Wooden Photo Frames

What wooden photo frames bring to a room

Wood is a gentle partner for a photograph. It sits easily beside books, plants and lamps, and it settles into a space without asking for attention. Every frame in this range is wooden, so several can share one room and still feel related, even when their shades differ.

Wood also wears a finish well, so the same material can look fresh in one frame and warm in another. Whichever you choose, a wooden frame supports the picture rather than fighting it, which is just what you want around a photo of the people closest to you, a view you remember or a snap of friends.

How a photo frame holds your picture

A photo frame is simpler than it looks. The moulding is the border you see, and the opening in it is the aperture. In a typical frame, a clear front protects the print and a backing board keeps it flat. A mount, where there is one, is a card border between the print and the moulding that gives the picture breathing space. A few of ours are made without a mount, so the photo runs right to the edge of the aperture.

Some of ours hold a single photo, keeping the attention on one favourite picture. Frames that stand on a surface do so in different ways: a few of ours are freestanding, made to stand on their own, and a few are strutted, with a fold-out leg at the back that props the frame at a gentle lean.

Matching the frame to your print

Start with the photo rather than the frame, and look for an aperture that matches your print. Some of ours take a 6 x 4in (15 x 10cm) print, which is the usual size for a photo print. Without a mount, the moulding overlaps the edge of the print by a few millimetres, so keep faces and important details away from the very edge.

Then check which way the picture runs. A portrait photo is taller than it is wide, and a landscape photo is wider than it is tall. Some of our frames are set up for portrait and a few for landscape, so let the picture decide which frame you pick. If a photo is an unusual size, ordering a fresh print at a common size is often simpler than hunting for a frame to fit.

Shades, styles and the rooms they suit

Among our wooden frames, the white ones keep things fresh and let a colourful photo carry the scene. The few in brown bring a warmer tone that suits dark furniture and full bookshelves, while a few in grey sit calmly with cool walls and soft furnishings. You will also find a few with a printed finish, and a few with a matt finish, which has very little shine.

In style, a few lean modern, for a pared-back space, and a few are more classic, for a home with older pieces. Some work well in a living room, and a few in a bedroom or a study, where a single photo on a bedside table or a desk becomes a small daily reminder of someone you love. As a rule, a frame that echoes something already nearby, such as a wood tone or a cushion, looks settled from the start. Mixing shades works too, particularly when the photos have something in common.

A framed photo as a gift

A photo in a frame is a present with a story in it, because you choose the picture as well as the frame. Some of our wooden frames suit a gift for her, a few suit a gift for him, and a few are suited to family and relatives. Put the photo in before you wrap the frame, so it is ready to go on show as soon as it is opened, and add a short note and the date in soft pencil on the back of the print.

Among our frames are a few sets of three, which let you give a small sequence: three photos from one day, or one photo from three different years. At home, three frames side by side read as one considered arrangement rather than three separate things.

Looking after a wooden frame

A wooden frame needs very little care. Dust it with a soft, dry cloth, and wipe the front with a cloth that is barely damp before drying it straight away. Spray cleaners and polish belong on the cloth, never directly on the frame, so no moisture creeps behind the front to mark the photo. Skip harsh or abrasive products, which can dull a finish, and where a frame combines wood with plastic, as a few of ours do, keep to a soft cloth, since plastic scratches easily.

Wood responds to heat and damp, so keep frames away from radiators, open fires and steamy bathrooms, where the wood can swell, shrink or warp over time. Strong, direct sunlight fades photographs and can alter the colour of a finish, so a spot out of the full glare of the sun keeps the photo and the frame looking their best.