I love the look of white frames, but sometimes when they're coupled with white matting, they can start looking a bit too austere. This DIY from Shannon at eat.sleep.MAKE is the perfect antidote; the natural wood she used adds a bit of warmth to the look, and it's light enough and thin enough to fit any standard frame.
All you'll need for this project is:
• A frame or an old piece of matting to use as a template
• Ruler
• Protractor (to make sure your angles are perfect)
• Tape
• Craft Knife
• Pencil
• 4 pieces of basswood that are longer than each side of your frame (1 piece for each side)
Shannon's DIY calls for basswood, but you could also use balsa, which is more readily available. Here's a good breakdown of the difference between the two.
For the rest of the directions, visit eat.sleep.MAKE.
(Images: eat.sleep.MAKE.)
10 No-Fail Decor Tricks & Tips for Small Spaces
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Shaw's Original Fir...
How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars at Home
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Although I admit that this is a nice look, framing your art in such a way will ruin it. Unlike archival paper mats, wood contains acid, and will cause permanent damage to your work on paper or print.
I'd only advise using this method if it's something you've printed yourself at home (that could easily be reprinted), versus anything of value or that you've purchased and can't replace.
This is cute, but do.not.do.this if you have any prints of value or that you want to keep for any length of time or don't want to discolor. Paper in direct contact or in an enclosed container (like a framed mat) with untreated wood will darken, discolor, and stain from the wood. Some woods are slightly better than others but off-gassing will accelerate paper degradation and/or migration of soluble acids to the paper and you'll get dark grain patterns and acid burn on your print.
Great idea with plenty of beautiful applications - but as an art conservator, I agree with the first two comments - don't so this for any artwork you care deeply about.
Does anyone who the artist for the art in the displayed frame is?
What if you had a piece of acid-free paper (or some other non-permeable substrate) between the wood and the art, to act as a kind of barrier?
I was wondering about the acidity. Why not just get a different color mat board? There are tons of color and texture options out there, so I'm sure you could find something with a similar feel to the wood.
At first glance, my thought was "interesting" but a longer look; the seams are just as bad as a badly cut mat. Not as exciting, but probably faster; just spray paint the white frame.
Oh, my. This is such a terrible idea. To Answer Kate, adding acid free paper will not solve the problem. The acid in the wood will bleed through, you would still need a full rag mat beneath the wood, that shows at least 1/4 inch in the window opening to protect the art. I was a professional framer, and art gallery owner/manager for 20 years. When we use wooden fillets on the inside of a frame, we always use another layer of matting below to protect the artwork. But fillets are very small strips of wood. The mat in this article is quite a bit more wood. I just wouldn't go near this one. There will be damage. Period.
Hi Kamla,
This is Shannon from eat.sleep.MAKE. The art is an original of mine.
Thanks!