Think again Thursday #3 [How to Frame a Frame]

Have you ever pondered buying a large piece of art for a wall in your home, but didn’t want to spend the money?! Large art prints & canvases can be expensive! Today, I am sharing how to make a BIG statement using small art – you simply, frame a frame! or in my case, 2 frames. 😉

It all started when I was working on my guestroom revamp project I completed for the One Room Challenge. I had 6 weeks to overhaul our guestroom – from painting, adding new window treatments, bedding, creating a DIY headboard, reupholstering a cane chair and the best part,  to hoarding buying accessories & wall décor.
I was at IKEA buying frames to use on the gallery wall when I decided to purchase a large, black RIBBA frame. You just can’t beat their prices, especially for large frames. In typical me-fashion – I kept it around until the last week of the challenge because I just couldn’t decide what I wanted to put in it or where I wanted to hang it in the room.

Story of my life.

So after several creative design sesh’s with my friend, Haley, we came up with an idea!!!

 I had just ordered my two 8″ x 10″ Minted prints and set aside my pair of thrifted gold frames to put them in, but knew that those two prints alone wouldn’t fill the wall up. Since I was doing a larger gallery wall on the other side of the room and a grouping of 3 on the left of the window, I wanted to keep the wall to the right of the window somewhat simple & uncluttered, but still create a small display of art by using smaller pieces (plus, it costs more than pretty penny for a 20″ x 28″ piece of art).

My solution?

I opted to frame my frames!

Here is what I did:

After carefully removing the glass & mat from the large black frame, I noticed it was light brown on the inside. Since it was going to be an open frame, I needed to paint it black.
First I pushed down all the metal prongs flat. Then, I took a foam paint brush, a small bristle brush & black craft paint and started working my way around the frame & inside the corners.
After letting it dry for an hour, I checked back for touch-ups. After it was all filled in, I hung it on the wall.

Then I determined where I wanted to place the small gold frames and measured accordingly.
I put the 2 nails in and hung the frames inside.
I so love how it turned out!

I saved money by only purchasing two smaller Minted prints, using Goodwill & IKEA frames and still have an interesting & unique look. Win Win!

You can also find open empty frames at Michaels or Hobby Lobby – check their clearance sections! You can usually find odd sized / custom cut frames majorly discounted. Or if you are up for thrifting a frame – remove the hunter green & mauve mat along with the less than desirable art inside, clean it up or give it a couple coats of spray paint and you will have your own frame to use to frame a frame!
What do you think? Something you would try? I’d love to hear if you’ve done something similar! Leave me a comment below if you wouldn’t mind sharing 🙂

Thank you for reading & have a wonderful day!