Whether you are a fan of DIY or not, antique picture frames and photo frames are a brilliant and affordable way to decorate your home. There are not only a million different ways to arrange them, a million different things you can put into them and a million different ways to redecorate the frame itself! If you don’t have your own picture frames, you can buy antique frames on bidorbuy: wooden frames, metal frames, plastic frames, vintage frames and even brand new frames, without spending too much.

How to arrange your picture frames

If you don’t really want to get too dirty in your DIY project, you can easily change things up just by rearranging your existing frames and new frames.

One arrangement that always looks great is creating a gallery wall by arranging a lot of frames together on one wall. You can either use lots of different frames in various sizes and shapes or you can use the same frame on lots of different paintings or drawings.

Just take a minute to think about the effect you want to create. Is your house chic, modern and minimalist or is it an eclectic juxtaposition of lots of different influences?

What to put into your picture frames

If you have collected or plan on collecting a myriad of frames but don’t know what to put inside them, the options are endless. There really is no excuse for being out of ideas and you would be surprised how many different things you can do even on a budget.

Here are a few ideas of things you can easily and quickly put inside those frames…

Mirrors; chalk boards; memo board with push-pins; family photos; printed Instagrams; a photo collage; children’s drawings and paintings; any found object that is interesting; maps of places you have been to or want to visit; sheet music of your favourite song; an inexpensive art work from a students’ exhibition; a replica of an old masterpiece.

Revamp the frame itself

If you already have something in the picture frame, but really want to get your hands dirty and give your frames a serious make over, start thinking about colours, texture and the atmosphere you want to create.

You could create a theme buy gathering a bunch of different picture frames and painting them all the same colour. They will look great arranged on a feature wall or a gallery wall even without anything inside them. If you are going to paint them, consider using spray-paint, it’s the fastest and easiest way to paint anything.

If you have really plain picture frames and want to decorate them, you can glue on beads, ribbons, fabric, wallpaper or whatever your heart desires. If you are out of ideas for things to adorn your frame with, browse through the bidorbuy crafts section, a hobby shop or even a haberdashery shop. You might need different kinds of glue to attach the different decorations to the picture frame; glue guns are easy and quick to use, you can also use contact adhesive.

So now you are ready to start a new DIY project and reinvent with those antique picture frames!