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Hi folks! Now that I have some time on my hands, I'm going to tackle a project...The Mantle Makeover! I've been wanting to do this for awhile now and thought I'd do a display tutorial and take anyone along with me who'd like to go. 

Clever customers often turn to custom framing when they have a unique item of unusual dimensions. Foursided has many clients that present long, slender pieces like a panoramic skyline photo or in this case an accordion style print.

This prehistoric, dinosaur jungle piece is stunning and colorful on every front. Our client wanted to show off it's brilliant color and detail with a simple, modern frame.

An accordion style piece like this can be framed in multiple ways. One way is by keeping the natural folds and height of the piece in a shadowbox style, deep-set frame. We've done this in the past with vintage maps that want a special twist. 

For this piece, our client wanted to show off the detail of the illustration so we flattened the print with a drymount, gave it a soft eggshell mat border and finished it with a sleek, black metal frame.

This choice of frame and finish is excellent for any short, lengthy piece you've been trying to hang. Many Chicago skylines of this size and shape have crossed our framing tables at Foursided. Is yours next?

Almost daily we have clients walk-in with larger-than-life pieces to frame. Movie posters, blueprints or photographs, oversize pieces are an ongoing phenomenon and have a slew of specialty options that follow.

What constitutes oversize you ask? Every piece is unique, but typically once the length or width of a piece exceeds 40 inches you have wandered into oversize territory. Our client brought in this stunning movie poster for Hiroshima Mon Amour (Director Alain Resnais). He opted for a soft charcoal wooden frame with enough weight to support the size of the piece.

Additionally, the use of plexi-glass instead of standard clear glass can make the piece lighter on the wall and also help with the safety factor. A large piece of regular glass on the wall is much more of a hazard than plexi which will scratch, but not smash into pieces. The other essential piece of info regards the drymount process. You may remember that a drymount is a heat fusing adhesive on a foam core backing to the material. This keeps the piece supported from bubbling/buckling and protects it from exposure to the elements over time. Occasionally larger dry mounted pieces require oversize material to be special ordered.

Now you are in the know about oversize framing! Don't be afraid to tackle framing that giant quilt you just finished sewing, you are always in good hands with the right framers (that means Foursided b%*tch!).