Wooden, Silver and Gold Picture Frames: When to Use It in Your Home

If walls were like faces, picture frames would serve as accessories – earrings, makeup or sunglasses. It adds an instant atmosphere to an otherwise drab or boring wall. As you carefully select all the pieces of a room (furniture and appliances) and how these will be placed, you also need to carefully choose your picture frames and other wall décor to ensure that these go well with the rest of the pieces and present an attractively holistic picture.

Picture frames add a certain touch of flair and personality to a room. However, it can be confusing. Which frames will you use with which interior design concept? Would a silver picture frame work? Or would a vintage picture frame be better?

Wood picture frames gilt in gold

It depends on the type of finish you choose. A gold leaf, gold spray or burnished gold finish (with elaborate frame ornamentation) will complement a traditional and formal interior decorating style. You can also judiciously add a few gold pieces to an American Colonial style, especially if the frame is also a vintage picture frame. This style is characterized by formal hardwood furniture and heavy fabrics such as brocades and velveteens.

Gold can suit an understated, elegant style. It can also suit an unabashedly grand interior decorating style such as what is characterized by French interior design. You can go gold and gold, mixing gold picture frames with other gold pieces (furniture or metallic light holders), as well as silver or bronze. You can also use gold picture frames for mirrors that fit perfectly in your living room or foyer.

Silver vintage picture frames. Wooden frames that have a silver finish perfectly complement a vintage style. Imagine silver picture frames paired with Louis XVI or baroque furniture. These frames are great for portraits (round or oval picture frames). You can mix this with fabrics, such as satin or silk.

For a shabby chic look, you can distress a silver picture frame and group it with white picture frames, similarly distressed. This shabby chic wall gallery will fit well with a pastel color scheme, with vintage essentials – flowers on fabrics and walls, strategically distressed wood furniture and vintage pieces you bought from the flea market.

Silver chrome picture frames. This is more suited for a modern style. The metallic frames should feature simple and slim lines, combined with white, black, as well as bright colors. The silver chrome picture frame will be a perfect foil for minimalist furniture and contemporary works of art. This results in a spare and streamlined look that still remains charming and inviting. The silver picture frames only serve to highlight the modern paintings that complete the modern interior design style.

Wooden picture frames. Picture frames with a wood finish will harmonize well with a rustic or country style. This style features exposed stone, the use of wrought iron and terra cotta, warm colors (such as reds or oranges) and rustic wooden furniture. The picture frames can either have a dark finish such as walnut or cherry or a light finish such as birch or ash.