when they're painted. A cluster of different sizes and shapes can be pretty. I just feel that the ones pictured here are too cold. They're almost invisible due to the fact that they're the same color of the wall. It's not bad, it's just not my style.

I must confess, I just don't get the empty frames thing. To me, it looks like the frame corner of the local thrift shop.

... he cannot walk down the hall without being teased by the wall that whispers, "you have no taste in art: not good taste, not bad taste -- just no taste."

yuk, yuk... am completely inspired by 'unhappy hipsters'..

So much white! It hurts my eyes.

On the one hand, it makes me think of the Harry Potter books and how the ghosts in the portraits can move out of their frames. On the other hand, it's just kind of boring and, I agree, a little creepy.

I'm already over the empty frame trend but even though it's not to my taste, I think it can work in the right room...but not here. The other rooms of the apartment have a juxtaposition of modern and traditional elements, so I'd say do something like that in the hall. You already have that molding up at the top, so any more carved wooden period stuff (white or not) is just too much egg. I'd have something more horizontal and minimal in the hall.

I think the empty frames are the ONLY thing I like about the house. Otherwise it seems so unwelcoming.

"No artwork in the frames? That's like scraping the icing off the cake.."

well put! and now I want some chocolate cake with frosting.

It works in this space. The ornate white frames mimic the ornate molding, they make a statement about the deliberate use (or absence) of color, they make us question what is (or is not) art, etc., etc., etc. But taken out of (this) context, they might just look like a bunch of stupid empty frames on the wall. Just a word of caution (as in: maybe don't try this at home).

Empty frames remind us that the frame is has an importance independent of the object that's framed.

Blind frames appear many times in ornamental situations. The cartouche, for example, is often empty. So's the center of an Islamic carpet. Carved wood panels that were so important in French decor are often empty.

But what's ignored in Polo's case (and many others) is that the frame itself must be framed, in order to achieve a proper ornamental result.

The frames work fine as a sort of architectural embellishment in counterpoint to the minimalist decor.
Major drama! Would be a fantastic gallery space.

I think this can work but I don't think it works here - however I'm not sure why.... Maybe it's that they're all the same colour, and that colour is the same as the colour of the wall. Or maybe it's something else...

I actually have this in my bedroom over my bed and I do think it works there, but the frames are all different (in fact they're pictures I printed off the internet, I couldn't afford real frames!). Maybe it's also that mine are in a bedroom, or that they are visually anchored by a piece of furniture below, but I think it works much better than the white ones pictured.

I love it! I've used frames on several occasions in client's homes, and love how it always works well. First off, it's an inexpensive way to add artwork, and they can be fun to hunt down.

I think it works nicely here as it carries through the architectural details of the moldings, yet adds a great tension to the modern furnishings. And making them monochromatic adds a great bridge with the elements. Kudos.

just because its a frame, it doesnt mean it needs to have a picture in it. i think its nice, it creates some texture on the wall.

I agree with paintitbright. The frames are not the problem with this space (it certainly doesn't seem like a "home"). I like frames for their sculptural aspects, and I think the tone-on-tone thing adds a beautiful texture to a bare wall that could work in a lot of actual homes.

It works in this context...

...if what you're after is a contrived, cold and superficial space.

I love it. It gives texture and interest without outing the hall as a very narrow space. I kind of hate hallway art anyway, you can't stand back and appreciate it from several angles.

Looks great in the example but I'm not so sure how it would look in real life.

Looks great in the example but I'm not so sure how it would look in real life.

Dusty.

Also: someone please buy these people a rug.

I really thought most people were going to disapprove. I was wrong. I think this looks great! Frames can be such a beautiful thing by themselves and I think in this color and setting one might focus on the studying frame design and relief of each piece. Nice.

They give the wall some texture without being visually overwhelming. I like it.

I think it's like stupid and all

I don't mind it in this situation. I have a friend that did the same thing but the frames were black on a white wall - the positive vs negative space was too much though. Being monochromatic seems to be the way to go for this idea in my opinion.

These empty frames add a lot of texture to the space. I like it!

This is the second space on AT I've seen this week that isn't to my usual taste but that I love anyway. The first was a very colorful space; this one a very colorless space. Yet I think they're both great. In this one, I love the juxtaposition of the classic architecture and select furnishings with the modern pieces. Eclectic but not disorienting.

Although I don't think this space is a very practical one for me, personally. Every item out of place, every spec of dust would distract me. Some places are so perfect they make me want to mess them up. This place is so perfect it makes me not want to touch it. Weird.

Interesting that you should use the phrase "... a collection of artless, ornate white frames..."

Here's the dictionary definition of artless:

art⋅less  /ˈɑrtlɪs/
–adjective 1. free from deceit, cunning, or craftiness; ingenuous: an artless child.
2. not artificial; natural; simple; uncontrived: artless beauty; artless charm.
3. lacking art, knowledge, or skill.
4. poorly made; inartistic; clumsy; crude: an artless translation.

I would say that definitions #3 and #4 most closely describe what we're seeing here.

A frame is not just a frame... it can be a kind of art like a sculpture or a painting. Why not? Let's think outside the box, that's art!
It really adds texture and volume to the walls, makes you think about absence and about art itself. I don't see artwork working there, since the entire house is white and minimalist.
Those extremely white or colorless rooms make me believe that the true colors are supposed to come from people living there. That could be the "life" some people miss here - kids, dogs, parties, the books we read...
I like it in that concept.

While it is cool and ghostly, I think his use of color is beautiful. While not a cozy and inviting place for most people, I'm impressed by his use of texture and definition within the white space, it's almost as if he created a Bas Relief.

I'm surprised how many people are offended by empty frames. It sounds a little silly if your logic goes:

art goes in frames, so frames without art are not art, therefore the creator has no art and no taste.

clearly Nacho Polo put together this space artistically. the starkness may offend you. but i think he's done a good job making the entire space a stark canvas for the sparse furnishings.

I didn't read the other comments, so hopefully I am not repeating this idea: I would prefer mirrors in the frames, so at least there would be some "movement" when someone passes by...

I think all the books in the bookcase should have white dust jackets on them. :)

Rustypatina--

Funny, I was going to point out my amusement with the choice of the word artless, too. But for exactly the opposite reason. I think this place is artFUL.

And here is my favorite use of the empty-frame concept:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/big-window-challenge/the-bachelor-party-by-patrick-j-hamilton-bloomingdales-big-window-challenge-room-3-074402

:)

Although even in that context, it got a love/hate reaction.

Turning them into mirrors might have been nice. Still sober and fitting with the rest of the place, but not so empty.

i like it. it gives texture. and with a hallway that narrow, imo it wouldnt be the best location for appreciating artwork/ photography.

@EileenWyatt - i completely agree that they need a rug! :)

All that white makes the furniture look like exhibits in a museum or like they're for sale in an art gallery. A way to show off your collection maybe?

But for living in? I think it looks freezing COLD and uncomfortable.

It looks like a ghost town at the North Pole.

A collection of picture frames is, well, a collection of picture frames. If you want to display your collection, why not? Is a collection of drumsticks or vases somehow more intellectual?

I think empty frames are cowardly.

They are a placeholder that says "art goes here" without committing their owner to choosing any

The home conveys a feeling of sci-fi otherworldliness... It's as though the whole thing belongs on the holo-deck of the Starship Enterprise instead of a house, or that it's the outline of something yet to be inked on an artist's page. It's as though the negative space is coming forward instead of receding.

The frames, in the current context, work (aside from their potential dust-collecting abilities), but I wouldn't want to live there (or maybe even visit for more than 10 minutes). I think they'd look better (in a more realistic setting) with coloured frames against a coloured wall. (e.g. a set of carved, gilt frames against a dark-coloured wall...)

On the other hand, you'd be set in a blackout: one candle and every surface would reflect the light, making your world bright again!

The blinding white makes me want to put on sunglasses. I like the frames on the wall. It's so stark and plain...the frames add interest, like molding, especially with everything painted white. I'm not always a fan of the idea of empty frames, but it seems to work here.

I get it, and it's a good idea, but something about all those white frames screams "plastic" to me.

A wall full of empty frames is hardly out of the box.

such a narrow hall is really hard to work with and those frames and the light coming in sideways in the ceiling really work together in my opinion.... love this flat

As a graphic designer, I have to say there's nothing as lovely to me as white space. I love the idea of using an empty frame to celebrate it.