Journal · getting it right

Five framing mistakes a framer would talk you out of.

The Frame Shop, Fort Lauderdale · updated July 2026

Framer setting spacers in a deep wood frame. — Spacers going in — glass stays off the art.

Nobody sets out to frame something badly. But the same five decisions walk through our door every week, usually a few years after they were made. Here they are — and the cheap fix for each.

Five mistakes we talk people out of.

1. A skinny frame on a big piece

Scale is the mistake people feel but can't name. A half-inch profile on a 30×40 reads like a rubber band around a book. The fix costs nothing: as the art grows, the frame face should grow with it. Try it yourself — put your piece in the designer and flip between a narrow and a wide profile. You'll see it in two clicks.

2. Glass over canvas

Oil and acrylic on canvas want air, not glazing — glass traps humidity against paint (a real problem in Florida) and adds glare over texture that was meant to be seen. Canvas wants a floater frame or a clean gallery wrap. Works on paper are the opposite: they should essentially never hang unglazed.

3. Trusting the mat that came with it

That brown burn line on old framed pieces isn't age — it's an acidic mat slowly eating the paper. If a piece was framed cheaply more than a decade ago and it matters to you, the kindest thing you can do is have the mat swapped for archival board. It's a modest job, and it stops the clock.

4. Hanging art where Florida can reach it

Direct afternoon sun beats any glass ever made. Conservation and museum glazing block ~99% of UV — that's a real and worthwhile shield — but placement is the other half of the answer. The wall opposite a west window is for prints you can replace, not the original you can't.

5. Reframing when a mat would have done it

Half the "this looks dated" pieces that come in don't need a new frame — they need a fresh mat, sometimes a double mat with a sliver of the right color. It's the highest-impact dollar in framing. Before you commit to a full reframe, send us a photo — we'll tell you if the cheaper fix is the better one.

Seascape canvas in a whitewash frame, no glass. — Canvas usually hangs without glass on the paint.

Trophy and keepsakes in a deep shadowbox. — Wrong materials age the piece. Right ones disappear.

The two-minute insurance policy: upload your piece to the designer and look at it in three different frames before you decide anything. Free, no account needed, and the price updates with every change.

Ways in

Try your piece in the designer · What framing really costs · Bring it by the bench.

Unsure? That's what the free consult is for.

A photo of the art and the wall — a framer designs it, prices it, and tells you where not to spend.

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