Brown picture frame

This brown picture frame is a made-to-measure setting in solid wood, hand-painted and patinated in the workshop. A warm, muted brown with light patination across the raised sections of the profile gives the moulding the character of mature, naturally worn timber — no printed grain, no excess gloss. The frame is built without glass, as a setting for an oil painting on a stretcher; it can also be made with glass when framing prints, watercolours or photographs that need a protected surface.

The moulding has a classical, multi-element profile with an architectural structure. From the outer edge, the moulding opens with an ovolo — a convex quarter-round crowning the outer edge of the frame. From its crest the profile falls inward through a deep, concave cyma, which resolves into a narrow fillet — a small rectangular step that orders the drawing of the profile. Beyond it runs a wide, gently sloping frieze, the main surface of the moulding. At the inner edge the frieze closes with a secondary bead — a smaller, soft roll just before the sight edge. The moulding terminates in the rabbet, the inner rebate that seats the artwork.

Suitable artwork and interiors

This is a setting conceived first of all for oil paintings on stretchers — a wide, quiet moulding that gives the work a solid border without competing with it in colour. It also suits prints, watercolours and photographs if you choose the version with glass. The brown, hand-patinated finish sits most naturally in rustic, vintage and classic interiors, as well as eclectic schemes where warm timber balances a contemporary backdrop. You will find more models from this group in the custom picture frames category, while guidance on matching a frame to an oil painting on canvas is set out in the article on choosing a frame for a canvas painting. The part a frame plays in a finished room is discussed further in the piece on picture frames as an element of interior design.

Technical specification

• Style: classic, rustic / vintage
• Finish: hand-painted, brown with hand-applied patination on the raised sections of the profile
• Moulding width: 55 mm
• Moulding depth: 36 mm
• Rabbet: 7 mm wide × from 13 mm deep
• Material: solid, low-tannin timber of the kind used in museology and art conservation
• Glass: optional add-on — quote on request
• Backing: optional add-on (Dibond 3mm panel) — quote on request
• Retention and hanging: spring clips or screw-fixed brass plates; cord hanging
• Matting: optional add-on (acid-free foam board) — quote on request
• Use: oil painting on stretcher, prints, watercolours, photographs

The dimensions given refer to the outer measurement of the frame including the moulding. The sight size (the rabbet opening) is correspondingly smaller. Each frame is made to the size of the artwork — please provide the dimensions of the work, not of the intended frame.

How it is made

The moulding is cut from solid timber and joined at 45° corners. The surface is hand-painted in layers; the patina is then applied by hand to the raised parts of the profile, drawing back the top coat to reveal a cooler tone beneath — the source of the naturally worn, mature-timber effect. The finished surface is sealed in the traditional way with shellac and wax, which gives depth of colour and a soft, matte sheen. Each frame is made individually, to a specific artwork size.

How it differs from mass production

Ready-made frames from retail chains are usually built from wholesale moulding wrapped in wood-effect foil, or from printed MDF. This frame is solid timber, hand-painted and hand-patinated — the colour and degree of patination are set for the individual order, and the profile is reproduced from a workshop-held moulding cross-section. It is not a stock frame in fixed sizes, but a frame built to the measurements of your work.

Artwork retention and hanging

The frame is supplied without glass, as a setting for a canvas on a stretcher. The artwork is held in the rabbet in one of two ways: with spring clips fitted in the workshop (the artwork is swapped by rotating the clips aside) or with screw-fixed brass plates (supplied loose, with screws included — a permanent fixing, installed by the customer). Orientation — portrait or landscape — is selected from the product menu; the frame is prepared for hanging in the chosen orientation. As standard the frame hangs on a cord; a single D-ring hanger is available on request.

Complete framing — additional options

Every frame can be completed with a full archival mounting prepared in the workshop: glass, archival backing and matting. All components are available as a custom add-on — quote on request.

Glass — four classes available

Opti White, 4mm — low-iron glass with a neutral, colourless appearance (no green tint typical of standard float glass). Available up to 90×90 cm — the only option for larger works.

Ultra Vue UV70 (Tru Vue), 2.0mm — anti-reflective glass with 70% UV protection, low-iron. Available up to 60×80 cm.

Art View — premium-class anti-reflective glass: reflection reduced below 1%, up to 75% UV protection, scratch-resistant coating, low-iron, can be cut and mounted from either side. Meets ISO 18916 (Photographic Activity Test) — safe for archival photography. Premium quality at an accessible price. Available up to 60×80 cm.

Optium Museum Acrylic (Tru Vue) — top-tier museum acrylic: over 99% UV protection, museum-grade reflection reduction, anti-static, lightweight, shatter-resistant. The museum standard for conservation work and archival photography. Available up to 60×80 cm.

Archival backing

Dibond 3mm aluminium composite panel — two layers of aluminium with an acid-free polymer core. Rigid, chemically neutral, dimensionally stable. An industry standard in archival photographic framing and art conservation.

Mounting and matting

Acid-free foam board — chemically neutral, will not yellow over time, will not react with paper or photographic emulsions. Archival standard.

Full museum framing

Combining anti-reflective UV-filtering glass, acid-free matting, Dibond backing and conservation hinging tapes provides a museum-grade mounting — protecting the work from light damage, acid migration from typical framing materials, and mechanical distortion. This type of framing is used in museums, galleries and private collections.

To order: all of the above components are available as a frame add-on on request. Please get in touch with the dimensions of your work and your preferred glass class — I will prepare an individual quote.

Ordering made to measure

The frame is made in a colour of your choice from a curated, richly pigmented paint range, in any format. You only need to provide the dimensions of the artwork — everything else, including technical clearance, is accounted for in production.

The base price is the price per linear metre of moulding. Corners cut at 45° take up additional length — the wider the moulding, the more. The calculator accounts for the full consumption with corners and any selected add-ons.

The online price calculator supports artwork sizes up to 120×80 cm. Larger formats are made to individual order following contact with the workshop.

Lead time: 20–30 working days.